Dutch Shepherd Forum

Wow. I have to admit, I'm pretty concerned / scared at the moment.

I wish I'd read this blog before I agreed to adopt my Hans.

Apologies in advance for the long post / question but I want to put forth as much information as I can so that the readers will have all or most of the details.

Here goes...

We live in a rural area in WV. We were passively thinking about some sort of dog for protection. We weren't looking for an aggressive dog, just not that would hear visitors coming up our 1/2 mile driveway. I just wanted a dog that'd perk up, maybe bark once or twice, etc... Certainly not (in my words only and probably not a correct definition ) an attack dog. We were also looking for a companion / friend / furry family member.

A friend, who knows that we love dogs, had a coworker who was looking for a new home for their DS. The husband is an Air Marshal and usually gone. The wife recently had knee surgery and couldn't easily manage Hans. They said that he was full of energy and high spirited and she was worried about getting knocked down etc... They also have an autistic child in the household. They live in NC.

As a kid, I had 2 GS dogs. They were great, so I didn't think much when I heard "Dutch Shepherd." I did no research whatsoever. I know, I know...

We have several acres where Hans is free to run and explore. He's outside, untethered most of the day. We have a covered porch as well as a large deck. He spends the day laying next to us or following us around the yard. We have a workshop in the garage so he keeps us company there as well. We keep the doors unlatched so he can just nose his way into the garage etc...

We are retired and have no kids in the house (only a non social cat) so we have plenty of time to allocate to loving the pup.

We kennel Hans around 8pm each night and let him out around 6-7 am. I take him for walks around the top of the property couple times per day and frequently walk him the 1 mile RT to check the mail. We throw frisbee and toss balls all the time. I try to keep him active and "wear him out," thinking that this is a good thing for him.

If I were a dog, this is the life I would want...

Hans is a very smart dog. He picks up little tricks (sit, stay, roll over etc..) quickly. When we check the mail, I plant him 100 feet from the road (sit, stay) and there he remains till I tell him "let's go home."

We received Hans in November 2015. He turned 2 years old in March 2016. We had him neutered in December 2015

So - what's the problem, you may ask.

In the last couple of months he's started getting aggressive and "nipping" visitors. By nipping I mean using his front teeth to bite them. When someone drives up, he barks and growls- with the hair on his back standing up. His ears are straight up and his tail is up. If he's in the house he'll stand against the door's window on his hind legs, raising hell.

We may have unwittingly created this issue. We _want_ him to alert us when someone arrives in the yard. So when he started, we praised him for barking. Then we showed him the visitor (opened the door so he could look through the storm door and told him "it's ok, they're ok etc..." But he doesn't calm down.

When he gets loose he sometimes lunges and nips. Sometimes he doesn't. Our neighbor and his son can come up anytime. When Hans hears their vehicle he barks and growls a bit but recognizes them and runs to play.

He's not consistent with his nipping. Earlier this week, someone who has been by before came by again and Hans growled, barked and lunged and nipped our visitor's shoulder and tore the shirt. No skin broken. After that, Mark was able to play and throw ball etc... Just like lifelong friends.

When my adult son came to visit last week, he brought his 2 kids. In preparation we put on Hans' electric collar. We rarely use this but I fear we may be using it more often now... Hans barked growled and lunged for my son. I zapped him just before contact and Hans returned to the porch and was quiet. Over the next 2 days, my son and grandkids were able to play and have a great time.

I'm told that Hans does this because he sees certain people as threats and the hair standing up is a sign of fear.

In the 8 months we've had him he has not been the least bit aggressive toward my wife or me.

We don't know what to do.

We love Hans a great deal, but I won't risk injury to my family and can't afford the risk of a lawsuit by a nipped visitor.

I smacked Hans for nipping but after reading this forum I now know not to.

The closest pet behaviorist is 100 miles and $600. I'm willing to do this but I don't want to waste money if the DS breed is aggressively dangerous.

Any and all help will be appreciated!


Thank you,
Charlie and Jamie

It sounds like you are giving Hans a wonderful home !!! First, you will never wear him out LOL, this breed is meant to go all day protecting livestock and property. They may nap but are always on the ready.

have you been trained on how to properly use the E collar? It is a good choice if you know how to use it wisely and the dog has been trained on what it means.

He is doing his job protecting you. You can stop the jumping and biting by putting him on a leash and putting him in a down and stepping on the leash. When someone comes, leash on, in a down, step on leash and you do nothing. let him try to get up and realize he cant. he is to stay there until he is calm, then, keep him attatched and keep him in line, as not to jump. Maybe a muzzle for now. Smacking them does nothing.

you can hold his mouth closed like mom dogs This is Thalie holding Sadies mouth shut to tell her she dosnt like what she is doing. She does this alot to Sadie LOL

You have to show Hans what you want him to do and not do.

Part of the problem is that it's in the DS blood to be territorial. Without knowing much about the lines or what previous training Hans had with his past owners, it sounds like either a lack of socialization to people coming onto his property, a lack or obedience/maintaining his routine for greeting the strangers walking up, or just a lack of structure.

It sounds like he's okay once the "strangers" AKA people he isn't familiar with are okay once they play with him. Is this correct? What if they feed him?

What I would do is take what Lisa told you about the leash and broaden that a bit. The barking and snarling and hair going up will be constant and honestly I prefer that as a safety feature. What you don't want is that display going on while you're talking to the delivery man or welcoming people coming in. He needs to know that people entering when you let them in are okay.

I would have a friend come over and practice when there's a knock or doorbell, after his display, he is either put on a dog bed in a "place" or "bed" command, or a down stay, while you open the door. He may break and try to run for the door. Either have your wife standing on his leash on a prong (if he is used to a prong, if not don't put one on him and do this) or you or your wife hit him with the ecollar as you're closing the door and marking no. Reset him. Rinse and repeat until you can open the door. Say hi to the person and close the door (have them walk a bit away) and release Hans. Rinse and repeat until he is reliably going to his bed when you tell him, holding a down until you can open and talk to the other person on the other side of the door, and close it. Then I would start having the person come in. At this part you may want a leash on him or a prong because I'm betting unless it's someone he LOVES his instinct will to be to break a down when he sees the person (if he hasn't already, depending on where you place him), and they start to come over into "his" territory. It's the same if the person comes in - he cannot leave his spot until you release him. Start with someone he likes and once he's okay with that, move onto less and less familiar people.

With a total stranger, I'm betting you will have to have a greeting protocol, which I would also start practicing. If he warms up with the person ignores him, tell them to ignore him until he settles. If it's playing ball, when they come in, start playing ball and start incorporating them into the game. If its food, have them feed him and have them make him sit, down, roll over, whatever for the food. I would keep him on a leash/ecollar and be relaxed but watchful so you can correct any behavior while practicing and until he is 100% solid. If he tries to growl, correct him, mark no, and put some distance between him and and the person and put him in a down or remove him if he keeps growling. It's too fast too soon. Part of this is showing him good things happen when people come into his territory (and not stressing him out) and it isn't a demand on him to protect. Structure it so he understands the cues - maybe a certain hand gesture, or tone of voice, or body language, will cue him into this person is okay or not.

As a side note, I would also do obedience at least twice a day for short sessions and try to teach him something. Maybe assign him a job to bring you tools when you're working on something, or help with laundry, or start tracking with him. Part of this is probably a bit of lack of mental stimulation - you're doing more than wonderful with physical but mental is just as important to a DS, if not sometimes more.

If at any point you feel uncomfortable or unqualified, I would seek the advice of a trainer in your area. Look for a trainer with experience in malinois or DS, talk to any local bite sport clubs for recommendations. You want a balanced trainer who doesn't subscribe to Alpha theory, who yank and cranks, or uses mostly negatives in training. Talk with them and test them out - do not be worried about firing them if something looks/feels wrong or the dog is not responding to the training.

Thank you for your replies! We're trying a couple of the suggestions. We also talked to an "off leash k9" trainer today. We've got some training to do!

Currently, when we know Hans will be outside and we're going to have a visitor, we put the collar on. As soon as Hans alerts, my wife puts the leash on. When the car drives up, we make him go to his bed on the porch. Here he stays (as best we can) until he settles down.

We've got to make his default action be to get in his bed when someone drives up. We want to let him run free during the day and we can't always be at hand if someone drives up while he's out and loose.

We're going to have to try to teach him new tricks etc to try to stimulate him mentally.

And yes - he does NOT wear out easily.always ready to chase the frisbee.

A beautiful, smart, fun and very loved pup...

I would not wait until Hans alerts to put the leash on. You dont want him to learn any cues. I have always had a leash that was very short that I leave on to get the dog so he didnt learn succession of things.

You dont want them to learn " this" means "that. Unless its a training exercise where someone hits you means the dog barks.

This way when you see someone is coming, you can grab the short leash then put the other one on and he wont make the connection .

You can definitely teach him that when someone comes, he is to get on his bed and wait. You have to be consistent though, until he is solid with that, he is to be near you at all times, unless you know that at a certain time someone will approach. you can also have a very long line so he can go where he wants but you can get him if he is farther away .