Dutch Shepherd Forum

Looks like he’s fitting right in

I'm glad you got him.

Were you seeking another or did it just work out?

I didn't realize Idna was a "senior" dog. It's odd, when I went to the shelters most of the dogs were older....which having lived with the geriatric pack I just wasn't emotionally ready to handle right then. But they said Bramble was 3, when it turned out she had to be less than a year. Overall senior dogs are great though. Maybe it will be like Peanuts and Bramble. She really has brought out the pup in him....of course he has to sleep for the next 3 days afterward, but does have those moments.

They do, though not as much as Bramble would like. When we got Peanuts the shelter claimed he was 1 year old, but had been returned to the sheltern5 times. I was like no way that is an old dog. My mom insisted he was a pup.....until the vet said he was "at least" 7, has severe skin allergies and is just an ornery little dog. The other two dogs really didn't like him and would walk out of a room when he came in....even though they all slept together in a big pile. He is at least 19 now. He is the quintessential crotchety grandpa.

When Bramble came he really took her under his wing...and plays with her, even started trying toys. He showed her how to handle meltdowns and will even step in when she is overwhelmed by one by going to my son (he's seen it all). At the same time as a dominant dog, he lets her know when she is too rough or bothering him.

But he still hasn't figured out how to throw sticks. She brings them to him, and he just looks at her like "seriously?".

He doesn't look older than 2 1/2 to me. His body is still thin, not muscled out yet like the males get around two and a half or so.

Good looking pup! Happy to hear they're working well together

SEL wrote: ↑Tue Nov 05, 2019 6:32 pm Yes he's definitely a lanky guy so you're probably right about his age.
This morning he tried to play with Idna in the backyard. But she just got annoyed with him lol. He wasn't being overly pushy or anything, just did some play bows, running back and forth, etc. She wasn't interested though. He was also running around the backyard and he did that the other day and I think he got a small cut on one of his feet from the rocks, ugh. So I don't really want him running around in the back anymore. Desert landscaping is not good for running around on. We'll leave that for the park, one of the few places with grass here.

Give it time. My wife got our Malinois as a puppy in a kind of rescue situation. Essentially someone at her work bought the dog but quickly decided it wasn't going to work out. Anyway, the two older Dutchies didn't take to the puppy right away, in fact my older female was aggressive toward the tiny Malinois despite all our best efforts to introduce them slowly. It took a good year or so before my older female accepted the puppy. However now they are best friends. They play together, run around together, sleep on the same dog bed together, do all their walks together, daily obedience training routine together- everything.

It took awhile for Bramble to be comfortable around Peanuts because she is so submissive. She did the same eye avoidance in that one picture. But as she found her place she gained more confidence.....not to say they haven't had any squabbles, which is not good since Peanuts is so much smaller. Laslo isn't that much bigger than Idna, but I suspect he will test his place at some point too, which I'm sure you already know.