LAb X Belgian Shepherd

If hes half Gronnie, should be very foody. & very "hands off" training!

I think in the other pics he loks a little BSDy

He's ridiculously foody! And clever too, Will completely refuse to do the easiest commands he knows till the minute you pull out a treat and then he'll suddenly remember and do them practically without you asking... He has my life quite regularly

Sounds like he was meant to be at yours then doesn't it, and sounds like you also know how to get the best out of him and curb those bad habits (I hope!) Lol! It's all good fun though!

Does he "smile" with his nose at all?

umm, Im not sure!

likre a friendly growley face?

oh, only when hes rolling about on his back or lounging around being silly on the sofa kinda thing

You might enjoy this site then - as will anyone interested in Belgians... history, genetics, development etc....

http://www.belgiandogs.info/

They have a 'Black Short Hair' on that site...looks very similar to our pup in all but the ears!

When you say 'hands off' training how do you mean? He's definatley not one to want a big physical fuss as praise, if that makes sense? If I reach to stroke him to say well done he'll dodge it- same really if you try and just stroke him generally to calm him down it seems to make him more excited! However, if he can sit on you he will so its not the contact that bothers him I dont think, its like hes too independant to need praise and he considers a treat far more suitable

Blimey! Are you sure he's not x'd with a german shepherd!!! That's them all over too!!!

Im not ruling anything out! Any pearls of wisdom will be gladly recieved!!

Well you are in good company here

As you may have gathered, my dog is also a Belgian cross, but with a Border Collie (well... Working Sheepdog, which is the non-ped farm-type version).

It's been an interesting ride so far, as obviously it's not always easy to know what behavious come from which parent but after 4.5 years I'm safe now in knowing he's Mostly Belgian He certainly is more Belgian in looks than BC and has a lot of Belgian traits if not all.

I know exactly what Mishflynn meant when she said "hands off" training. Belgians are one breed you really cannot be harsh with, manhandle, jerk about or try to physically manipulate. They will not tolerate it for a moment and will let you know in no uncertain terms.... They respond best to clicker training, or lure & reward, anything that lets them think it was their idea in the first place, as they will not be bullied or pushed around.

But you do need to be firm, as they will take the mickey, just for fun, if they think they can get away with it! They also have a really naughty wicked side, so you do need a sense of humour, but are also intensely devoted to their owners and crave physical contact. They can also be very vocal - if only I had a video camera, to record the long conversations Merlin has with my mum. If he could speak, he would.. and certainly tries to!

Conversely, Labradors are a breed which will tolerate some degree of messing around with.... but are also very foody, very loving and affectionate, and always try to be the apple of your eye... you'll just have to see which side the penny dropped with your lad.

Thanks MM! One of the reasons Ive been trying to research the belgian traits is that Im used to Labs, and Mikey is not like any Ive known. When reading the belgian descriptions I find myself nodding away in recognition lol!

My main concerns with him at the moment are that he is still quite mouthy- I recognise that hes in the adolescent phase and Ive read that with the belgians in particular at this stage they tend to regress completely temporarily and push the boundaries, but having not had him from the beginning as it were Im not 100% confident that he grasps that its not on? Im dealing with it by stopping play and turning my back on him, which usually results in him barking at me & if I dont respond then going and getting hold of something he knows will get my attention! I tried the taking away his toys and removing him from the situation till he stops technique, but the minute I move he stops barking anyway so he doesnt get the chance to make the connection (if that makes sense?) and he doesnt really care about the toys its the physical reaction hes after.

He actually bit my bum today (I say 'bit'it wasnt an actual bite as he could obv do damage if he wanted to really bite but in my opinion it still wasnt acceptable) when I was ignoring him as time out (no laughing!) by his own reaction he knew he'd done wrong and my response was also to send him to the kitchen, but hes adopted a technique of heading that way then rolling on his back in a submissive pose, but one where he refuses to get up(so its actually not that submissive is it?!) and Im unable to get him up without having to either drag him by the collar which i dont want to do or by totally changing the subject and calling him in a happy way which ends the discipline!

I really really want to get it right with him, especially as hes had one false start already but its true what they say that its the owners that need training not the dogs sometimes!

Here's a growly smile, captured just for you



By the way, he is also "talking" during this - he is very vocal and I swear he does his best to emulate human speech:
low-toned "Rrrrr....." in varying pitch
"Mrrrrrrgh"
"Urrrrrf"
"Aaaaaargh"
and the occasional "Arrrrowoh!"

Something I am told Border Collies don't do.... (but I'm open to being corrected on this!).

haha!! Yes he does that alot- I caught him on video having a chunter on just like you describe too..I think he sounds like Kenneth Williams about to say 'Ohhh Matron' when he gets going!!
Can we post vids on here? Or link to Youtube?

mCb - Can you please post a current picture of this dog, or what this dog looks like when he is an adult. I picked up my dog from a pet rescue. They told me it was a lab/shepherd mix. My dog looks nearly identical to yours. Like yours, he has never had a soft "puppy coat". His coat is longer than a labs and more coarse than a labs. I see some ginger or brown flecks around his ruff too. His ears are semi-floppy right now. He's at about 4.5 months old (just under 20 weeks). He also has a little bit of an issue with nipping. It's interesting to read what people have posted about the dog. I'm interested to see what he will look like as an adult. How large was yours around the 18 -20 week range?

Hi @Brendon
This post is eight years old, so don't be surprised if you don't get a response. Welcome to the forum anyway.

@CaroleC
Yes ma'am. I recognize that this post is very old and I don't anticipate that the OP will respond, but I figured I may as well try. I just can't believe how similar our dogs seem to be. I've been doing quite a bit of research to see if there are any telltale signs of what breed he is mixed with. Lab is very apparent, but the other breed(s) is harder to pinpoint. I got mine at a pet rescue. They told me lab and shepherd mix, but I remain a little skeptical.

@mCb - I didn't realize I could tag you in a post.