Dutch Shepherd Forum

Hello, My name is Stephanie and I am a new Dutchie owner. We just got him yesterday and he is 14 weeks. I think we are going to call him Scout for now. It's really cold and snowing outside but I will get pics of him ASAP and post. I have two labs and this is my first Dutch Shepherd. I am looking forward to getting to know other DS owners and I have SO much to learn. This little guy starts group training with me at Centennial Working Dogs group in Denver.

OMG, so great! where is he from? how did this new family member come to be?

Welcome and he is ADORABLE! Congrats on the new addition. Look forward to seeing more pics and hearing more about him.

I bought him from Aachen (not a positive experience) and found this forum after my purchase. I wanted a pup that could be trained in personal protection. I really hope that this little guy can learn to do that. He's a big scaredy-cat so far. But sweet as sugar.

Welcome! Scout is a doll!

Oh what a cutie !!!! I love how his ear flips back.

no matter how scared he is now, he will grow to be protective of you very quickly. the tricky part is not having him protect you, but teaching him that his physical intervention should be withheld/reserved for that special circumstance where he is really needed [ and where permitted by you? ].
he sure looks like a close relation of my Sakima, who is also very skittish [ but he has been shot at and hit, so...]

Welcome!

Scout is wayyyyy adorable! Don't worry, he will come around. If you've only had him 2 days, everything is no new to him he's probably just trying to figire out what is going on. My pup, too, came from Aachen, I got him at 13 weeks old, and I get the feeling that they don't really get much socialization or interaction with the "outside world" until they go to their new homes. So, he's just been pulled away from everything he has ever known and is now trying to take in everything and figure out his place in it.

As Johninny pointed out, getting him to be protective will probably not be much of an issue, it tends to come naturally, getting it appropriately channeled and directed will be more important.

Moko is now 6 going on 7 months old, and I have my work cut out for me. He's coming along, but I am working very hard to ensure that he will become a good canine citizen and partner. I did also purposely select a pup that was NOT pick-of-the-litter, though, in exchange for a break in price and her willingness to let me barter custom artwork for a large chunk of the price.

I'm no stranger to rehabbing high-needs rescues and so purposely chose a pup that would be mpre likely to end up in a rescue in exchange for the price break.

Moko is very bright and very loving, though, and I have all confidence he will be a wonderful dog as he gains in maturity, life experience and careful training.

He is VERY protective, already, though. Even though when I first got him he was painfully timid. Having protective instincts is not at all a concern for me, getting him to channel them properly and to be able to direct him appropriately is what I'm needing to focus on.

I'm sure Scout will blossom with time and patience and I look forward to hearing more and seeing more pictures!

Welcome to the forum, I've found great cameraderie and help here!

Thank you everyone for the warm welcome! I'm so excited to begin training with Scout and letting him grow to be the awesome dog he is meant to be. I am looking into finding training for him and would love some suggestions. He is almost 4 months old and right now I just want obedience training and socialization. There are several trainers out there and I really don't know what to look for.

Thanks!
Stephanie

Right now, just some basics would be good. At 4 months you dont want to ask too much of him. you could start some nose work though, that would keep him interested. There is that "socialization" word again LOL. Dont jump into having him make tons of friends. Obedience and focus should be priority.

Thank you Lisa, I hear so many mixed opinions about DS socialization. Personally, I want my dutchie to be friendly when I tell him it's okay and then protective and thoughtful all of the time. I've been taking him to small, uncrowded parks for walks and starting to learn the basics. I have two labs who are fairly well trained who are setting a good example for him so far. It appears that we may have been successful in housebreaking him in under a week, is that possible?

Stephanie

Anything is possible LOL. he may be learning really quick from the other dogs. Sadie learned alot from Thalie. I see Sadie look at Thalie when she isnt sure and will copy Thalie. We all want our dogs to be friendly and happy, but it is what it is. Sadie is protective, my goal was never to socialize her so I could walk around an have dogs come up and they would just play and be happy. She focuses on me and thats my main goal. She is protective so I always keep that in mind. Its also the situation as well. When I am out and about, Sadie is protective and I stay away from others, I dont care that she isnt super friendly and I dont force that on her. At home when a friend with a dog comes over, she is fine and thats all I want. These are protection dogs and that is the reason I have them. Thalie has always been happy go lucky and will turn on a dime on my command, but that is Thalie. Sadie isnt happy go lucky once we leave the property and that is fine with me too. Do your training and let him mature into who he will be and go with that.

I think the housebreaking thing is very possible in that short a time. These dogs are super clever. Moko learned very quickly to housebreak and also to ring a bell on the door to ask to be let out. Having older trained dogs is a great help, too. Maiyou, my old lady, is a wonderful example-setter for Mokume. Moko also picks up on new commands very quickly, even when I'm teaching him something brandy-new that Maiyou doesn't know, either.

He is very hyper-vigilant whenever we take him anywhere outside of familiar bounds, and he is very, very protective and we are working very hard to rein in his impulses, and make him safe and "bombproof" to bring out in public, but without squashing the protection instincts. Someone else here (Christy, maybe? apologies to whoever first said it if it was someone else,) in another post made the point that we want to "channel, not squash" their instinctive drives. I like that he is protective, I just want to make sure that he learns to discern when it is and isn't a true need, and to defer to my judgement before auto-pilot hair-trigger bite reflex.

LOL! I spoke too soon about the housebreaking

He's had a couple accidents but mostly because I got a bit lazy and assumed that he could go around unsupervised in other parts of the house. We are back to praise and treats when he potties outside and keeping an eagle-eye on him. He's doing great though and I'm in love with this little guy! Well, not so little! He's not quite 4 months and is at least 25 pounds. I think he's going to be pretty big.

Stephanie