Von An Der Rott
The German Shepherd
About The German Shepherd
This breed is one of the most amazing breeds worldwide
The German Shepherd originates from Germany. Something we're very proud of as our family came over to the United States from Germany (hence our kennel name is German from our Village).
One thing I really want to touch on is there are different lines in the German Shepherd.
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So, you will often hear people disagree or sometimes even argue on a breed standard for the dog.. This is normally why. You have those with show lines, then working lines. These two lines have distinctive differences; and different purposes.
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Then on top of the two main types of lines, we have other distinguished differences. There are even lines within the show and working lines as well.
We Have the American Lines, The West German Show lines, The West German Working Lines, The East German Shepherd (DDR) Lines, and lastly, we have Czech/Slovac Working Lines.
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Each of these lines excel in different areas. So, hopefully this brief and really not in-depth explanation helps you understand why you will see so much controversy on lines sometimes. Here we have two main lines and they are working lines but we chose to work with two for a reason. Which, I am going to discuss here.
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We have some old DDR/Czech lines. We also though use some West German Working Lines too. We do this often to bring in some characteristics that we use for a good service dog.
We test each puppy to see where they are best suited. Is the dog going to excel in being a detection dog, is the dog eager to work and please, is the dog mellow and belongs on a couch with a active family, is the dog a independent thinker that loves work and is suitable for some sort of military or police work.
Some engagement we use and recommend. We practice luring immediately with pups. It's one of our temperament testing we use to see if the dog has a serious drive for work or not. We use an enrichment program too with all our pups and dogs.
We even do some natural teaching. For example the dog sits; we like that the dog is sitting. So, we mark with a "Yes" pause good sit. Then a treat. This is telling our dog two things. One I hear "Yes", I did something good, and second thing it tells the dogs is that we like the sitting calmly. We do not over train the dog but we monopolize these natural things that will help you in the future with your puppy.
We have such great reviews with our puppies, we've actually had people ask us to train their other dogs (other breeds) and we have to kindly decline. Our goal is to get you a dog that fits your family or needs. A dog with a stable temperament and will have success for what you need in your dog.
We use a lot of training from the Leerburg program, not all but a lot of it.
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What's The Difference in Looks
Temperament
Let's take some time to discuss the breeds temperament
The German Shepherd has a long history of being a loyal companion. The dog started as a herding dog. This is a dog that as long as it has existed, they have been working.
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Today you find this breed all over. You will find the German Shepherd in your pet home. You will find the breed is the field protecting our men and women in uniform.
This dog is intelligent and needs stimulation. A busy shepherd will always be a happy shepherd, no matter the line.
The AKC standards describes this dog as confident, courageous, and smart.
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I add in this breed is very loyal. This dog is sensitive to its owner. By that I mean they seem to really understand their owners and connect with them.
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*I want to stress that it is so very important to make sure all your dogs are health and temperament tested. Over time from puppy mills and backyard breeders, the breed can have issues with temperament. Be sure your breeder strives to breed not just healthy but solid nerved dogs.
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We do a health and temperament test before our puppies leave us. We also do 8 weeks of handling series techniques. We do this to be sure the dog is introduced to lots of textures, sounds, and environments. This helps enable our dogs to be ready, and not timid of new things. We discuss this more in the facts section.
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