Dutch Shepherd Forum

Hi!

We have two DS and our male is so expressive! He sometimes softly moans or sighs and I've never heard a dog do this before. Is this typical of Dutchies? My female is hysterical the only time I'll her her make an annoyed sigh is when I do not let her in while cleaning. Our pups are just about six months old now and we adore them!!!

Also what is the best way to break our DS from jumping up on us. I'm short 5ft 1inch and recovering from back surgery. They are just so happy to see us the male in particular (60 pounds now and only barely 6 months old) and he has no idea of his strength. We've be trying to break them of it any sugguestions?

Thanks all!

Marie

My guy is verbally expression--lots of little noises come out of him, some of which seem pretty clear what he means.

My dogs get trained to go lay down when the husband and/or I come home, despite the excitement and theatrics. If one of us is already home, the kiss-and-hug greeting between the humans happens, perhaps a little small-talk, then the dog is released to greet. You could give him a place "to go" if it makes things easier for everyone, the dog included. Ours might get a little too over-whelmed on occasion and hesitates to go lay down, but we don't talk to him--he gets "the look" but no other attention. It kills him. So he gets his act together and goes in the other room to lie down.

I don't know about pups...but in the past with adult dogs (for jumping up) I've used a couple different things, depending upon the dog. All it took for one (sensitive) dog was for me to turn my back on her and completely ignore her until she calmed and sat patiently. It only took a couple times for her to connect the dots.

If a dog knows "No," a sharp command, turn and ignore. Once they are calm, praise and greet (but especially for a pup, I'd think your greeting should be calm). With a pup, you may have to be more specific, like giving them direction to start, telling them to go or lay down (if they know the commands). The point is, though, is for them to understand that unacceptable behavior will not get them attention...and talking to them is attention.

Some people use a knee; I've never done it and personally think that's a final, desperate resort, especially for a pup.

Thanks, will give your advice a try and you're right talking is attention.

Ya, I second the ignoring-until-calm procedure. Trying not to be excited to see them is hard but a really good way to get the point across. These are super smart dogs so it shouldn't take long if you are consistent with this.

Sadie is super noisy, more so when she was a pup. She moans and groans, sighs and make all sorts of noises. At bed time she would moan for a good 5 minutes. when we scratch her she would moan like crazy. Thalie is super quiet and dosnt make any noises.

As far as jumping, I put a leash on and then step on it so the dog cant jump. I put them in a sit or down, which ever you want, then step on the leash to stop them from jumping.

Our girl is also Sadie aka Shady Sadie and she isn't that expressive except when she doesn't get her way which is the ball Boomer our male is the expressive one OMG, LOL!!! Will try your suggestion too as they are both very young and Boomer the male is sensitive but has no idea of his strength! They are darling but the jumping up needs to be controlled and we need to work on it.

Elli moans a ton. You'd think she's growling if you didn't know her or notice any other body cues. She moans when she sleeps, when she's happy, when she's playing, when she falls off the bed... It kind of comes in handy when annoying people at the pet store won't stop petting her while we're training. She's super friendly, but when they hear her moan they back off slowly.

Odin talks, but it's more like formed words. I caught him once having a conversation with himself in the mirror. He likes to talk while yawning too.

As for the jumping up, crate games are a great way to teach impulse control. Susan Garrett has a good video that's very basic, but it will teach your dog how to wait and great calmly.

If your dogs are free roaming in the house, you may want to explore the ideas of a baby gate or pen to keep them away from the door while you're recovering and working on training. Having a short barrier when you walk in will give you to get them into a sit and reward without allowing them to self reward with jumping.

Agree, agree, agree on Crate Games by Garrett. It is definitely worth it's minimal cost. (In general, too, you can check out her website.) Even if you don't specifically put (all) her Crate Games program to use, you'll get a better understanding of curbing impulse control.

Thanks again everyone!!! DS are wonderful dogs so affectionate and smart and it seems the sighing and moaning must be specific to their breed!!!

I will definitely check out Susan Garrett!!!

Cino is VERY vocal.

Not just the full range of barking. I'm talking about moans and sighs and grunts. My favorite is his moaning sound that makes when I'm scratching his ears.

I love the ear scratching moan too ! Sadie moans so much and leans into my hand. Bassets moan too, but no where near as much as these guys !

Glad someone else asked this. Enzo sometimes drives me crazy with his "chatter." Moans, sighs, whimpers, whistles, whinges, grunts, groans. It's his way of expressing curiosity, that he wants something, that he's annoyed with the little dog, that he's excited, that he's hungry, that it's time to go outside, that I've got the ball and he doesn't and he wants it... I'd need a damned Rosetta Stone to decode his noises. Then, it's time to nap, and he groans and sigs deeply before closing his eyes and catching some zees. It's cute, in a way, but sometimes annoying...

I suppose I'm glad to know it's fairly common. Alas.

Sadie used to moan and groan for a good 10 minutes before she went to sleep !

ok, i'm going to pipe in on this discussion. Tracer is a continual sound-effects machine - soft, loud, weird, on-going, one-offs, all occasions and purposes. i look forward to learning his language; he definitely likes to share what's on his mind - even if it is just the excruciating pleasure of a great yawn. he is also clearly very proud of his verbal skills.
this is a change from the 4 DS that came between TraceDog and Tracer. the others all produced great sounds in moments of extreme emotion - ''oH, REALLY please!! give me that squeaky THING!!!!'' - but non-barking vocalization was not a continual or normal means of communication about everything special and mundane.
i like this aspect of Tracer a lot. i learned to read TraceDog's vocal messages [ AND, btw, the last 1 1/2 inches of his tail had specific messages to me hidden within its movements that i relied upon so much that i watched his eyes and the tip of his tail like a hawk ].

maybe i should post this in the WWWW of DS thread as an amusing anecdote but.... if TraceDog had a meal that he thought was so good that it deserved comment, he would come stand [ facing ] in front of me and produce a loud burp, smile and then walk away. for any dinner that was not dereliction of duty on my part, he would pass by me [ not facing me ] afterward, stop for a second, turn his head toward me, and smile subtly. if i went all-out culinary-wise, i could be fairly certain of getting a big ''thank-you'' burp.

johninny wrote:
maybe i should post this in the WWWW of DS thread as an amusing anecdote but.... if TraceDog had a meal that he thought was so good that it deserved comment, he would come stand [ facing ] in front of me and produce a loud burp, smile and then walk away. for any dinner that was not dereliction of duty on my part, he would pass by me [ not facing me ] afterward, stop for a second, turn his head toward me, and smile subtly. if i went all-out culinary-wise, i could be fairly certain of getting a big ''thank-you'' burp.

That's really funny. I don't think I've ever gotten a thank you burp. Not a DS, but growing up I had a dalmatian named Theo. Theo would "talk" with a long Wwwoooowww whenever my mom came downstairs wearing something good looking. It was funny because he usually only gave approval when she was wearing something black and white like him.

HAHA, Dont you just love when they have just eaten, come up to you for attention and give you that loud burp!

Stephanie - really !? - black and white? OMG, that is so funny - and weird!

Lisa, funny thing was this was not attention-seeking. all his thank-you's - with or without burps - were at a distance of 3 to 5 feet and were very formal , even ritualistic, in nature, and there was no physical attention before or after these displays. he did this soon after i got him onward thru his life. but, YES, whatever the style, it is very funny - and rather disconcerting to the innocent and uninitiated.

HAHAH I tell you, these pups are just an endless supply of laughter.

My Dutchie makes noises all the time, he moans, whines, mumbles, snaps his teeth...ugh LOL He "sings" while I am walking him to the park to do agility.

My guy does the same (moans, sighs, whines, cries, whistles, etc) and seems to get more vocal every day. But here's something I noticed he started doing. When he looks like he's having a good time chewing on something, I will look at him and say "nom nom nom" in a weird voice. Someone once said it sounds like a prepubescent Grover. Anyways, one day as I'm eating breakfast and he's chewing on an antler, suddenly I hear a grumbling whine that sounds a whole lot like how I say "nom nom nom", breaks included. I looked at him and said, "nom nom nom?" and he replied with the same sound. Little dude copied me!

He does the same pattern whine for my "oh no" when he's bored, and another one when he's grumbling in his crate that sounds suspiciously like my "no sir".