Dutch Shepherd Forum

hey, im cordelia and im from co. dublin, ireland.
ive gotten first dutch shepherd named demon and im a complete newbie when it comes to the breed so hopefully ill learn a thing or two from my time on here!
id say ive had demon almost a month now. he was a couple days short of 6 weeks old when i brought him home but he didnt look it, he was the first born and almost twice as large as the other 10 pups in the litter (they even had him down on the vaccination records as "biggy"). his parents and entire pedigree back to great great great grandparents were all protection dogs so i had a bit of an idea what to expect.

it could have been the large litter size but he wasnt used to being touched, when id redirect him from something he was interested in he would turn on me and go into a frenzy, and when picked up he would constantly be try to get at my throat like a growling, convulsing crocodile/shark/paranha! needless to say blood was spilt. (mine to be clear!)
as for the name, he was christened "demon" the night he went to attack my foot, latched on, sank those little puppy teeth in and wouldnt let go despite me having lifted my foot up in an effort to detach him, leaving all four paws suspended and him still not letting go!

hes making great progress though and i can see a great dog shining through. he nolonger goes for my feet, socks or shoes, (mostly) mock bites my hands and to top it all off he now crawls up onto my lap for a snuggle and a scratch between the ears (that had been the "danger zone" beforehand). hes still very vocal and growls when you push him about but hes slowly being desensitized with the odd slip up here and there.
ive been wondering is this semi normal for dutch shepherd pups at this age or is demon just a lovable nut case? either way im glad i have a little experience with bitey dogs.

anyway im really happy i found your site and look forward to meeting some of you!

(id get a more recent picture because hes bigger and both ears are up now but my camera vanished)
and here are his parents

Welcome.

This seems like normal behavior, but I would think that getting the puppy at 6 weeks would be a red flag. The conventional wisdom is that puppies should remain with the litter for 8 weeks as this is the very important period where the dog learns socialization. I would expect that your breeders should know that - unless there's some new thinking out there that I have not heard of.

The fact your pup is getting better is a good sign. Keep in mind this breed needs not only physical exercise, but mental exercise as well. They'll find their own job if you don't provide one, and you probably won't like the job they find.

Good luck - and welcome again.

thank you!
i was extremely worried when i found out how young he was, they had confused the dates with a malinois litter they had aswell and despite my suspicions it was only confirmed when he turned 8 weeks old.

Welcome. He is adorable. My Xander would also go into a frenzy when I would redirect. If he nipped at my feet I would say no and redirect. Sometimes he would go into a frenzy and nip again. I would redirect again. He finally figured it out. I noticed it more when he hadn't had a nap recently. Like a three year old fighting a nap. I would quietly put him in his crate for a nap and when he woke up he did better. I can't say if this is normal for a ds pup as I've only had two but I went through it with both. The first one was waaaay easier. Keep us updated on his progress.