First, a little about the star of my show!
Koenig is a large 2 1/2 yr old Dutch Shepherd, likely of KNPV lines. He's far from the breed standard, but a beautiful well proportioned dog ('cept the giant ears), with a beautiful temperament, intense drive, and a fantastic work ethic! I may be a bit biased though.
I got Koenig in June of 2010, when he was just over 1 year old. He'd been surrendered to the animal rescue I worked at by his owner. "He's out of control, crazy, and mean" was what we were told. In reality, he was an intact male working dog, that was not being provided with an outlet for anything. Koenig was tied out in a backyard, and didn't appear to have ever been in a house. He growled at the dishwasher, bathtub, didn't have a clue what to make out of the toilet... he was a wreck! A big, brindle, exuberant mess! The owner of the rescue sent me a text message saying something to the effect of "I've got a 1yr old intact Dutch Shepherd. Come get him." I did, and that was it. I was in love. :) He was neutered (rescue rules!) and he came home with me the next day.
Can you see the intelligence behind those eyes? I sure can.
Our training started out slow- I knew that I wanted to do Schutzhund with this dog, but couldn't find a club closer then 1 hr away, and with 2 young kids, that was just not feasible for me at the time. We worked on lots of obedience, general house manners, and building a bond for our first 6 months together. In our training at home, I saw what I thought to be major potential. Could this rescue dog, of unknown lines be the dog I've always dreamed about?
After some time, Koenig started showing severe symptoms of Separation Anxiety. This took quite a long time to fix, and I might detail the steps we used in a future post, but for now I'll just leave you with he's off all the medication, still wears a bark collar in a crate, and has to have his crate extra secure.... other then that, he's much better!
Our SchH training started in October of 2010. It was with a small group of people, that I was recommended to by a local pet store. As months passed, I was learning more about the sport, reading and researching, and I realized I may be able to find a better fit for myself and my dog with a different group of people, and eventually settled with a fantastic club in my area with a very experienced trainer. We couldn't be happier! They've got knowledge of my breed, and are willing to accept him in all his brindle craziness as one of the group. (made up of GSD's!)
Waiting for whatever will come next, he's always up for some work!
March 2011 Koenig got his very fist title! The CGC!
May 2011 the brindle beast got his first taste of herding, and achieved his first herding title (HCT) with ease. We both loved it so much, we hope to find the time to really get into it, and get some additional herding titles. It's not often you see Dutchie's herding anymore!
In only a year of owning him, he's officially "Koenig CGC, HCT". Not too shabby for a dog who literally didn't know 'sit' when I brought him home!
October 2011 brought us our first SchH title, the BH. I felt we barley passed, with lackluster heeling, and a near catastrophe in the long down, but hey- it's a pass/fail test, so who cares!
We don't have a date set for our SchH1, but I certainly hope it's in 2012, and I think that is something that can be achieved. There is a lot of work to be done in tracking, our retrieve in obedience, and the bite work needs a tad bit more control. It can be done.
Well, thats Koenig. He's a great dog. Wonderful with my 2 kids, very social, and just an all around fun dog. I'd better get busy training the brindle one now.
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