Dutch Shepherd Forum

Hello forum! Unfortunately yesterday we encountered another cruel act, most likely by some backyard breeder who decided these dogs were not suitable for bite work.... who knows. Maybe they had these dogs and realized they bit off more than they could chew. We are unsure. We do know the dogs appeared to be litter mates. Some friends had found some dogs 2 dutchies and 2 Malinois, all males, on the side of a highway down in a canyon in central Texas. They graciously took them into their establishment and reached out to their fellow working dog friends for help. These dogs are all so very kind and lack working dog drive. They love attention and are very very submissive. We have taken one into our home for the time being. I will be training him up while we search for his forever home. If you know anyone in the Texas area looking for a Dutch Shepherd for a pet and not for protection work please let us know. I just took him to the vet and he has received his vaccinations and rabies heart worms and flea meds. I will be looking to find a new home for him after I’ve gotten him trained on some basic obedience and house manners and if he surprises me possibly some advanced obedience commands. I am not looking to profit off of this dog I just want to see him find a good loving home. Sick of seeing these dogs abandoned and bread irresponsibly. I will be documenting Henry’s journey with us on the forum and on my website atxcanineconnection.com. Thanks for reading and here’s some photos and video or Henry on Day 1

Henry appears to be so sweet. (Those eyes!) I'm glad you are able to foster him.

How do Zoey and Tripper feel about all this?

centrop67 wrote: ↑Thu Oct 31, 2019 12:33 am How do Zoey and Tripper feel about all this?

They don’t seem to mind his presence. They are not being socialized with him at this time though. He is still pretty stressed from all the moving around and being brought into a home so we’re going to give it a few more days and wait for him to be more comfortable before even trying to socialize them at all. We may try but I’m going to make a judgement call on whether that’s worth it at all. But Zoey gets excited and wants to meet him when she comes into the room his kennel is in. She is not thrilled about watching me do training sessions without her involved as she loves to train but she has to learn to deal with that. I try to get him outside and close the curtains so she can’t see and get over excited but she barks a little and then gets over it.

Dog does seem to have been taken care of. How old ?
Personality is pretty much genetic.

Vet estimated him to be about 7 months. Yea I’m guessing he was dumped by a breeder that decided he wouldn’t cut it for bite work you can’t tell he didn’t have much interaction with humans. He’s clumsy and doesn’t even know what a step is. There’s one step up onto my deck and he struggles with it and goes to the lowest spot. The good news is his food drive is there. He is easily lured into basic positions and even stepping up on the touch pad now. We’ll see. This morning he was playing with a blanket and biting and tugging with me and I have got him to be a little more interested in going after a ball but only a toss or two before he loses interest. He’s got the mentality of like a 12 week old puppy.

I wonder if that could be stress related. Bramble (and all several former strays) took a bit of time to regroup from the shelter/being a stray. She was all laid back and timid....till one day the Dutch Shepherd in her came out to play. Its was like she went to bed as one dog and woke up the next on full charge, though she is still more mix in behavior than a full DS.

What about a flirt pole ? Do you believe he has low prey drive ? Are you in contact with the others that are caring for the other three ? How are they as far as drives are concerned ?

ladyjubilee wrote: ↑Thu Oct 31, 2019 4:21 pm I wonder if that could be stress related. Bramble (and all several former strays) took a bit of time to regroup from the shelter/being a stray. She was all laid back and timid....till one day the Dutch Shepherd in her came out to play. Its was like she went to bed as one dog and woke up the next on full charge, though she is still more mix in behavior than a full DS.

Yes it could be stress related as he has been through a lot especially over the past week. But all four of the dogs that were rescued together showed little to no prey drive for the two weeks that the girl had them before I got him so I’m thinking they were the low prey drive dogs that some backyard breeder didn’t want and dumped, sadly.

Tim91118 wrote: ↑Thu Oct 31, 2019 4:52 pm What about a flirt pole ? Do you believe he has low prey drive ? Are you in contact with the others that are caring for the other three ? How are they as far as drives are concerned ?

Haven’t tried a flirt pole just yet but idk. Maybe he’ll come out of his shell and show a little bit more drive as we spend more time together, however, all of the four dogs that were found together showed little to no prey drive for the two weeks that they had them before I got Henry from her. But we shall see. I don’t expect much toy/prey drive out of him but if he can start to enjoy playing ball that will be greatly helpful.

A lot of play drive is imprinted at a very young age

Ya lol. Cage

Im sooo sick ofhere, everbody keeps dogs In gages.

Why. Why u Take dogs To be away In Cage.

Here is pure dutch shepherd, 17 weeks pup.

He is training rescue, but In home, he is just like that.

I dont need Cage.

Hi Susannah,

I don't understand. How did you get beyond him destroying the apartment?

I actually think kenneling a new dog in home with other powerful dogs is a good thing. This little guy has had a tough time and needs a safe place, especially if he is on the gentler side with other "unknown" dogs. I'm really glad the dog was saved and is now in an experienced home while a new home is found.

I think this dog sounds like a wonderful addition to someone's family and is in a great place in the interim...
Cage and all.

Susannah wrote: ↑Sat Nov 02, 2019 4:24 am Ya lol. Cage

Im sooo sick ofhere, everbody keeps dogs In gages.

Why. Why u Take dogs To be away In Cage.

Ummm this dog was abandoned left to die... I took it into my Home. I can’t really even justify your comment with a response. You just don’t know enough about anything really....

Now aside from the negative comments. Here is some of the work I’ve been doing to PROPERLY introduce this new dog into my home as well as my dogs home. This is their home too. They need to accept this dog into THEIR home. Properly. Anyways. Here’s some videos.

Henry is just beautiful. I love that dog. I can't believe anyone would abandon him. You are doing great job with him.

ladyjubilee wrote: ↑Sat Nov 02, 2019 4:51 pm Henry is just beautiful. I love that dog. I can't believe anyone would abandon him. You are doing great job with him.

Thank you. I know it’s hard to believe someone would do that to him. He’s such a good looking dog and very friendly.

Seems like he’s going to be a big boy

Tim91118 wrote: ↑Sat Nov 02, 2019 10:32 pm Seems like he’s going to be a big boy

Yea I think so. He’s got some big ass paws. He’s 7 months old-ish and he’s 50 lbs.