Dutch Shepherd Forum

Hello all, I'm fairly new to the Dutch Shepherd. I've been helping with my local Sheriff's Office's K9 unit trainings for almost a year now and have fallen in love with the breed (all of the dogs in the unit are DS or mals). I'm hoping to get my first DS in the next year-two years once I find the right breeder and get a good trainer lined up.
This forum is a great resource and I look forward the advice and stories on here.

Welcome to the forum! Hope we can help.

welcome! what are your plans for the dog?

Hello. Hope you find the right breeder. There are also good DS waiting to be adopted.

Are you a law enforcement officer hoping to get assigned to the K-9 unit?
I think Dutchringgirl hit the nail on the head with her question: what are your plans for the dog?

I do not believe Dutchies must be in a protection sport to be happy but they REQUIRE LOTS of activity to keep them happy as I’m sure you are aware.

Dutchringgirl wrote: ↑Mon May 13, 2019 12:46 pm welcome! what are your plans for the dog?

Hi! I'm really wanting to do bitework, primarily PSA or Mondio. PSA is the top of the list but so far the closest club is about 2 hours away from me, but I'm willing to travel for it. There might be some trainers that do Mondio in my area and I'm working on getting ahold of them. I would also love to dock diving if possible. The dog would go with me as many places as allowed/as possible. I work a part time job and am already planning out time and schedules so I can devote the maximum amount of time to a dog, and budgeting and saving money.

I don't plan on getting a DS for another year/year and a half and am currently still doing a ton of research, especially making a list of breeders to narrow down and contact to ask questions. I've had the opportunity to "dog sit" several of the dogs in the unit and continue to go to trainings and observe and work with the breed.
I also have some local trainers in mind to have set up before I get the pup, one that was recommended to me and one I've been able to work with through the sheriff's office, both who own and work with Dutch Shepherds and Belgian Malinois.

Brindle Lake Dog wrote: ↑Fri May 17, 2019 12:31 am Are you a law enforcement officer hoping to get assigned to the K-9 unit?
I think Dutchringgirl hit the nail on the head with her question: what are your plans for the dog?

I do not believe Dutchies must be in a protection sport to be happy but they REQUIRE LOTS of activity to keep them happy as I’m sure you are aware.

I've been a volunteer cadet since 2015, but plan on applying to law enforcement as a career. Making the K9 unit is my goal for sure

Haha I have definitely seen the amount of go and energy they have, something I really love about them, they all have a lot of personality. I'm willing to devote the time and energy to one and have been doing a ton of research and trying to ask a many questions as possible.

These dogs are definitely not the norm but more my style I guess. This is also my first DS and he too has older brothers in law enforcement. If I may, here are a few traits I've noticed.
They are more instinctive and closer to wolf in nature. This dog unlike the other breeds I've worked with is much more in tune with smells, sights and sounds. A really odd one is he learns a lot by example. Literally its a monkey see monkey do but only with instinctive stuff like, stalking, tracking, alerting to specific sounds, stealth and ambush. I chase him he chases me and after ambushing him from behind a tree or barrel, he's doing the same. In each case its taken about a week for him to copy. Heeling, down, stay? "Arrragh! Rotton dog." He acts like its a demotion.
Reminds me of my first when I knew very little about dogs.
Funny, they are all the same and specifically different.

Good luck. Welcome to the forums.