Dutch Shepherd Forum

Hi, I have been looking at Belgian Mals and Dutch shepherds for awhile now and I was wanting to know basically if they are good house pets or if they absolutely need a job like k9 or herder or whatever. I know a couple cops that have mals and they say theirs are like german shepherds on crack (their words exactly). I think mals and dutch's both are the best looking dogs ever and if I go with either, I would love to get a puppy within the next year. I've got a 14 week old lab/rot puppy now and want him to have a friend to grow up with. But I would hate to get a dog that would be bored and be destructive because i didn't do my research first and find out after the fact that the breed in general needs to constantly be doing a job or one that has high drive to "go, go, go" and have it be bored because I only do things like go hiking or walking/running or play ball with it. Thanks for any info you can give.

suggest reading ''lyonsfamily''s response under ''hello everyone and some questions'' in the new member's section.
you might want to keep on the look-out for a DS-like mix puppy in the shelter system. they can be VERY beautiful, can have much of the DS character that you might want in a family dog but be toned down on the things that can make owning a pure-bred DS a very difficult task for most people. there are enough such dogs these days that you can probably find a puppy or very young one over a year's period that is within driving distance so you can interview each other and have fairly decent confidence that it is the right dog for you.

you can set pet-finder or adopt-a-pet [ or something like that ] on the internet to do searches for you within some acceptable radius. do not set the search for DS but for ''shepherd'' so that you get a broad range; shelter personnel are not usually very accurate so use a general term. also, very few people even know what a DS is.

Thanks for the shout out John. I will agree that that post is very accurate to this question as well. I will also add that the word "job" is subjective. You don't have to have them do a big job like being a police K9 or herding on a farm. I think a good majority of us have a DS as a pet first, but we also give them tons of exercise and lots to do to help stimulate them both mentally and physically.

I'm off visiting my husband in Chicago right now and my parents are dog sitting for me. While they're not training him everyday, my mom runs a natural wood products woodworking business out of their house and Odin is being put to work. He gets up with her every day at 5am and goes hiking to look for new fallen limbs and helps cart them back to the house to dry. He gets to play fetch with the broken pieces and runs in the woods while they're hiking and has to stay in a long sit/down while she tends to some trees. The whole process takes a good 4-5 hours every morning and then he naps and plays with his Varsity ball out in the yard. It incorporates all aspects of his training (agility, obedience, leadership) and provides enough of a job to make him happy.

I do a ton of training in agility, obedience, and nosework with mine because I like to compete, but it wouldn't make a big difference if we competed or not, just as long as the training and stimulation is there. An agility show is usually 6-8 hours of sitting around and maybe 5 minutes twice a day in the ring. The competition aspect of it really does nothing to support a DS, in fact he gets rather antsy at shows. It's the hours everyday practicing and working on basic obedience proofing that really counts. If a pet home wanted to just do extensive activities at home and had a course set up and dedicated hours to training just for fun, that would work as well.

I appreciate the responses. I like to do my homework for anything I purchase and this is a big one for me. I love dogs and dogs love me. A little background on me as a dog owner, my last dog who I had to put down in feb was a shih tzu. They are not known to be the smartest dogs, yet I raised the smartest one I've seen and my entire family has them. He was my best friend for just over 15 years. He went deaf, so we worked on our own personal sign language. He went partially blind with cataracts, so we worked on gestures. He figured it all out in about a two week period. He stopped eating so I spoon fed him and fed him his pills like clockwork even though he didn't want to take them anymore. I was dedicated to making him better even though in the end, tumors won, but he had a great life.

Anyways, I have read that almost all the DS and Belgian Mal breeders focus their efforts on high drive and training methods. I simply love their looks and would love to have one of the 2 types which is why I was asking the questions. Do all breeders of these 2 always focus on such high drive? Do any breed for house pets? I work 8 hours a day, workout 1-2 hours a day and I'm single so it's just me and time is limited, but my family is very close and come by a lot and he socialized with other dogs and people. But the training is all done by me. I take my current lab/rot puppy for a walk a day most days and we play a lot, and we run a couple times a week. He's all puppy right now and it's playtime 24/7. He's just now starting to chill a lil but it only lasts for a bit and then he's ready to go again. Anyways, there's some info on me, my history with dogs, and my current dog. In case that helps with responses on whether this breed would be a good fit or not.

If you are looking for a house pet and will be out all day, I would not suggest a DS. they are high drive and do love to go go go. They are super as a pet and I love mine to death but we hike alot and I work from home so I can give them tons of exercise. Otherwise they will create their own job and I am not sure you will like the job that they make for themselves. These guys were bread for herding sheep all day and they hate being bored.
Just my 2c

I agree with Lisa completely - more than completely: it simply does not sound like you and a DS or a Mal would be a good fit or , in the end, even feasible. [ and family stopping by is not going to satisfy a DS or a Mal. with so little attention, you have a fair likelihood of facing tremendous problems. ]

I asked this question a few years ago.. I was perusing a DS for the first time and I just really wanted one because they look like awesome dogs. When I asked this question I had a lot of negative feed back on this forum. Come to find out everyone here was exactly right. My entire life changed and my entire constitution. Some nights I literally didn't sleep.. after that I didn't sleep for days because the barking. You have to do something with these dogs. Hikes walks or just let them out so they can dig a huge hole in your lawn. Remember the days were you could just watch a movie from start to finish? This doesn't happen anymore.. in fact when I start a movie with my wife my dog is putting tennis balls on me just to throw them. This is after the fact we hiked about five miles and then he went swimming all in the same day. If I ignore him and pretend he doesn't exist he just pushed the ball closer to my face. There are times I actually watch a movie with a tennis ball on one eye trying to ignore him. Since he has about 100+ tennis balls it didn't take him long to use his nose and try to push one on my other eye.

How did my life change.. I wake up at 4am to take him for walks. When I get home I go hiking or we do obedience work. Just starting out if I didn't do anything he would find something to destroy of mine or my wifes. Koda is go go go go go(like Dutchringgirl said) and he never stops until I sleep. If you want a big lap dog, dutch is not what you seek. To sum up a DS, these dogs are high drive, will out smart you and are very rogue. I was literally cooking dinner with my wife and koda wanted to go outside. I watch how he manipulated her to a key.. he pushed his nose on her leg and she said.. No, you're not going out to play. Then he broke wind and cried and she was like oh! You have to pooop?? she said. Koda bark and bark like he does when he has to use the potty. Soon as she open the door he grabbed his ball and dropped it out in the small lawn we have. Next thing you know she was after him and he got what he wanted. haha.

I do have to say though.. koda is the best thing that has ever happen to me. kills me knowing the inevitable.

nice to read your story.
and they are so worth it!

omg, 24 hours after reading about your changed movie habits, I just realized why I haven't watched my Netflix dvd for 2 months - it just sits atop the tv. until puppy TexXander arrived 2 months ago, I was fairly successful at watching/mailing 2 to 3 per week.