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Is a Belgian Tervuren the Right Dog for Me? Behaviour

Discussion in 'Belgian Shepherd Dog (Tervuren)' started by James Bahng, Aug 18, 2014.

  1. James Bahng

    James Bahng New Member

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    James Bahng
    #1 Aug 18, 2014
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    Is a Belgian Tervuren the Right Dog for Me?

    I'm considering purchasing a Belgian Tervuren dog from a breeder. I'm concerned about temperament though. I took on a Malinois as a rehome for a week and that dog ended up attacking my dog (luckily no injuries) and rehomed a Tervuren which was extremely fearful to the point of being aggressive. Did I just have bad luck or is there something about BSDs? I've seen in blogs that they can be "snappy", have problems if not well socialized, etc. etc. I've owned dogs before, just never any working breeds.
    We have 2 toddlers at home.
    We've had some funny stuff going on in our neighborhood. We live in LA and I suspect that's always going to be the case regardless of wherever we decide to move. So we're looking for a watchdog with the size, attitude, and appearance to be a deterrent (NOT interested in personal protection). Not interested in other breeds that have become popular for protection, seems that you end up with greedy breeders that put money over the well being of dogs/owners.

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  2. Azz

    Azz Adminstrator

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    #2 Aug 19, 2014
    BSDs from rescues can be tricky. I think it's fair to say they usually end up there from people who hadn't researched the breed properly and end up doing a poor job socialising or training them (BSDs need extra care in both, being such a smart breed). This certainly seems to be the case in your experience.

    Having said that, you can more often than not overcome such problems, but it requires time and patience on your part - and not everyone has that unfortunately - we have busy lives, work, children etc.

    If you think you have the time to put into training, socialising, and importantly, to keep the dog occupied every day by going on long walks or some other activity such as agility (to stop it getting bored and becoming destructive) then a puppy from a good breeder is certainly worth a look :)
  3. Jackie

    Jackie Member

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    #3 Aug 19, 2014
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    The only bit of advice I would give you is buy from a reputable "show" breeder, don`t go for a working bred dog.

    As you are in the US I cant really recommend any breeders, but from what I do know is that the BSD is not a dog for the faint hearted , they need lots of socialization to ensure they make good companions, and from understanding here at least , most BSD that end up in rescue are from working lines, good breeders will try to breed a sound temperament there is no need to giddy up the working temperament of these dogs as they already have a working brain,

    As whether they are for you , only you know if you are up for taking on a breed that needs a firm dedicated owner.
  4. CaroleC

    CaroleC Member

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    #4 Aug 19, 2014
    Can only add to Jackie's post - What about visiting a couple of shows and having a chat to some of the breeders after the judging? Or phoning and asking if you could visit to see some Malinois 'at home'. Genuine breeders are usually happy to talk about their breed, and see that their puppies end up in the right homes.

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