Dutch Shepherd Forum

I am now one of those people who gets a dog and can't give it what it needs and gives it away. I am sorry, I know you pros get sick of seeing this, but I want her to have a good life.
Tara had a rough start in life. we bought her from a breeder in Oklahoma who was less than honest. we received Tara at 8 weeks and she weighed 4 lbs! She had coccidida and round worms. We did not receive any pedigree.
Fast forward to the present. Tara is now 50+ pounds and beautiful. She is housebroken, crate trained, UTD on shots and spayed.
She has become destructive, I know alot of it is her age, but I know she is bored and not getting the mental and physical stimulation that she needs. We live in the country and let her run around at will, but she is still full of energy. She chewed my wife's Christmas lights and today I noticed she played tug with my new Rhody bushes. The yard looks like a bomb went off. There are toys and cardboard shredded everywhere. She is worse than my two young boys.
The good news is she is a sweet, smart pup. She needs a job! Funny, I read that DS need a purpose, I guess you pros were right!
I would like to get a rehoming fee for her to cover the cost of her spaying and crate, but if that is not possible I just want to see her go somewhere where she will get more of what she needs.
Money wise I have spent $1,050 to purchase and ship her here. Another $200 in initial vet bills and $360 for the spaying. Her crate was $80. So money wise I realize it 's just a lesson learned. I can live with that, but want to find her a good home.
I will take some pics at Christmas and post them here. Can I post directly here or do I need to post from photo bucket? Or I could text someone pics if they could post them for me.
Mery Christmas everyone! Thanks for reading.
Eric Jazwinski

Four pounds is ridiculous! Sounds like you took good care of her, though. These dogs really need more than just running around. My dog's breeder recommended agility, and he loves it! As for the destruction and mayhem, she's just a puppy still and is at the age where most of these (and Malinois) end up in shelters because they don't have an outlet for their intelligence and energy. Just saying.

I use photobucket for posting pictures. I can't wait to see them. I hope you find her a good home.

I posted and it was lost, so I'll try again. I too have a 7 month old female DS and yes she is PACKED with energy. Large fenced yard, 2 long walks a day, playing fetch and lots of short training sessions just keep her almost contained but not tired. I hear that they settle down a bit at 9 months and a whole lot at 3 years.

I think that you can post pictures directly here. I do, but I am on a mac. I have to make the photo's smaller, however.

I am really sorry that you are having to give Tara up. Most breeders will happily take back and re-home one of their dogs. Also, NADSR (North American Dutch Shepherd Rescue) may be able to help you.

I am sorry to hear its not working. At 6 months and 1 year I saw big mature steps in Sadie. They are alot. I dont know if its having a second dog or my wonderful training, but even still Sadie can be a handful. I almost made soup out of her a few times.

Have you tried a training program? Or agility or something?

If you don't find the perfect home, please consider letting NADSR help you. Turdy has some wonderful Pre-Approved homes looking for a great companion.

Although I wish that you had a better experience, I applaud the fact that you are acknowledging that you are not the right home for her. It is better to get her with someone who can channel that than to let her continue to learn that independent destruction is a rewarding behavior. At 7 1/2 months, she still has time to relearn behavior without much difficulty.

Looking back over your previous posts, and your experience with the breeder, I understand not wanting her to go back.

Thanks all for the replies. I am not 100 percent certain that I want to give her up, but think it would be best. At the very least Tara needs to get involved in something stimulating. Thanks for all your help. Will get pics up soon.
Merry Christmas and God bless,
Eric

Are you not able, time or otherwise, to get involved in a training program?

I can't make time available right now for any formal training. It's busy season for my business,plus another job and two young boys. I could make time, but I have other priorities right now inmy life.
I wanted a dog that could help entertain?pal around with my boys, but she is to rough with them. They don't even like to play with her.
Hopefully someone can give her what she needs.
Thanks,
Eric

Dang shame, but in the best interest of the dog. Jaz, I think it would be very helpful if you stuck around on this forum, and shared your not-so-great experience with potential new owners who think they know what 'high energy' means. The breeder should not have sold you a pup. Nothing against you, but if the homes get screened more thoroughly, this can be avoided on both ends. Good breeders would take a pup back, but again...I think we all understand where you are coming from. Sorry it did not work out, for both you and your dog. You have no idea how many times I look at my own pups and young dogs, pull my hair out, and tell my husband that the pups would end up in a shelter within a week, if I did not vet the homes properly. They are just overly energetic handfulls, at least until they mature at age 6. (but kidding about the 6)

I am still trying to envision a 4 lb pup at 8 weeks. Goor Lord, mine are on average weeks x 2 in lbs, so that would have been 16, and I do not breed huge DS's.

vneerland wrote:Jaz, I think it would be very helpful if you stuck around on this forum, and shared your not-so-great experience with potential new owners who think they know what 'high energy' means. The breeder should not have sold you a pup. Nothing against you, but if the homes get screened more thoroughly, this can be avoided on both ends.

I wake up to my little ball of teeth and energy and think about this too. Keep in mind I am TOTALLY in love with this dog and this breed, BUT it is not what I was expecting. Every dog book description of the breed, also the many on-line resources describe a great family and farm dog. Carting, guarding, herding, love to work. I am fortunate to have older children, a huge fenced yard, a supportive husband and we work for ourselves (outside) so she can be with us a lot. I have years of training troubled horses and dogs and I was still surprised.

I wonder as I look at the listings of "litter available in December", "litter available in Jan.", Litter available in February".... Where do they all go? How many homes are going to have the time, energy and patience to deal with the special creatures that are DS's? I know that my breeder told me that my pup would be low drive and easy. Great with kids, cats, people etc. "You'll have no problems with this pup." I am thankful for who she is. I would not change her for the world. I hope to get another someday. But WOW~ not as advertised!

I look at the same ads and cringe. In part, the KNPV heritage of most of the USA stock is to blame. That is just a lot of work, pressed into some bloodlines. FCI pups tend to be a little more low key and easier to live with. That is what the books have in mind when they advertise the family dog. Even the KNPV stock will make good family members though, but the buyer should be prepared by the breeder, who should not make false claims (easy, low drive) in order to pad the bottom line.
I am glad you love your brindle beast, Lauren. But a bit sad that your pup was not quite as advertised. And on the other hand, what is low drive for me, for example, may be a lot of trouble for many a pet home. No offense to anyone, but breeders should also measure their experiences against buyers experience and expectations. *sigh*
(Suggest we attach a label to most DS pups...don't try this at home")

vneerland wrote:what is low drive for me, for example, may be a lot of trouble for many a pet home. No offense to anyone, but breeders should also measure their experiences against buyers experience and expectations.

That's what I was thinking too. There are some great breeders out there who really do make sure their pups end up in appropriate homes but I think it is just as much the responsibility of the puppy buyer to put some effort into ensuring they know what they are getting into and are well prepared.

This isn't the only "not for every one" breed out there and I think as soon as people see that label applied to a dog they are considering they should really think hard and twice if it will be a good match for them. These breeds don't earn these labels for not reason. Yes they can be wonderful when you match them up with en equally nuts owners but a complete nightmare when they end up in the wrong home. When I hear/read people say, well I read that they were high energy but I didn't think they were THAT high energy it that bothers me. A paragraph of text in some book is not how you pick a dog. I have a few of these big beautiful books of dog breeds and just about every description I read of a breed I have had personal experiences with I can roll my eyes at. They are IMO usually written to make the dog sound nice and not hurt any fancier's feelings, and if a warning is added it seems marginal. People really should meet these dogs in person and speak to other owners before they jump in. Don't just assume you think you know what to expect because you read a few generic breed description which are usually written by some one who has never met one of the dogs they are writing about.

Six years ago, I purchased a Malinois puppy from a "guy" in Michigan. Boy, was I not prepared for her! The "guy"bred his two dogs together, and I got a little maniac. The first 2 years were the worse. She was a noisy, hyper, biting thing. Couldn't even potty train her the first year because she seemed to have her own way of looking at her world. I even tried to send her back after the first month, but the guy talked me into waiting a while.

At 6 years old, she's still hyper, but I have slowed her down in the house by eliminating any possible circular paths in the house. She's still noisy, but she has a reason, so I pay attention to why she's barking. But she is also very affectionate, and very happy to work with me. She is also the best for going for walks in the park. She will stay near me when I tell her, but she does love a little bird chasing. She's not good at all with other dogs, but that has improved a lot since I don't take her to the training club anymore. I might have tried to rehome her if she didn't have her elbow problem.

She is the reason I was very picky when looking for a DS.

Here she is this morning being a good girl. Really! (its mud season at my place, so the floors only get cleaned once a week.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxxHFJms ... e=youtu.be

Jaz wrote: I am not 100 percent certain that I want to give her up, but think it would be best.

Eric, I am not going to be gentle at all here. IMO, unless you can be 100% certain that you will find the time and energy to give this pup what she needs to learn to become a good canine citizen in her world, then you'd better get your emotions in check (I don't care how much you feel love for her, or whatever warm emotions), and do the right thing (you seem to be on the right path there) and find a great new home for her while she has great chances yet of becoming a decent dog.

With your life as you describe it, very busy at work, and two young children/busy home life, then you aren't really in a position to have any kind of puppy, period. Puppies of any breed are a ton of work! And, that's if you get a laid back, pet-bred lab or something similar. If you really want a dog for your young kids to be able to hang out with now, then you should be looking at rescues and finding an older dog, maybe 4 years old or so, that's all the way through all the puppy and adolescent nonsense, and a lot of it's initial energy levels, and has been vetted by the rescue to be a good fit for you and your family/homelife. If you go for anything else right now, you are simply indulging yourself. (And, I can almost guarantee you it won't be a DS .)

So, stick with the internal voice that's advising you to be honest with yourself and find this girl a new home. I laud you for doing so, if you do. And, were I you, I wouldn't expect to be able to recoup your initial investments. She's going to be an incredible amount of work for someone at this point, since she's been allowed to become a wild child. As you said, chalk that up to a lesson that is, I hope, well-learned, and be happy to find her a good new home.

(told you I wasn't going to be gentle )

Well dang Leih! Did Santa skip your house this year? Or was there something in the Christmas turkey that did not agree with you?

Leih is right, I have to admit. And so is Choochi. You never see "this dog will drive you to drinking" in print, but it would be a pretty appropriate label for, let's say a JRT, a BC, some DS, etc etc.

Wow! Thanks everyone.
I envisioned the same dog as Lauren; all around family dog, do anything breed.
Tara could be a wonderful dog, in the right environment. She isn't a total maniac, but needs more of an outlet for her energy. I am fairly active in the outdoors, but she needs undivided attention from someone more experienced than me.
Again thank you all.
Merry Christmas and God bless,
Eric

leih merigian wrote: Puppies of any breed are a ton of work! And, that's if you get a laid back, pet-bred lab or something similar. If you really want a dog for your young kids to be able to hang out with now, then you should be looking at rescues and finding an older dog, maybe 4 years old or so, that's all the way through all the puppy and adolescent nonsense

I can 100% agree with Leih. I had 2 black Lab puppies and they drove me insane with their energy level. All of my furniture had their little teeth mark on them, the water bowl was regularly emptied and flooded the kitchen, my PADI Scuba lesson videos got destroyed (ended up as confetti in the living room) - do I need to continue? This was my day: first thing driving the puppies to the dog beach, spent there 45 minutes, work, driving home during lunch to take the puppies out and eat in the car while driving, work, driving the puppies to the dog beach and stay there until dark.

I was ready to kill them or drop them off at the pound, even as cute as they looked. People at the beach always consoled me and told me it would get better when they are 3 years. And they were right, the nonsense stopped around that time, the energy level stayed though.

So, please don't get another puppy, especially not a Lab ! But you might want to rescue one that's 3 years or older.

My breeder said the same thing, "This dog will be perfect for your little boy and family. He has a low drive and will just lay around most of the time." Merlin is an amazing pup and we love him, he is my baby! He is great with my son, when he is with an adult as well. My son was outside playing with him one day and Merlin knocked him down(just playing of course), well after he got him down on the ground he continued to jump on him and paw him. Luckly, my son doesn't scare easily and we have had luck with training Merlin not to do that behavior. As for him laying down most of the time, lol that was the biggest misadvertising I had ever seen. He layed down most of the time, because his legs were messed up from being over crated. You should see this maniac run now that his legs are normal! Lay around all day lol pftttttt

Some of the above tales are tame. I had one DS litter (Nico x Kwinny) where me and my husband both would pause at the door and take a deep breath, before wading in between a pack of little gremlins, barely 5 weeks old at that time. They were insane, nothing short. Ripped up my brand new pair of jeans in 10 minutes (with me in it).Most turned into nice working dogs, really. And another litter of the same combination was not nearly as wild at this particular bunch, ended up working just as well. But that first litter sure left with disclaimers and the future owners were warned and warned.

Are some breeders so greedy that they would sell DS as "family dogs"? All of the people that I knew who had DS all did some sort of work, Ring, SH, Police, Sniffing, something, being a family dog was just bonus. After reading now this board, I beleive that Thalie is an anomaly, she is perfectly happy laying down all day, we dont though, we just went on a 4 hour mountain bike ride today and she is still ready to play. But her energy level is low, she was a great ring dog, but not nearly the "crazyness" of the other Ring dogs. Thats problaby why she landed with me, not enough drive for what other people wanted, she is perfect for me though. Sadie is normal, chewed up so many dog beds and stuff. Used to jump all over the kids because she was so happy to see them. My daughter now just has started to be able to snuggle with Sadie. Thalie was always the snuggley dog. These are no way just a nice family dog, sure they can be, but..............

SO...........labs can be crazy??? My neighbor is looking into one. I keep telling her NOT to get a puppy, but at least a 1 year old. She will be doing the rescue route, so thats good. But do they listen???????