Dutch Shepherd Forum

Hi, having some troubles with getting that bond with my little guy, hes about 17 weeks. We spend lots of time together, I do all the feeding and training, so what are some of your favorite ways to bond with your dog?

Webbie2160 wrote: ↑Fri May 11, 2018 4:55 am Hi, having some troubles with getting that bond with my little guy, hes about 17 weeks. We spend lots of time together, I do all the feeding and training, so what are some of your favorite ways to bond with your dog?

What do you mean you are having trouble getting that bond? Bonding and relationship take time.... just because you feed him and train him doesn't mean your relationship is shaped the way you would like it... what would you like to see out of him and what do you feel is lacking?

Well my female dutch shepherd does little things like lean on me, in the way she works you can tell she wants to please me, if I let her out of the kennel she comes right up to me and wants to spend time with me. I think I just have too high of expectations for the little guy, this is my first dutch pup I got my female when she was 10 months and seems to be a learning curve. I'd like to see more of him excited to see me or tail wagging when I pet him.

Webbie2160 wrote: ↑Fri May 11, 2018 4:04 pm Well my female dutch shepherd does little things like lean on me, in the way she works you can tell she wants to please me, if I let her out of the kennel she comes right up to me and wants to spend time with me. I think I just have too high of expectations for the little guy, this is my first dutch pup I got my female when she was 10 months and seems to be a learning curve. I'd like to see more of him excited to see me or tail wagging when I pet him.

Build your relationship and that will come with time

I am still not sure what you mean?

Do you spend one on one time with your male pup? I mean without anyone else including your other dog? I make it a point, any time I'm bringing up a puppy, to spend one on one time with the puppy & no one else around.

With every pup I've raised or dog I've taken as my personal dog, I spend a lot of one on one time. I do not buy a puppy for my other dogs. So I start each puppy with a focus on the handler. Puppy is socialized with the older dogs but a lot of one on one time with me. Then it seems there always ends up something that becomes 'our thing', unique to that pup & I. I live on a mini farm now but I was raised & spent most of my life on a big farm. So all my pups start doing the chore rounds with me. It becomes a part of their daily routine the same as it is ours. But when I have a pup, I start out taking the pup with me. Right now mine is very small so I carry her to feed the horses, check fences, etc... As she's older she'll be walking & I'll be training, stay out of this, look at that, let's climb this or that, let's tunnel through that as we go along. The pup learns to focus on me & to take direction fairly early. This is how I do it for the dogs I have who will be both farm hands & guardians. So you'd want to gear this toward what you want from your pup as an adult. But my point is putting in the one on one time with your puppy gives him the focus from you so that he can latch on to you as HIS human.

I don't know if this is quite what you were going for but its what I do. There's no substitution for time & developing what the pup is naturally good at. You put in the time & pay attention to the little things with your pup & it won't be long until you have two dogs who seem to breathe because you do.