Dutch Shepherd Forum

Hi,

Just wanted to say hello - excited to join - looking to share stories, ideas, and suggestions about training specifically in the Toronto area.

Welcome!

Another Canadian

Thank you...interesting I have only seen a few DS in Toronto - not a common breed here at all...and many ask me what breed she is because they have never seen one like her.

I love having a dog that is unique.

Yay Canadians! I lived in Kingston, ON as a child for 4 years and those winters are permanently engraved into my memory.
The DS is not a common breed anywhere. Every time I go out of the house, I get at least a handful of people asking what my dog is, which is quickly followed by "wow, she's beautiful." I'm always beaming like my dog won best in show.

So true!! I can’t describe the sense of pride of have whenever someone compliments her – you’d think I gave birth to her – LOL. I had never even heard of DS before – I even had someone at a dog park offer to buy her when she was a pup and offered good money – but there was no way I’d let her go.

Canadian winters are rough - especially the in between rain and snow - case this morning where hanna decided she did not want to wait until i wiped her paws and well ran through the house and "left her mark". I felt like I was in a swiffer wetjet commercial!!!!

Hi Sarah! Welcome to the forum, I'm also in Toronto.

Where do you train?

Thanks Choochi - Olympus K9 is where we went (trainer is Derrick and he is awesome) - they are all pretty good - only issue is they are in brampton so after the 1st level i was unable to continue.

any suggestions on good trainers - specifically specializing in DS?

Greetings! Looking forward to hearing more stories and seeing pictures.

I had to laugh at your "swiffer commercial" comparison. We've had similar weather here in Vermont, we're not too far from the Canadian border on the Montreal/Quebec end of the country.

Our winters aren't QUIIIITE as intense as yours, but respectable enough and we've had the freeze/wet/freeze/wet sloppiness here, too.

Last week we had snow, then it's been a few days of mud, and just today it's snowing again.

The dogs go everywhere with me and right now the back of my jeep is looking reallllly vile, between mud and dog hair and hay bits from the barn...

thanks Feraloup - that day of the wetjet incident i ended up being 15 minutes late for a meeting - had a hilarious time explaining why i was running late to my team lead - sounded like my dog ate my homework bit...

love your quote by the way - my favorite parts of the day are waking up and saying good morning to her and getting home from work - i look forward to weekends because i can spend as much time as i like with her

Welcome

Welcome

Sara_Hanna wrote:Thanks Choochi - Olympus K9 is where we went (trainer is Derrick and he is awesome) - they are all pretty good - only issue is they are in brampton so after the 1st level i was unable to continue.

any suggestions on good trainers - specifically specializing in DS?

Great people! I used to train there with my Corso, Derrick is a lot of fun! What type of training are you looking for? Do you have a goal in mind or just want an activity to keep you and your boy constructively busy?

My favourite classes and trainers would have to be Heather McLeod's classes at the Red Barn in Barrie. I know... it's not any closer then Brampton but she is worth the drive. She does all sorts of sports and sports foundations. Even if you have no plans to persue agility her foundation classes will still teach you some amazing skills you can apply in every day life and she is tons of fun to work with. Karin Apfel is a great trainer and has classes in Newmarket, she does obedience, rally O, and sport detection (that is some thing you should really check out!). When Hounds Fly, they're in the city with 2 locations in Toronto and offer clicker based training, very well thought out programs with a flexible schedule (you pick your own days and times). If you're interested in protection sports (if Pando and Derrick didn't already talk your ear off about coming out to Saugeen to check things out) there are a number of options for Schutzhund around the city and we are very lucky to have an amazing French Ring trainer from France who moved here a couple months ago. He is also offering regular training for obedience and problem solving. His name is Fred Labrousse and he's in King City maybe 10min north of Vaughan Mills. I don't think he has a website but he is on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/North-To ... 9236733489

I live close by just outside T. and find my dog's attract a lot of attention. very rarely do I see any other dutch sheperds. if you need any advice on training .I can help