If you aren’t following me on Instagram or TikTok, you’ve probably never seen our dog- Arrow. I never had a dog growing up where Josh had about 6-12 at a time (mainly hunting and antler dogs). When we decided to get Arrow in May of 2019, I was completely overwhelmed. She is a Belgian Malinois / German Shepherd mix (that came from Colorado) and for my first dog, I was certainly concerned I was biting off more than I could chew. Luckily, Josh had a lot of dog and training experience growing up. That being said, I do get a ton of questions about her every day so I wanted to have one central place to refer back to!
Training
I do not think there is anything more beneficial than the training Arrow has been through. A high drive, working dog NEEDS to be properly trained in order for proper control and owner dominance (or alpha, whatever you want to call it). We always joke that Arrow is smarter than we are and I will take that to my grave. She truly is a little genius so proper training and daily stimulation are desperately needed with this breed (and all working breeds).
Arrow’s trainer is Jeremy Moore (@dogbonehunter on instagram). His website is: https://dogbonehunter.com. He has a ton of free podcasts, youtube videos, training kits, and even training seminars. Arrow spent 5 weeks with him in 2019 (when we were in Mozambique), 3 weeks in 2020 (when we were in New Zealand), and another 4 weeks in 2021 (when we were in Tanzania). We time it when we are away because it’s better than simply boarding her. Plus, as she gets older and out of her puppy stage, different skills can be learned / mastered. It’s also extremely beneficial to build on the foundation that we solidify at home.
Daily Activity
When I say this dog needs hours of mental and physical stimulation a day, I mean it. Her breed is so high strung if they don’t get to spend majority of their day outside, with a task ,or figuring things out. If you don’t stimulate this breed, they will find ways to stimulate themselves through destruction of your home. I urge you to consider the lifestyle you have if you are even considering this breed. On farm days, she runs about 10 miles with ease. On days she’s at home, she would die before realizing she’s swam in the pond too long. For mental stimulation, we take her to stores, the “wait” or “find it” game inside when it’s cold, etc. On average, she receives about 3 hours of stimulation a day. This does not include her running around outside by herself or with Josh’s brother’s dog. I would also like to mention that if you are spending the time and money to send your dog to a trainer but then not actively working on their skills at home, you are doing yourself and your dog a disservice.
Food, Toys, Random Items
Arrow eats a lot of venison, elk, etc because that’s what we eat. She is not on a raw food diet because we travel too much for that to be a possibility for our lifestyle with her. I will do my best to provide links / resources on everything we give her below based on the many, many questions I receive each week via social media:
- Dry Kibble
- Ground venison, elk
- Antler Chews*
- Bone Broth*
- Super Chewer Box (Arrow’s referral code is: 4WXEEWUGN9, all boxes using her code are donated to a local shelter)
- Super Launcher Toy
- Dried Cow Esophagus
- Custom Tactical Collar
- Indoor Dog Treadmill
- Large Gravity Fed Waterer
- Bravecto Tick Medicine
- Large Dog Crate
- KONG Crate Mat
- Dog Bed
As for toys, everything she has comes out of the super chewer box listed above. Her main driver in life is sticks and tennis balls (that are kept outside).
*The antler chews and bone broth are both our products and 10% of proceeds are donate back to my 5013c nonprofit: Pets of America.
And my last PSA when it comes to animals, PLEASE consider getting your dog or cat on to pet insurance. I have an entire breakdown of what we use that can be found here. It will give such incredible piece of mind and please spay / neuter your pets.
If you have any other questions, please ask below!
0 Comments