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I'm a public accountant, no dog trainer here so take anything I say with a grain of salt, unless it's about accounting of course
But I've always been passionate about animals and find a well trained dog (working dog especially) a thing of beauty, unfortunately my family didn't have the same mentality so my efforts at training my childhood pets were largely wasted. Course mostly rescue Mini Schnauzers aren't exactly the best starting material
Which is why after I got married to my lovely wife and we bought our first home we got a GSD puppy and endeavored to train it properly. I found a diamond in the rough breeder, terrible website advertising on Hoobly trying to sell his dogs, borderline BYB at first appearances, stuff that would send alot of people serious about dogs running for the hills! But despite my reservations some of the terms he used made me think there might be more than meets the eye here and after meeting his breeding stock and talking to the man I feel blessed to have found him. Steady dispositions, sound structure, solid drives and energy, high intelligence & biddability, alert and protective of family, and friendly once properly introduced. Exactly what a good shepherd should be IMHO, and my pup has been incredible better than I deserve really.
I've been training her in Schutzhund with a professional who's taken dogs to Worlds and it's been an awesome journey so far, and watching her develop has been worth every second of the time I've invested. She loves to train and is already extremely obedient and she's a little tracking machine. But she's got some flaws too, which has me looking for another pup. Now that I've got more experience under my belt and I'm far more confident with both my own knowledge / skills and the support system of knowledgeable trainers I've developed, I'm planning to add a more intense sport dog once I've got my girl titled (IPO1).
I want a more dominant, driven, athletic, biddable, aggressive (sometimes my girl can think too much, instead of just dealing with problems with action), smaller, faster developing, healthier breed, less shedding, and I don't want to pay an arm & a leg either (preferably under 2k). Does that sound like any breed you guys know?
(Shedding bit: yes I know DS's can come in long hair variety as well, that from my understanding can be nearly as bad as GSDs). But I don't want to over-correct either, my girl has a great natural off switch and she's not as extreme as some WLGSDs but she's no lazy hound either. (Actually she's an obnoxious lunatic when she doesn't get her training and play in
, training being the big one if she doesn't have to think exercise is rarely enough.) And although I want more overall intensity, I'm not looking to sign up for a sharp hard as nails KNPV dog either, the Arkos Rudys and Tonys of the world or a pure high flying sport dog with all the extremes that implies either. What I'd love to have is a nice clear headed middle of the road Dutch that I can train for sport and PP but can also turn off and relax while I read or watch TV after a thorough training / play session or a long day of hiking. I've found a couple breeders that look perfect, Vrijheid dutchshepherds.us & De las Flores http://www.delasfloreskennel.com/.
And I actually had a wonderful conversation with Ashley from Vrijheid and I'm currently on her contact list. But sometimes things don't work out for various reasons so I'm developing some backup plans just in case. I'm also looking to learn more about the breed, living with the DS, information on the different lines (pros and cons), the best training methods and training programs, and learning how I can support this amazing but somewhat rare breed.
Sorry for the gigantic wall of text
, but I find it helpful to get all my thoughts out in one place on a subject. Helps me think, and hopefully provides many opportunities for people with many different opinions and experiences to share their thoughts with me. Whether that be a complete item by item breakdown from from the Oracle of DS's with 70 years of experience to the new puppy owner coming with no prior pet experience (in that case I hope you guys and gals tried to talk them out of it first!) Anyways, thanks for reading!
Nick
