Hello from a potential DS owner!

[raylm123]

Hi everyone,

I don't own a DS but joined this forum to learn more about the breed as I am considering getting one. I am attracted to the breed because of its size, athletic ability, intelligence, and of course looks! However, never having one before I admit that I'm a little intimidated by some of people's descriptions I have read elsewhere that describe this breed as "crazy", "not for novices", "not for the faint of heart", "not good as pets, only police/military work." Then I read elsewhere that they are social and make great family dogs?!

For those of you not doing police/military work, what do you do to exercise your dog and keep him mentally challenged? Obedience, agility, schutzhund? How many hours a day do you exercise your young adult? Full adult?

To let you all know where I'm coming from -- I work from home (for myself) so my hours/schedule are flexible. We do not have any other dogs. I would like a dog for companion/workout partner (hikes)/home protection. I am committed to obedience/socialization. I would also love to try a sport like tracking, schutzhund or agility.

I appreciate all of your responses and am not looking for sugar coating. I'm just trying to get honest answers from those who actually own/know these dogs about what is realistically involved. When others (who may or may not know anything) say that they are "crazy" or "not for novices", it's hard for me to know what they mean or if that is even an accurate decription. (Perhaps they just met a dog that wasn't taught any manners? I have a lot of experience working with shelter dogs so I tend to interpret "crazy" as a dog with no manners.)

Anyway, I'm looking forward to what all of you have to say. Thanks in advance!!!

[icvanstra]

Lisa,

welcome to the forum and thank you for creating a signature!

...

My DS is a pure pet. When I brought him home my intentions were to do Schutzhund with him, but "life" happened and that didn't work out so well. For exercise it is walks, chasing the other dog in the yard, playing fetch and such...normal dog stuff. I have been very luck that I have a DS that has adjusted very well to this lifestyle.

[Dutchringgirl]

I have two, a 9 yo and a one year old. As a family dog..... fantastic!!! they are great, very good with my kids who are now 6 and 7. I got Thalie just before my kids were born and she was awesome with babies. Thalie did Ring Sport for a while but then just became my buddie. I got Sadie for a pal for Thalie, her only "job" will be part of our family. They are high energy dogs, I also work from home so can take them hiking alot which they love. They learn super quick, which is great with high energy dogs. They will get crazy if you let them be crazy, but like any animal, if you teach them properly you can harness the energy.

As far as hours per day, that varies, some days I can only do a little with them, some days alot. On Sundays Thalie comes mountain biking with me so she gets enough for the week!

[raylm123]

Thank you both so much for your responses! That really helps!!

[vneerland]

Hello Lisa,
"Crazy" does not always mean no manners. It could also mean unsatiable drive.
If you tell a breeder that you are not looking for the hottest pup, you might have made that step in the right direction. With that being said though: I recently got a *(rescue) pup (not DS) and was soooooooooooo suprised that it was half as much trouble as my own brindles tend to be at that age. It dawned on me why so many DS's get in trouble in their new, unprepared home. I hope some others can shed a light on what they mean by 'for working homes only'. Tjat is not true, but they would certainly be a potential hand full for unsupsecting owners, seeking an active pet. There are a few members on this board, seeking help with their new pups that turned out to be a bit more than they had anticipated. The reward at the end of the journey is truly a great dog, but be advised that even the lowest drive pup in a DS litter (at this side of the atlantic: here most dogs are bred out of working stock) will need some firm guidance to become that stellar companion.

[Dutchringgirl]

thanks for the better wording Judith. Just from my experience of doing Ring, Im wondering if they want "working homes" because most of the people I did ring with kept the dog in a kennel except to work, so their energy is kept for the work and they dont get to be in the house.

As far as house dogs though, they do a great job cleaning.

[Lauren]

Hi Lisa, welcome!

I am a new Dutch shepherd owner and I had a lot of the same worries. I have raised a lot of dogs, many of them terriers. I asked for the lowest drive girl pup of the litter. Even so I was surprised by her energy, her stubbornness and her mouthiness. I was a little concerned when at 8 weeks she was latched on to us non-stop and would occasionally get snarly with me. All that said, I absolutely adore her. Her intelligence, her sense of humor, her beautiful eyes and personality...I can see why people would have 5 of them. Xena lives in our home as part of the family.

We take her on a 45 minute (or more) walk morning and night. We also give her about 10 minutes of real training and a little hanging out with mom listening to the world in the yard. At first I had a really hard time telling her "no". I could however, redirect her. ("You can't do this, so go to your place and down-stay.") She is now 13.5 weeks and she is fitting into our family very nicely. I have kids, cats, a dog, free range chickens, rabbits, and visitors etc. She is doing great. Even though my kids are older, she has a built in respect and love for babies and toddlers.

Recently she realized (or rather I realized) that it was not ok to be mouthy with me any more. There was no yelling, yanking, grounding, just a real change of belief on my part. She "got" it right away. Many people have said that Dutch Shepherds are not snuggly, but my girl is... She is a sweetheart. She is lying at my feet as I type.

When we decided to get a dog, I was not at all looking forward to this first 7-8 months. It is SO much work. Puppyhood IS NOT my thing, but that said, I have enjoyed (almost) every minute of this one! (Of course, we haven't hit teenager hood yet! )

The local cop told me that all Dutch shepherds are psychotic and crazy. I can't wait for him to meet Xena! :dswink"

[Dutchringgirl]

Tell the cop to meet Thalie, she is super quiet and laid back

[Lauren]

HaHa. I will. He has 2 Belgian Mals that he works (one grown and one that is a pup in training). He says that they are "psychotic" too. Then he has a teen aged Dutch/Mal cross that is home in a cage. He has decided it is crazy. I feel for it because I know it must be SO smart and energetic, yet penned up. I am sad for him that he is not enjoying working with these incredible animals...

But when I first was working with my girl, all of the "crazy", "aggressive", "not suitable for family life" plagued me every time I had set backs. NOT any more. She is incredible and I won't doubt her second-hand because of rumor.

[icvanstra]

Many people have said that Dutch Shepherds are not snuggly, but my girl is...

My personal experience with Cino and the rescue's has been snugglers. Even the most pig-headed and obstinate rescue to pass through my house (who at one point I thought would take my face off) was a massive snuggler.

I think there are plenty of stories where well bred, well balanced working dogs and pet/house dogs are definitely snugglers. In no way am I talking about the "hard" working/protection dogs that have been raised to live in a kennel.

[GSDNanny]

Eric, I agree. My Zip who was a young rescue when I got her is super affectionate with her people, not with others outside the family. She is very clingy and wants to be in my lap or hubby's when we are watching TV. None of my GSDs that I have had over the years were/are snugglers. So for me having such an intense dog as Zip can be at times, she is yet a real lover which I like.

[PepperSnycart]

Hi Lisa!

I recently got a 8 week old DS (she's now 9.5 weeks!). I had the same concerns and conflicting information that you presented in your post. I haven't had a dog in my adult life, so I was also concerned about puppyhood in general. I got the "low drive" pup of the litter as well.

I live in a 2 bedroom apartment with my boyfriend and no other pets. I am a veterinarian, but work only night shifts during the week, so the only time my pup is "alone" is when she's crated overnight.

My typical day with the pup: get up/outside, eat breakfast, play hard for ~1hr, learn tricks/train for 10min or so, nap... Go outside, play, train, nap... Repeats about 3 times a day. I am constantly on the lookout for her chewing on things, which she does! Suprisingly though, once I tell her "no" calmly, she will leave it alone. That doesn't mean she won't try later, haha. She has not yet destroyed anything in my apartment, but I "rotate" her toys, kongs, so there's always something "new" for her to interact with. When she gets into something I don't want her to, I redirect her immediately with something she can chew on. This goes for her mouthiness towards me and my boyfriend as well. Those little teeth hurt and we were concerned about her prey drive bring too much... But once we resolved to redirecting her and reading her body language to stop her from nibbling on us, she's soooo much better!

I am amazed at how smart they are! Stubborn at times, but smart! She had 1 bowel movement in the apartment the entire time we've had her. She only urinated in the apartment 2-3X the first couple of days we had her, and now we're much more in tune with her signals that she has to go out. When she's being high energy, biting, getting into things, we take her outside, and sure enough she has to go! Not the typical barking at the door to go out kind of stuff. You definitely have to pay attention to their cues, even if they don't make sense to us!

As far as exercise, we play on the small lawn in front of our apartment 2-3X a day after she naps. We also go to the apartment's dog park 1-2X a day depending on the weather. She runs around and plays tug with the other dogs, which is amazing right before bedtime! We also take her to puppy class once a week. I take her to work to expose her to new humans, cats, etc about once a week as well.

I've had her for a week and she knows sit, come, down, shake, and we're working on "bang!" to get her to lay on her side. She is the star of puppy class and the trainer uses her as the example every week! A lot of that is my spending so much time with her everyday and my boyfriend taking over when he gets home from work, while I go to work.

She's too young for agility/obedience classes which have an age requirement, but we can't wait to start!!

[raylm123]

Wow, thanks again everyone for all of your replies! I definitely feel a lot better and think that asking for the "low drive" pup of the litter will be the way to go as a first-time DS owner.

[kaseydog]

Hi Lisa, I am also looking into getting my first DS pup. Can I ask where you are and how you are going about finding a reputable breeder? or are you going the rescue route? thanks