I have been on here a few years. Joined while I was in college, now me and my husband are stationed in Upstate NY.
We have three dogs- my husbands dog is a Border Collie lab mix. High drive high energy with an off switch, A really great dog with seeming endless potential.
My dog is a working line Shepherd who is about 4 months old and she is already fun and rewarding to work with. She is sooo smart but is already very conscientious for such a young pup.looks like lap dog but is actually tough and loves to run with the big dogs.
I have competed in AKC obedience but now I want to try out some protection sports now that I have a suitable dog. We are also thinking of doing nosework or therapy work with the BC mix.
Anyways this is a great forum- the kind that never runs out of good solid info.

I live in CT & have been a LB member since early 2004....although I lurked for 2 years before that. I share my home with...a cat & right now I have 2 w/l GSDs, a male & female, I have had a couple of other males as well.

I origninally found LB when I was researching W/L GSD breeders. I've had dogs, of one breed or another, on & off most of my life. I was the kid in the neighborhood that trained all the other people's dogs.

I have been a dedicated horsewoman & owner since I was 7 years old. For a while I was sidetracked from dogs with training & competing my horse. I just lost him after 26 years a month ago..he would have been 30 this July.

I was lucky enough to have gotten Zasha, as a puppy from Ed. She is an excellent working dog & wonderful companion.

This forum is a wonderful resource. Many of the folks that regularly, for years, freequent this forum are experienced people that enjoy sharing their knowledge. It IS really like a family here, especially for a number of us that have been here from the 'early days'. The family continues to grow...how GREAT is that?!!! You won't find another forum with the quality of folks, that really DO care, that you will find here.

I am almost 62, a retired dairy cattle veterinarian, live on 360 acres in SE Minnesota. I spend most of every day cows and my dog.
Found the Forum 2 yrs ago seeking help for a dreadful pup I had purchased on the internet. Found so much help, the right advice, the dreadful pup has turned into the most interesting dog ever.
Smart people,dedicated to dogs, trying to help each other -- it is a family atmosphere, I feel I "know" dogs and folks from California to Florida to Alaska to India -- just a great resource for me, it feels like friends.

I'm one of those people who have signed up and have not yet posted anything. I joined here after spending alot of time researching on the Leerburg site.

I have owned several dogs over the years but mostly German Shepherds. I found Leerburg after trying to help my dad with one of his Shepherds (a very drivey, animal aggressive, big & strong shepherd that wasn't getting enough exercise and would literally eat through a chain link fence).

But now I am trying to learn everything I can about dog training because I just got a young Dutch Shepherd that I absolutely love. He is a complete crack head compared to all my previous German Shepherds that I've owned and I think that's what makes him fun. I'm learning a ton about having to keep your dog exercised and learning just how destructive a 11 month old Dutch Shepherd can be is left alone for any length of time .

I got Aragon from a trainer who does board & train and also sold dogs as "off leash" obiedience trained dogs. Before I saw Aragon I'd never even heard of a Dutch Shepherd before but as soon as I saw him I instantly fell in love with him. I got him a few months ago when he was 9 months old.

I've never had a dog this drivey before so it's a ton of work keeping him busy but I've also never had a dog that was this eager to learn anything new that I throw at him. Even though I bought him trained he has inspired me to learn more about dog training so I have been reading up on this website and I have joined my local dog training club. I would one day like to get into some type of sport with him so I'm just trying to get out in the dog sport world and see what we like. Maybe agility, tracking, or anything else.

Here is a picture of my boy:



And here is a photobucket gallery of some more pictures of him.

http://s1057.photobucket.com/albums/t392/ajevans1982/Aragon/

Most of the pictures are of him playing frisbee. He loves playing frisbee and is pretty impressive catching a frisbee. Hopefully I'll get more involved in the discussions on this board. But even if I don't participate I'm probably reading the threads and learning something new. Thanks!

Well, since everyone is doing it.

I originally joined in...probably 2007 or so, I was very active back in the day. The board seemed more active, then, too. I've gotten divorced in the last year, and I have two kids, a 2 year old and a 4 year old, who I love so much that if I think about it, it becomes difficult to breathe. Because I only have them half the time, and because my previous dogs stayed with my Ex, I'm getting a new pup in two weeks. Also, because I'm crazy and I like ridiculous challenges.

I'm getting a Vizsla, and I plan to title in AKC obedience. I've never done scent work before but that seems interesting, I may minor in scent or agility depending on how crazy this dogs energy level really is.

I've read a lot about them being extremely energetic, but I think people who say that are comparing them to Labs, I don't think the general population has "Malinois" or even "Working-line GSD" anywhere on their spectrum of energetic dogs.

In any event, I'm being ridiculously methodical with this dog, planning everything from socialization activities to training phases. My first dog was a Sheltie, and he turned out incredibly well but that's because he was Pick, has a perfect temperament, and lives to please people, not because I was any great shakes with him.

I've learned a tremendous amount about dog training since getting him, and I'm extremely excited to start from scratch and see what I can build.

I work in IT for a Fortune 500 company, so my day job involves a lot of desk. Tremendous amounts of desk. I am the pack leader of my desk.

If you got this far, I commend you. If you have any name suggestions for a male Vizsla, Send them my way! He may get saddled with "Dog" otherwise.

Also, if anyone has experience with the breeds energy level and wants to share a real evaluation of it, I'd love to talk to one of Our Type about that.

What a compelling facial expression!

We have a couple of other members with Dutchies too!

 Quote: David Eagle

Well, since everyone is doing it.

I originally joined in...probably 2007 or so, I was very active back in the day. The board seemed more active, then, too. I've gotten divorced in the last year, and I have two kids, a 2 year old and a 4 year old, who I love so much that if I think about it, it becomes difficult to breathe. Because I only have them half the time, and because my previous dogs stayed with my Ex, I'm getting a new pup in two weeks. Also, because I'm crazy and I like ridiculous challenges.

I'm getting a Vizsla, and I plan to title in AKC obedience. I've never done scent work before but that seems interesting, I may minor in scent or agility depending on how crazy this dogs energy level really is.

I've read a lot about them being extremely energetic, but I think people who say that are comparing them to Labs, I don't think the general population has "Malinois" or even "Working-line GSD" anywhere on their spectrum of energetic dogs.

In any event, I'm being ridiculously methodical with this dog, planning everything from socialization activities to training phases. My first dog was a Sheltie, and he turned out incredibly well but that's because he was Pick, has a perfect temperament, and lives to please people, not because I was any great shakes with him.

I've learned a tremendous amount about dog training since getting him, and I'm extremely excited to start from scratch and see what I can build.

I work in IT for a Fortune 500 company, so my day job involves a lot of desk. Tremendous amounts of desk. I am the pack leader of my desk.

If you got this far, I commend you. If you have any name suggestions for a male Vizsla, Send them my way! He may get saddled with "Dog" otherwise.

Also, if anyone has experience with the breeds energy level and wants to share a real evaluation of it, I'd love to talk to one of Our Type about that.

I love the quote about your kids. I'm the same way about mine.

I have trained 3 Vizlas to CGC level, and worked with 2 of them on the agility field. Out of the 5, 2 (both females) were weak of nerve and very sharp. The other 3 (males) were solid dogs. All 5 were fairly high prey drive dogs. 7 out of 10. They were all worked on toys, and would work for pretty long periods. They are very athletic dogs. I haven't seen any Vizlas rival a good mal for drive, but I have only been around those few dogs.

I would definitely test any puppy before purchasing.

Regarding the Vizlas-
I live in hunting/fishing/farming world and have known several Vizlas, seen them in the vet practice and owned by friends.
The ones I have known have been spooky, nervous. Gentle when exhausted by running.
Super cute as pups.
They also have 0 coat, so they are often cold in our climate.

David and Betty,

Thank you very much for the feedback! That's exactly the kind of information I hoped for.

I plan to do selection testing, I DO NOT WANT spooky or weak nerves. I've had spooky and it's a barrel full of headaches because of how deeply it impacts all the dog's behavior.

I'm going to be getting a male, unless neither of the males is satisfactory.

We don't really have "weather" in Southern California, it's just this really tedious parade of perfect days, all lined up back to back.

I'll hop on this bandwagon!

I'm from Maine, where I live with my 15 yr old son, and 11 yr old daughter. My wife is serving active duty in the Army. Right now she is attending training at Ft. Sam-Houston, TX. I spent 4 years in the Army as a 12B (Combat Engineer), and occasionally got to work with some MWD handlers and their amazing dogs. By far those 4 years were the most fun and interesting I've had up to this point.

I live with my 2 furry kids as well. Cassiopeia (Cassy) the 16 month old mantle Great Dane, she is my lovie, cuddler, and best friend. We share that special bond that only other "dog" people will ever get. She is very intelligent, and very athletic, even to the point of keeping up with the dutchie!

Then there's Leo "the lion cub" my 5 1/2 month old male Dutchie. He is by far a fighter, not a lover. Not a seeker of affection, hard headed, determined, driven, loud, obnoxious, keenly intelligent, conniving, and thinks he is 5 times the size he actually is. He is my first high drive dutchie, and one of my first thoughts after getting to know him for a short while was, "They can breed the domestication out of dogs, this one is just wild!" After spending a few months with him now, we have come to a mutual understanding of respect and trust. I know that we will be the best of friends.

I've spent many years of working security in all different aspects from private, corporate, industrial, bodyguard & healthcare. I've dealt with many different state and federal agencies assisting in different investigations.

I'd like to add K9 to that list, and being that I love dogs I think it's a great match! Right now I'm pushing for three K9 officer teams to be created in the hospital I work for (don't they hate spending money!), persistance is key!

Thats about it in a nutshell.