Pastimes
Playing Ball
Walk
Run
keep away
Hike
Swim
Frizbee
Canoeing
Chase
These are incredibly intelligent and curious dogs. Groenendals are related to the malinois and the tervuren, both used in police work because of their intelligence and naturally alpha type personalities. These are dogs which need to be well trained, and require a person in their life to take the alpha role. Ours constantly tries to challenge authority, and will hesitate to obey orders from those she does not recognize as out ranking her in our "pack". That said, they are very fun dogs, with a ton of personality. They will constantly surprise you with their quickness and intelligence. Be prepared for them to learn to open doors, and other such mischievousness.
In public, our dog is shy with strangers and other dogs. At home, we sometimes have trouble with her picking fights with our older dog, in an effort to establish dominance.
On walks, she is very well behaved, because she was trained from a young age to heel, but she does become distracted by squirrels or cats, and will pull on the leash to try to chase them. We use a pressure collar with her.
To keep her out of trouble, we are working on teaching her agility. She learns quickly, but is often skittish of the obstacles at first. Treats are a good motivator.
