Activities For Tervards
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Prepare for unexpected vet bills
Introduction
Tervards are definitely one of the more obscure dog breeds out there, with their total population likely not even exceeding a few hundred thousand dogs in total. This starkly contrasts against the population size of the Tervard's German Shepherd parents (whose population size has been reported to exceed 3.5 million globally, per the American Kennel Club). But just because Tervards aren't as numerous as their German Shepherd or their Belgian Tervuren parents doesn't mean that they aren't outstanding dogs in their own right. On the contrary, Tervards were bred to possess their parent breeds' best traits, potentially making this hybrid just as awesome as their parents and then some!
Belgian Waffles
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Any Day
Moderate
Easy
10 - 15 min
Items needed
Waffle Ingredients
Cooking Equipment
Belgian Waffle Iron
Activity description
Since Tervards are technically of German and Belgian descent, why not cook up a tasty treat straight from their home? Making a few Belgian Waffles is super easy and takes very little cooking experience at all. Most of the equipment and supplies needed to make Belgian Waffles can be purchased for very little cost and leaves you with a waffle iron to use over and over. Moreover, your Tervard can be the official taste tester. You won't be able to give your dog an entire waffle, as it's never a good idea to overload your pet with sugar, but that simply means that there will be more waffles for you - that's a win-win in our book!
Step
1
Batter up
Start by making the batter first. Gather some eggs and beat them inside of a small bowl until they've concealed into a fluffy, semi-liquid state. Next pour in 2 cups of flour, 1 3/4 of a cup of milk, half a cup of vegetable oil, 1 quarter teaspoon of salt, 4 teaspoons of baking powder, 1 tablespoon of sugar, and half a tablespoon of vanilla (can be extract or creamer). Mix all that stuff together until you have a soft, thick batter in your bowl.
Step
2
Iron chef
This step is much more simple than the last; take the batter you've just made and pour as much of it as you can into your Belgian waffle iron. Try not to over or under fill it as best you can - you can always just repeat this step to make more waffles rather than try to use up all of that sweet, delicious batter in one go. After you've poured the batter into the iron, hang out with your dog until the timer runs out. Voila - Belgian waffles a la carte!
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Joring Sports
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Sunny Day
Moderate
Hard
30 - 60 min
Items needed
Dog Harness
Bungee Cables
Bikes, Skis, Snowboards, Scooters
Activity description
There's a whole world of activities that dogs who weigh 35 pounds or more can engage in. These activities, known as joring sports, primarily consist of medium to large sized dogs pulling their human companions along as the person rides behind their pet via a bicycle, scooter, snowboard or any piece of land-based travel gear. Most joring sports originated from Norway, with a few having been invented in places like America and the UK. It'll take some time before your Tervard goes from not having a clue what they're doing to being full blown experts at this activity but they can get there with enough time and practice. Tervards can do anything with enough time and practice!
Step
1
Joring basics
Whether you decide to go Skijoring with your dog or Bikejoring, all joring sports will require your pet to be able to follow vocal directions to the letter. First give your dog a command vocally while showing them the accompanying maneuver. Get your dog to repeat the maneuver on their own and reward them with a treat. Repeat the training over a few days until you feel that your dog has a specific command down before moving on to another command.
Step
2
Practical practice
It isn't enough to just go over the theory of joring commands with your pet, you also need to put things into practice if you really want them to stick. Practice at home, at the vet, during walks - any time you need to travel with your dog, use joring commands to communicate which direction your pup needs to move in.
Step
3
Harness the power of friendship
As flowery as the title of this step is, it did hit on two key points - that you and your dog will be reliant on each other to succeed in this activity and that your dog will also need to become comfortable wearing a harness. It'll be like breaking in a new pair of shoes for them - at first, it might feel too tight in certain areas while, paradoxically, feeling too loose in others but eventually it'll fit just right. Once your Tervard is comfortable in the harness you can choose which joring sport to try first. Allow for plenty of practice with the gear on before heading out on an adventure.
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Canine Cinema
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Any Day
Free
Easy
60 - 90 min
Items needed
Snacks
Movies
Activity description
Not every activity you do with your Tervard has to be an incredibly challenging, out of the box exercise - sometimes it's nice to just sit back and enjoy the simpler things in life. If you've never tried watching a film with your dog, then you ought to give it a shot - watching movies with a pet is a great way to bond with them without really having to lift a finger. Watching movies that prominently feature dogs with your Tervard will definitely trip your dog up initially but after a few movie sessions, they'll get used to it. This activity is also very cheap, as you can buy or rent a number of solid dog movies (the animated Scooby Doo films, Homeward Bound, and Babe all come to mind) for less than $10 these days.
Step
1
Pre-production
This is a really laid back activity, so there aren't any official rules you need to follow per se. That being said, "movies and popcorn" is a well honored tradition that some follow with an almost religious fervor. You don't have to eat popcorn while you're watching a movie with your dog if you don't want to; anything your dog can also eat will work out just fine
Step
2
Runtime funtime
Despite what the title suggests, you and your Tervard shouldn't have to do any running for this activity. Sit back, relax, and let the good times roll as your and your pup enjoy a wholesome film together. Or you could put on a super cerebral Psychological Thriller - whatever floats your boat. We recommend popping in Men in Black one of these days to see how your Tervard will react to the "dog" in that film.
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More Fun Ideas...
Shallow Water Swimming
Both Belgian Tervurens and German Shepherds are natural born swimmers who are able to dive in water and dart through it like a torpedo. Tervards aren't too bad at swimming themselves so you should consider bringing them along the next time you're thinking about taking a splash in the pool. The both of you can play a number of games together like water polo or marco polo.
Doggy Daycare
If you've got a stay at home job and have a number of friends who're having trouble finding a reliable sitter for their pets, you should consider dog sitting a few times with your Tervard acting as your second in command. Tervards are such reserved and composed dogs that they'll be able to help you keep the other pets in line and on one accord.
Conclusion
Though most Tervards tend to physically resemble their Tervuren parents more than their German Shepherd parents, the mentality of these dogs tends to be much more in line with that of a G-Shep. That's good news for anyone who's looking for a pet that won't mind being around kids or the elderly, as German Shepherds are renowned for their kind and nurturing attitudes. The biggest challenges in caring for a Tervard will lie in grooming one of these thick coated beasts and providing them with enough stimulation to keep them from getting bored. Tervards can make great additions to any home, provided that their caretakers are willing to put in the work to set them up for success.