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What drew you?
Posted: Mon May 22, 2017 2:33 pm
by Joxgirl
What drew you to a DS?
For us, I wanted a GS. My family had one as a pet when I was very little. I love the protection and loyalty they have as well as how beautiful they are. My husband works with K9 handlers and says he prefers the DS. The first time I saw one face to face, I fell in love.
After about a year of thinking it over ( and waiting for good time for me to have optimal time for a puppy and training) we are adding one to our family. I love watching the videos and reading about them here and other places.
What got you hooked?
Re: What drew you?
Posted: Tue May 23, 2017 1:35 pm
by KristinC
I went to watch training for the first time and saw the most stunning brindle dog with a black head I had no idea what he was though I knew in that instant I was in love!
Re: What drew you?
Posted: Tue May 23, 2017 4:56 pm
by TimL_168
I was looking for a more energetic shepherd for tracking and just general utility. I had written the DS off because I thought they would be next to impossible to find in the states. I was looking hard at a couple mal breeders. Only when I went to check out a local PPD club did I learn that the DS was available. The guy interviewed me and suggested the DS over the mal. He also suggested a mal x GSD, but I didn't like the GSD lines that he had access to. I was sold on the DS from that point on.
Re: What drew you?
Posted: Tue May 23, 2017 4:59 pm
by TimL_168
I guess a little more precisely what initially got me revved up for them was a YouTube video where the owner puts his poor dog through the wringer on a kids playset. I was amazed at the combination of agility/dexterity and obedience.
Re: What drew you?
Posted: Tue May 23, 2017 6:29 pm
by Patrick
I wanted a dog that I felt confident could become a good family companion and family protection dog. I also think they're cool looking dogs!
Re: What drew you?
Posted: Thu May 25, 2017 12:21 pm
by centrop67
I went on PetFinder to rescue a shepherd.
I had no idea what a Dutch Shepherd was at the time. One side of me wishes that I did know.
Radar was at my local shelter and listed as a "Shepherd Mix". I arrived at the shelter to see the staff had drawn red hearts on his kennel paperwork and also the message "Awesome Dog!". His shelter name was Goofy (I guess due to his big ears).
Our first meeting consisted of me crouching down to his level and him hugging me and licking my face. Sold! Even the grapefruit-sized burn scar on his side would not deter me from getting this dog.
The first week he was at my home was a complete nightmare. Very little sleep, and the most needy and intelligent dog I have ever seen. Nothing in my previous dog experience was working to harmonize things.
I remembered something that my Vet said about the possibility that he might be a Malinois. So I started reading about the breed (I had heard of the Malinois). I came across a single paragraph in one of the Mal books I was reading about the Dutch Shepherd. Bingo!
That lead me to this forum. How I ended up operating this site is well documented here.
I still remember the first trainer I brought in came with a spray bottle. I think it was the second attempt to spray him that he simply took the bottle away from her.
Now, I felt compelled to learn as much as I could about dog behavior and training. OB training was actually quite easy with Radar. The only problem was his reactivity to other dogs, skateboards, and motorcycles (or, anything that made noise or moved).
Today, Radar isn't completely conditioned to not react, but we've (my wife and I) made adjustments to our lives to minimize the incidents.
In fact, our world has changed dramatically with Radar coming into our lives. I made a commitment that day I took Radar from the shelter.
One I intend to keep.
Re: What drew you?
Posted: Thu May 25, 2017 1:54 pm
by Steve Gossmeyer
I wasn't really drawn to the breed it just happened by chance...I've had Gsd's airdales giant schnauzers Black Russian terriers malinois and a mutt (pressa malinois pit Dutchie x) I've never been a breed guy he'll 95% of my ipo club is Dobermanns... a friend bred Yodas parents and offered me pick male if I promise to work it thus Yoda lol I raised him in the back ground letting him grow up and just have fun and be confident.. and when I retired Tweek and the rest of my ipo clubs ipo3 dogs started retiring we took a break from training.. then one by one we all raised dogs old enough to really start training... and I fell in love with training Yoda and how we work together on the field and his personality at home... going through my journey with him has drawn me to the breed more and more!
Re: What drew you?
Posted: Fri May 26, 2017 1:27 am
by Patrick
centrop67 wrote: ↑Thu May 25, 2017 12:21 pm
I went on PetFinder to rescue a shepherd.
I had no idea what a Dutch Shepherd was at the time. One side of me wishes that I did know.
Radar was at my local shelter and listed as a "Shepherd Mix". I arrived at the shelter to see the staff had drawn red hearts on his kennel paperwork and also the message "Awesome Dog!". His shelter name was Goofy (I guess due to his big ears).
Our first meeting consisted of me crouching down to his level and him hugging me and licking my face. Sold! Even the grapefruit-sized burn scar on his side would not deter me from getting this dog.
The first week he was at my home was a complete nightmare. Very little sleep, and the most needy and intelligent dog I have ever seen. Nothing in my previous dog experience was working to harmonize things.
I remembered something that my Vet said about the possibility that he might be a Malinois. So I started reading about the breed (I had heard of the Malinois). I came across a single paragraph in one of the Mal books I was reading about the Dutch Shepherd. Bingo!
That lead me to this forum. How I ended up operating this site is well documented here.
I still remember the first trainer I brought in came with a spray bottle. I think it was the second attempt to spray him that he simply took the bottle away from her.
Now, I felt compelled to learn as much as I could about dog behavior and training. OB training was actually quite easy with Radar. The only problem was his reactivity to other dogs, skateboards, and motorcycles (or, anything that made noise or moved).
Today, Radar isn't completely conditioned to not react, but we've (my wife and I) made adjustments to our lives to minimize the incidents.
In fact, our world has changed dramatically with Radar coming into our lives. I made a commitment that day I took Radar from the shelter.
One I intend to keep.
God bless you and Radar!
Re: What drew you?
Posted: Fri May 26, 2017 2:12 am
by Joxgirl
You all have some great stories. Radar is a very lucky dog that you are a wonderful person. Yoda, well he hid a superstar with the best human to guide him. The rest of us are also lucky to have amazing, smart dogs. We all could be crazy, or just be natural pack leaders with lots to learn. Well I speak for myself. I have lots to learn.