Temperament

Entlebuchers are very lively, happy dogs. They are always ready for action, at a moment's notice. When I initially read that they were "cheerful" dogs I was not quite sure what that meant. Trust me, it means exactly what it means when used to describe people.

They are not well suited to kennel life. Their whole purpose in life is to be near their human/s, ready to do their bidding. They have been bred from stock that, for centuries, worked hard from dawn to dusk to earn their keep. Those instincts are very strong. They are "thinking dogs." They are absolutely devoted to their family, sociable with those they know (assuming that their owner likes the person), somewhat suspicious of strangers, and they can be downright formidable when protecting home and family from genuine threats.

These admirable traits require, as with all herding and guardian breeds, that the puppy be well socialized from birth, and well trained from an early age. They are very pack oriented (even if an only dog, their family is their pack) and must understand that they are not the alpha in the family. They tend to play very roughly with other dogs but are normally not dog aggressive, especially if socialized with other dogs at an early age. This can easily be accomplished with puppy obedience classes, which are usually puppy socialization classes. Talk to a local trainer about such classes.

Make sure you use a trainer that is well experienced with herding breeds. Uninformed trainers may mistakenly identify typical herding puppy behaviors as dominance or aggression problems.