Dutch Shepherd Forum

Hello all! I am Corrie, and I live in Des Moines with my 4 year old Doberman girl, Saga. Saga is a GREAT housedog and excels at holding down the couch. (I think she might think she is a cat?) One of the reasons I got her is in addition to being easily trained and affectionate, Dobes are supposed to be high energy. Saga apparently never got that memo. Because of her, I actually had to join a gym. She does well in obedience but doesn't have the heart or confidence to actually compete in it. For years I have been totally in love with Dutch Shepherds and have always pictured myself with one. I want a dog that actually wants to do things beyond lay on the couch, eat popcorn and watch movies. Also since I live in the midwest, I want a breed that can tolerate going outside for a potty break without needing to be put in a sweater and booties.

I was perusing Craigslist last week when lo and behold I saw an ad for a 6 month old Dutch. I met him last Saturday and he had just the right amount of drive for a DS beginner like me. ( I took a friend with me, who happens to be the VP of one of our local dog clubs and she evaluated him with me) Tomorrow afternoon we do a meet and greet with him and Saga to see if this "second hand hound" will be a new addition to the family. If he does come home, I hope to start Schutzhund with him as well as doing about 9 million other things, like actually going hiking and the like.
Looking forward to exploring the forum and the world of the DS!

Welcome!

I saw your prospect on Craigslist and she is very pretty! I hope it goes well with the adoption.

I've met many Dobes at my training club, and they all seem pretty laid back.

Welcome and good luck with your possible adoption!

Corrie, you have a fantastic sense of humor! Loved your intro post.

Can't wait to hear about how the meet and greet goes...(now you can laugh in return... I was just about to ask where you're from)

Thanks all for the warm welcome and compliments.

I've often heard various dog friends bemoan not being able to find the "off" switch on their dogs, well, I don't think Saga has much of an "ON" switch. At least not that I have found. Her only real motivation to get off her butt is generally to play with a boy dog. She is a SHAMELESS flirt. Other females, she will make sure they know that she is sorry that she exists. She is a pretty submissive girl and will generally defer to other dogs. If I have her on a loose leash and she sees another dog within 20 or so feet she will IMMEDIATELY throw herself into a play bow. Sometimes I wonder if she has the mental attitude of a (really mellow) 4 month old golden retriever trapped in a 4 year old Dobe body.

I'm so excited about the intro that I don't know if I will sleep tonight. It's just like being a kid on Christmas eve, again. We are doing the intro late tomorrow afternoon at my friend's dog daycare. (She doesn't have any dogs tomorrow) Providing the intro goes well, my friend Karissa will be driving the Dutch currently known as "Nigel" back to my place with his crate and supplies and we will have a girls/dogs night in, watching movies and letting the dogs get used to each other. It is supposed to snow a pretty decent amount and be our first real snow of the season, so it will be a good night to just stay in and has the added bonus of being Nigel's first snow!

Nigel........I REALLY REALLY REALLY disliked this name when I heard it last Saturday when I met him, but I hate to admit that it really has grown on my quite a bit. If everything works out, I will post pictures and pick your brains for name suggestions, but it very well just may stay Nigel.

How exciting and good luck with your girl's night in!

Welcome. Never had a problem with name changes, even on 2 year olds. If you hate it go ahead and change it. My problem has always been choosing the name, so they are usually puppy-puppy until about 8 months.

Welcome!

Hope the meet and greet works out!

I have another dog now. The meet and greet went decently. Saga tried to play bow and he did some sniffing and then they pretty much ignored each other. When we got back to my house, instead of acting like most dogs who are like, "Um this is MY house" Saga was like "HAI! This is my place,I'll show you around, you like it? Let's PLAY." Nigel didn't really feel like playing, but they are co-existing really well, no playing, yet, but NO snarking yet either.

*I* am feeling a little overwhelmed because it has just been me and Saga for the last 3 and half years and she is such a good dog. It is just going to take some getting used to. Nigel is still a puppy at 7ish months, but he already has 10 pounds on Princess Farty pants. I'm excited though, he is very food motivated and likes to work, we broke out the clicker tonight and worked on Zen puppy and a little bit of name recognition. He has been very good in the house so far though.

Congrats on the new addition! You will be pretty busy these days now...keep us posted on how things go. Can't wait to see pics!

Congrats on the puppy! I changed the name of my puppy when we got him and had no problem. Also, when we got our DS (Merlin) he wouldnt go near our other dog for the first day or so either. Now they are comfortable with each other and can't be seperated and our other dog is a min chihuahua. Really funny to watch them together. Anyway good luck and can't wait to see pics!

I'm quite surprised, so far he seems pretty mellow in the house (as his previous owner stated he was) comfortable to the point of laying totally on his back on the floor, while Saga is out and about as well. He has even offered her a couple appeasement gestures (lowering of his head and lip licks) Saga thinks he is wasting his time doing those and should just play with her. She isn't pestering him though, just some play bows.

Welcome! I LOVE the pic of your Dober, and like the name Saga a lot, the couch-saga

What great news! I'll bet it's challenging for you, such a big change, but in no time it'll be the new normal .

It sure sounds like he's going to adjust well to his new home. Too funny about how Sega is offering him the keys to the kingdom . How nice that she's so happy to have a brother, rather than wanting to kill you for bringing another pooch into the pack.

Keep the stories coming!!

Yeah, the last time I went from one dog to two was when I brought Saga home. My (now) ex and I already had an Aussie, but the house was bigger and there were two of us, plus we had a fenced in yard. Going at it on my own is a bit different.
I've been using a clicker on him to capture some behaviors at home, like eye contact and name recognition and he seems to really like it.

He is also a beast, he is already 61 pounds and 24 inches at the shoulder, I think he is closer to 7/8 ish months that the 6ish that was listed. His brindle is SUPER dark, too.

The kids last night:



And a pic of baby Nigel:

So cute! He is beautiful

Congrats on your new 'addition'!

What a pretty boy and , judging by his baby pic and the HUGE paws, he will be a BIG boy

Welcome..seems like the relationship is going well

Chris

Welcome.

Pretty boy!