The Best Working Dog is also the Best Family Pet
Dogs are in many ways like people with the same emotions and attitudes. This is why we can easily identify with them. There are many individual personality types of people. Those that are high strung, restless and never settled. Others are at the opposite end of the scale, they do not get excited about much of anything and can actually be rather boring. Dogs can be categorized the same way.
The ideal working dog is capable of saving it’s energy for when it is time to perform. It is impossible for a restless dog to perform at a high level. If he is anxiously awaiting his turn to work and cannot rest he will be exhausted before he ever gets a chance to perform. The highest placing dogs can be seen quietly resting or calmly walking with the handler. The person looking for a top level working dog and the person looking for a companion are looking for the same well-balanced dog! The sport dog handler wants a dog that can relax but still have optimum play drive for fast and correct obedience and a high capacity to handle stress in the protection work along with calm and secure concentration skills for accurate tracking abilities. The family/companion dog needs the same self-confident temperament qualities. He needs to be able to relax and watch television with his family and still have the drive to go out and play fetch with the children and generally want to be a part of the owner’s activities. Both dogs should be born with the same natural inherent protective instincts and handler loyalty that the German Shepherd is admired and respected for worldwide. Dogs that possess bad nerves and are overly aggressive towards other dogs and people have no place on the competition field or in the family environment.
It is very important to find a dog that comes from bloodlines that consist of dogs that have proven themselves on the trial field. The schutzhund trial was created originally as a test of suitable temperament prior to breeding. Dogs that are bred for working and temperament qualities are referred to as working lines and dogs that are bred for high conformation placings are known as show or high lines. The dogs from working lines should be healthy and hardy for a long working career. They should also possess a great deal of adaptability to any surroundings. Comfortable at home in front of the fireplace or competing at national level competitions. A large number of people do not have an interest in working and training dogs but desire a safe and stable companion capable of providing a comfortable level of security. The ideal trial dog can be the ideal companion dog!