Dutch Shepherd Forum

Hello everyone,
I am looking to get a dog sometime this summer. I am intrigued by dutch shepherds but am unsure if they would be a good fit. I have previously owned an english setter, labrador retriever, and german shepherd. My major concern is the amount of mental stimulation and exercise required. I live on 2 fenced acres in georgia and will be able to jog/bike with the dog for about an hour in the morning and an hour at night. Additionally, someone will be home with him at all times. I am an avid hiker and plan on taking the dog along for many day trips. So far in my research I have found conflicting opinions on whether this would be a suitable environment for the dog. It seems many feel these dogs are best when paired with families who are active in sports such as agility or obedience and not as appropriate as a companion dog for an active family. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Dean

Hey, I'm in Georgia too, stationed down at moody afb in valdosta.
My ds is pretty laid back but we go on daily runs that calm him down pretty good. It's just my ds and myself in my apartment so you're place sounds amazing for a dutchie.

Welcome

Dean wrote:Hello everyone,
...and will be able to jog/bike with the dog for about an hour in the morning and an hour at night. Additionally, someone will be home with him at all times. I am an avid hiker and plan on taking the dog along for many day trips. So far in my research I have found conflicting opinions on whether this would be a suitable environment for the dog. It seems many feel these dogs are best when paired with families who are active in sports such as agility or obedience and not as appropriate as a companion dog for an active family. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Hi Dean,

It depends on the DS.

That's a good amount of exercise for an adult dog, but you'd have to wait until growth plates closed to do that kind of enforced running. I was told that DS plates close by 9 months, but I don't believe it, to be honest. I'd say maybe around 18 months. So, if you plan to get a puppy to raise yourself, you'd have to give it a lot of good exercise that isn't the biking/jogging until it's old enough.

The mental stimulation part is important, too, but you don't have to be active in sports to do that, if you're into training yourself.

You might be best off with a DS from rescue, which would be able to match you up with one that had the exercise and stimulation needs that would match what you have to offer. If you were to get a puppy, you wouldn't be able to know as well what you'd have when your dog matured.

In the US, most of the DS lines come from the KNPV side of things. These are the working lines in the DS (to be very basic about it). If you could get one from FCI lines, you'd be more likely to get one that would be just fine as a regular family companion.

What interests you about a DS?

I went from English Setters (4 at once!) to my Dutchie. I wanted to take my one English Setter, Mr. Winston, with when I moved out, but he was too attached to his dog family and they're all currently living with my parents. As far as exercise goes, I find that Odin (my DS) needs about as much physical exercise as the setters, but he doesn't do the exercise on his own as it has to be mentally engaging.

I could let my setter boy out and he'd spend 2 hours in the yard pointing birds and entertaining himself. Odin goes out for 10 minutes and comes in like "OK mom, entertain me or I'll eat the couch and maybe the mailman." I have to be constantly throwing the ball, going through obedience routines, or working him on the agility course in order for it to 'count' in his mind. He does settle well though as a family companion, after the right amount of exercise. You could easily do informal agility with the property you have, you don't have to compete or even have regulation equipment. You can also incorporate some impromptu rally routines into your hikes. I like to go through our routines while shopping at pet stores or hiking in the warmer months.

I second Leih's suggestion about an adult dog. Getting one when they're a little older will help match you up with one that fits your lifestyle. NADSR is great, and I'd get your app in soon if you're looking for a dog for this summer so they can find you the right fit. If you'd rather not go the rescue route, you could look for a breeder with FCI or UKC dogs looking to retire or rehome and adult that doesn't fit into their breeding program.

Thanks for all of the great information thus far. I will definitely explore the adoption idea. When I previously checked the NADSR site it listed only 2 available dogs that were not pending. Being unfamiliar with the organization I am unsure how often dogs become available but emailing them seems like a logical next step. There are a variety of things that interested me about the breed. The GSD that I previously owned was by far the quickest and most willing to learn of the dogs I've had. When I began thinking about getting a dog this summer my first thought was to return to the german shepherd. While researching I came across the dutch shepherd. While I had some knowledge about them, it was limited. I was intrigued by their smaller size and better overall health. The increased drive has given me some pause and is one of the reasons I came to this site. The GSD I had was from working lines but alot/most of the training was done by or with my father.

Lyonsfamily--I kind of expected that the energy level would be similar. My setter could run for days but hardly noticed the difference between fetching a tennis ball or running circles around the yard.

You can call me Stephanie, it's in my sig under my posts.

NADSR doesn't have time to post all of their dogs. Most people apply and get pre-approved and when a dog becomes available and is a good match, it gets moved fairly quickly. A lot of the time people don't even know that particular dog was available. One of my best friends evaluates for them in Chicago and she helps pull at least 1 a month here. Since I adopted Odin 11 months ago, his foster mom has had 3 new NADSR fosters. It will be 4 tomorrow when the new one gets out of the vet. Other than Elston, none of them showed up on the website or petfinder list.