Iris' Den
German Shepherd Jobs
Graphic providied by Babycass's Den
German Shepherds are very versatile so they can do just about anything. As someone once said "if they're not the best, they're the second best in the sport." The following jobs are only some of the things which German Shepherds excell in: agility, guide dog, herding, obedience, police work, schutzhund, search & rescue, and tracking. Here's some info on each of those activities:
Agility If you have done agility before and you say to your dog �do you want to go do agility?�. I�ll bet he�s jumping off the walls because agility is so fun! I know Iris does. In agility dogs go over jumps, a enclosed tunnel, an A-frame, a see-saw, and poles that your dog has to weave through. This sport has lots of excitement, like all dog sports. Web site: The Dog Agility Page.
Guide dogs This is something that you do not train a dog to do. Professional guide dog trainers do this training and train dogs to help blind people. Guide dogs can go into all public places. Along with German Shepherds being excellent for guide work, there are also Labrador & Golden Retrievers. Web Site: Fidelco
Herding German Shepherds were first bred for herding. So they are quite good at it. Yea, maybe a Border Collie is better but still GSD�s are good at it. Herding dogs herd up sheep, ducks, cattle, etc., and they have to get them into the right places easily. Whichever dog does it the fastest and makes the least amount of mistakes wins. Web site: German Shepherds in Herding.
Obedience Every dog needs obedience training. But I wouldn't suggest going to a place where they use food. To me, food doesn't train dogs. Dogs aren't obeying you they are obeying the food. German Shepherds have gotten high awards in this sport. In obedience it is how obedient your dog is. At a show, which ever dog gets the highest score wins! Web site: This part of the AKC web site on Obedience.
Police work Police dogs are very useful for stopping bad people and finding drugs that people are hiding. Sometimes Police dog handlers will give a demonstration at schools and other places. They give a demonstration of what police dogs do on the job. Most police dogs are German Shepherds & Belgian Malionis. Sometimes you'll see a Rottweiler, a Doberman, a Lab or a Bloodhound. Web site: Police Dog Homepage.
Schutzhund German Shepherds are very often called the "king of schutzhund." That's very true. Schutzhund has three different parts in it; protection, obedience, and tracking. All GSD's should be capable of doing schutzhund. Web site: Schutzund page.
Search and Rescue Dogs that do search and rescue are very important. They search for lost people in the woods, after an earthquake, bombing, etc. These dogs find and save many lives. Amoung the breeds often seen doing SAR work are; GSD's, Labs, Bloodhounds, Australian Shepherds, and Golden Retrievers. Web site: SAR info.
Tracking GSD's definatly excell at tracking! Tracking is were someone lays a track, and your dog smells the track and continues until it ends. Tracking is natural to most dogs, because tracking for animals is how their ancestors lived. Web Site: Tracking Dogs
