Dutch Shepherd Forum

Hello I'm new to the forum and new to the breed.

I have a 6 month old Dutch Shepherd, who from what I can see has very low drive. We belong to a Schutzhund club and she seems to perform way worse than dogs younger than her. Her bite is very weak because she just could care less about playing. She is the only DS in the club the others are GSD. Do Dutchies develop different than GSD? We play at home and she is not up to play anytime, once or twice a day. Obedience/walks throughout the day, the rest of the time is trying to chase cats or jump on counters. I would call her more high energy than high drive. She also could care less about treats. The club trainer started to give me some crap took the dog tried to give it a hot dog and she spit it out. I hope I didn't get a dud.

Strange that she'll chase the cats at home, but have low prey drive. It may be an environment thing. Perhaps some one on one training with less distractions might bring her out of her shell.

You might try a stick with a feather or other furry piece at the end and get her to chase it as you swing it around. I remember this from a much older post, but I can't remember what it is called.

Here's an old thread with a nice discussion on this topic: Stella has been declared soft

why did the trainer give you crap? DOnt let a trainer do that. How is the trainer teaching the bite? Are you using tugs at all?

I would not worry about treats, I am not fond of treating for work, id rather a toy, or tug.

May I respectfully add that it sounds to me like a relationship issue. If she is willing and able to expend her energy chasing cats and jumping on counters but doesn't seem interested in playing a game of tug with you, I would say you should spend more time building/solidifying your relationship. Try working on silly tricks or shaping silly behaviors. The more silly meaningless things you work on the happier and more patient you are and the happier and more willing she will be.
I also second the flirt pole that Michael suggested.

Flirt Pole!

Thank you Patty. I was trying to search for the thread that had the video of that, and I couldn't remember what it was called for the life of me. Here's the thread: Nami vs DaBird cat toy

And to try out the new embedded YouTube:


And another video from searching YouTube for Dutch Shepherd Flirt Pole

She is interested in playing tug. Twice a day at the most. Right now she is sleeping in her crate right after we came inside from watching her sleep in the sun/shade (she does at least move from the sun when she gets hot but she is so freaking lazy she gets cold in the shade so its a continual process.). I would agree 100% with the idea of this being a handler issue if multiple people had not tried to handle/play with the dog with the same outcome. She cares so little for food that there is a fresh raw bison bone, on day 2 in her crate that has not been chewed. She watched the cat eat on it. We have and have tried a flirt pole. I think i may have given the wrong impression that my dog is wildly running through the house chasing cats all day.

So, let's get some more info so there's no more misunderstanding...

How long have you had her?
Did you originally acquire her to do Schutzhund?
Where did you get her? Was there any evaluation by a professional as to what you were looking for?

You say she's acted this way with multiple people. DS are generally one-person dogs, so is it possible she needs to spend more time with you build that bond?

the lazyness/low energy seems odd for a dutch shepherd, have you considered taking her to the vet to see if there could be something causing it?
if multiple people are having the same kind of reactions from her as you, being the one person she should be strongly bonded to, it would seem like maybe it is a relationship issue you might be able to improve on? i dont participate in sport with demon but the kind of responses i get from him and the responses (even from family hes quite fond of) are polar opposites, they really become a different dog when theyre around the person they trust most.

BTW: You are describing my Mal (Mostly) to a tee, except I wanted the low drive as a companion to my wild DS.

I am in agreement to take her to the vet for blood work and parasites. Is she a full DS? Even Thalie who is on the low drive part of the spectrum, has a solid bite and a great tug. she never had much food drive but show her the tug and its all over. Thalie has a low prey drive too but from what you are describing, I would be interested in a vet workup.

If everyone is having the same outcome, then I dont think its handler issues. My trainers would get a world of difference in my dogs because they knew just how to taunt them, but mine would still give me a run for my money.

We have a really good relationship. I have had the dog since November. I am home 24/7 the longest I have been away is 3 or 4 hours. I did not get the dog specifically for Schutzhund. We were at the vet about a month ago (she had the runs) gave her a full work up no parasites. Yes she is a full DS. I got her from a working dog breeder here in Az. I love the dog and the dog loves me. We just spend a lot more time chillng out than I was expecting.

Not all dogs or people are suited for Schutzhund.
Is this your first Schutzhund dog?
dan

This dosnt sound like the dog just isnt good at Schutzhund. A weak bit is a weak bite. How is the trainer working the bite? Is the dog on a harness and offered the sleeve?

Dutchringgirl wrote:This dosnt sound like the dog just isnt good at Schutzhund. A weak bit is a weak bite. How is the trainer working the bite? Is the dog on a harness and offered the sleeve?

The pup is only 6 months old.
Sometimes people expect to much or don't know what to expect...

That's the only reason I asked.
dan

AzDutchie it sounds like you've tried a lot of the basic stuff and maybe even more to resolve your expectations of your puppy's behavior. Time may very well change things or it may not.

Most of the members are trying to help, and I hope you have patience with the numerous questions and some assumptions that may or may not be correct.

Let me just say welcome to the forum. Please take a moment to fully introduce yourself in the New Member Announcement area. And, if you could, add a signature to your profile so we can keep track of who's who.

Finally, I am surprised this hasn't come up yet, but we'd love to see pictures of her.

Could you take some video of her at a training session or working the flirt pole? Just so we can all be clear on what you're seeing.

As for the question about development, there is a difference between development of GSDs/DS, generally DS mature a bit more slowly along with other variations. However, this is not typical of a working DS puppy. While not common, there are DS who are not suited drive-wise for sport. From what I understand, she is still high energy, just not possessing the working drives, which can happen. At 6 months she could be starting a stubborn stage, however since this has been going on for a few months, I'm more inclined to agree she's not a suitable candidate for sport but more of a high energy, high intelligence pet.

I would do a recheck for worms as sometimes you can miss them because they aren't passing in the stool yet and ask about exercise intolerance. It could be heat related, it could be genetic disease, or she could just not have the drive for it. If she's eating food fine and otherwise healthy, I would say she's a rare low drive DS.

Her drives could bloom later in life, maybe hormones will jumpstart them, or she may never develop them. Chasing a cat may not be prey drive - she could consider it a game and is playing, or is curious. Does she chase the cat all day? Obsess over the cat? Constantly looking for the cat? That would be more of an indication of drive to me. It could also be she's timid and needs to be engaged and encouraged. She may not know how to access her drives, but if that's the case, I would be more concerned about some retardation or that she's in a shut down state. However, these are all guesses.

Where did you get her from? Do you know her heritage/bloodlines?

funkyhunky wrote:

Dutchringgirl wrote:This dosnt sound like the dog just isnt good at Schutzhund. A weak bit is a weak bite. How is the trainer working the bite? Is the dog on a harness and offered the sleeve?

The pup is only 6 months old.
Sometimes people expect to much or don't know what to expect...

That's the only reason I asked.
dan

Even younger, the breeder works with them a bit to see who has what drive and bite with tugs and toys. When I was doing Ring Sport, we had pups and young dogs that we were starting and they may have not known what to do but they showed drive.

Like I said, My Thalie is on the low drive end and she still went nuts when she saw the sleeve and suit and had a good bite.

Here is a picture of the pup.

Adorable