Wendu Belgian Shepherd / Malinois & Dutch Shepherd Mix Harrietsfield, NS

Meet Windu aka Winnie! Winnie is a 7 month old Belgian Malinois x Dutch Shepherd cross. He is neutered and up to date on all vaccinations and flea, tick and lyme. Winnie is a very sweet boy and absolutely loves his cuddles and belly rubs. You know he loves you when he puts his ears flat back and wags his tail. At 60 lbs small he loves to flop in my lap as I sit on my kitchen floor and put his long muzzle under my arm to get good snuggles. He’s still very much a pup at heart and looks to his person for love and reassurance.

Windu had no socialization for the first 4.5 months of his life and was kept mostly outdoors during the Canadian winter. When I brought him home he was quite fearful, but he has also done really well. He absolutely adores my daughters and I (age 8 and 10) and would do anything to protect us. He takes a while to warm up to anyone new, it is a slow work in progress. He has a great relationship with my nieces and mildly tolerates my sister and anyone else, with the exception of his girls who work at his doggy day school, he adores them too. Winnie does not like men, and has a strong aversion to them. I have worked so hard to try to overcome his fears and reactivity. He has done well, but he needs ongoing, dedicated, daily time and attention to overcome them. He may never warm up to men enough to have them around him full time or even to be patted by them.

Winnie soared through Level 1 obedience and Level 1 scent detection. He is highly food motivated and significantly less motivated by toys (even frisbee and throwing a ball). He does love playing tug though, and loves to spend an hour chewing a really good, long lasting bone.

He is fully crate trained, but I have never left him for a full day in his crate, he has too much energy, and he goes to “day-school” 3 days/week. The other two days he happily sleeps or chews his bone in my home office while I work. But make no doubt about it, once I’m done working he can’t wait to go on a long walk or on his long leash for a sniffy hike or run. He is at his happiest when we are completely alone in the woods, not on a typical path, but “off road” as I say. He can’t be off leash as his recall isn’t good enough. In the off chance we came across someone that spooked him he is likely to be reactive and may run, bark, and even nip.

Windu is the perfect companion for an active, single woman or female partnership, no children, who wants a dedicated and protective companion. Although he has bonded with and loves my daughters very much, he is very nippy when he gets excited. Most children don’t understand how to manage this, which could lead to a misunderstood “bite”. He is ideal for an experienced Belgian Malinois owner, especially someone with professional experience with the breed who also does scent work/agility/protection training/or most ideally search and rescue due to his love for the woods.

He could belong to a home with one or 2 other larger breed dogs. Because of his socialization at day school and spending a considerable amount of time with my sisters chocolate lab/border collie mix, he is typically great with other large dogs. Amongst his closest friends have been a german shepherd pup, saint bernard, and large labradoodle. When on leash it is best not to let him “greet” other dogs as he is protective of his “person”. He is also misleading as he wants to love and can have his ears back and be asleep and then jump up towards someone quickly if he thinks there is danger to him or I.

He is stunning to look at with his beautiful black face and ears and brindle coat. He is such a sweet boy, looking for his forever person who can dedicate time every day to working on his reactivity and quirks, training, socialization, and mental and physical activity.