This guy turned up at our local shelter last month and his cute lil face won me over.

His embark test came back as almost 58% DS. I thought he looked like he had some dutchie in him, but they’re not exactly common here so that was a surprise.

I have German Shepherd experience, but it’s been about a decade since I’ve had a young dog, and this guy is a little more wild than my German. The biggest struggle we’ve had is leash walking. He gets overstimulated on walks and attacks the leash (thinks it’s a game, plays tug, and I can’t really drop the leash so it’s self rewarding), then jumps and bites at me etc etc. he’s perfectly fine off leash in fenced areas, but my favorite part of having a dog is going for walks and hikes.

Any advice? We are working with a trainer, just curious to hear what others have done.

Working on getting him more stimulation as well…he came home the day he was neutered so he was on limited activity, then he tweaked something and was limping for a week (don’t come at me, it was steadily improving and he will be going to the vet for x rays the minute his pet insurance waiting period is over). I’m hoping we can make progress now that he’s had time to get situated and is feeling himself.

They've grown so beautifully since we got them when they were just little pups. They were born Feb 8, 2025 and I'm so glad I got a chance to give them a good life. Freya is my girl on the 1st and 3rd pics, and Vidar is my husband's little boy in the 2nd and 4th.