Dutch Shepherd Forum

Hi! My name is Michelle.
I live in Oklahoma.
I have a female Dutch Shepherd/German Shepherd mix named Ember who is almost 8 months old, an Italian greyhound who is 3 years old named Juliet, and a mini Dachshund who is also 3 named Chloe.
I joined this forum to get to know some other DS owners and get to know more about the breed.
I have never owned a Dutch Shepherd before, but I have owned German Shepherds in the past. This has definitely been a new experience for me, and not an easy one!

I can't wait to get some insight from other owners and hear about everyone else's experiences!

WELCOME!

you have a handful! do your greyhound and DS... have great fun? greyhounds can be such couch potatoes but when they decide to be something else, they can be very lively and goofy - which i would think would appeal to your DS.

i think you tried to post photos -- which do not show up at least on my computer, so i only have your avatar to go by. from that small and very limited image, i wonder if you are sure that you have a mix and not a DS fully or predominantly? --- oh, now that i an writing, a photo does show up; sure looks like a DS to me as far as that pic goes! what causes you to describe her as a mix?

there is great info archived here. look especially in ''WHATEVER" and ''BEHAVIOR''. any particular problems that have made things ''not...easy''?
look forward to seeing more photos.

Nice to meet you!
The Italian greyhound is very jealous of her, but they do play occasionally. But usually the greyhound just wants to curl up and sleep and not be bothered!

I describe Ember as a mix because that is what the person I got her from told me. I drove about an hour and a half to meet her after seeing an advertisement on Craigslist. I spoke to the owners about her parents and they had posted pictures of them in the ad. The dad is a Dutch Shepherd that has been trained extensively as an attack dog(which is not my intent for my dog at all). I met the dad when I got my pup, but the owners told me on my arrival that the mother had died from getting hit by a car shortly after the pups were weaned. I was skeptical but the photos they showed of her mother were of a pure black German Shepherd. I have not gotten a DNA test to prove what breed she is 100%, so I am just going on what I was told as of now.

As for problems with her, I have had a few.
I took her to puppy classes at PetSmart from the time she was 10 weeks, until she was about 16 weeks. She did wonderfully in the classes and picked up everything very quickly. However, she did not want to follow my commands as readily in our home environment. I still have not perfected her recalling, as she is very stubborn and likes to ignore me when she's after something she wants. I also have had a hard time socializing her. Every time she sees another dog, from the time she was very small, she has been very wary no matter what size or type. She will go into defensive mode immediately and either growl or bark menacingly. She also has a problem with humans, especially when I take her to the vet. If I am anywhere near, she growls and does not allow anyone to touch her. She hates being restrained. The vets have told me she does better when they take her into the back, so it seems that she is just being overly protective. She doesn't usually have a problem when people come to the house as long as I let them inside and introduce them slowly. I have never had a dog be so protective, let alone aggressive in public. I have been trying to work with her but I am so afraid of her biting someone, I'm not sure what the best way to go about it is.
I'm at a loss!
I love her so much and she's so sweet at home, but she's like a different dog when I take her anywhere.
I would appreciate any sort of advice as I have exhausted all of my current resources!

creating a new thread in the ''Behavior'' section, i would suggest describing these issues with as much specificity as possible [ exactly what triggers her when - and how you react/cope; and how you have been training and ''socializing.''

there is a lot of collective experience here and some people have really great insights from studying and training of many DS. also try reviewing threads in ''whatever'' and ''behavior'' for discussions of topics that are relevant.

Hello and welcome! I do see a bit of GSD in the ears and face, but depending on her age (I can't remember if you said how old she was) they go through a stage where their ears are bigger than they are. We all adore that stage. I agree with John, make a new post in Behavior so we can all comment and try to help you out. A lot of the problems are fairly common with DS and you'll see a lot of us have had the same issues if you search under behavior. Being as detailed as possible when she reacts also helps us get an idea of techniques to recommend.

Thank you both!
I'm going to go post in the behavior section now.