My history in Training and Breeding German Shepherds
When I was a little kid, I always wanted an animal. As small as a hamster, guinee pig….or even a bird.
My parents never allowed me to, as they thought that they would be stuck with the care for the pet, and I would not care for it as much as I should.
When I was about 13 years old, my mother came home with a Shepherd mix puppy, eight weeks old, solid black color. A friend of her’s had a German Shepherd Mix female that supposedly jumped the fence when she was in heat and a few weeks after she came back- it was discovered that she was pregnant!
Her friend told her that he needs to place the puppies quickly. If he couldn’t, he would take them to the pound.
My mother took one to our home.
As you can imagine, I was all over it. Here I was denied to have a little pet, and now we had a dog!
When my Dad came home from work that night, the war between my parents began. He was so mad about what my mom had done and I remember them fighting every day over NOT having a dog!
Meanwhile, I took care of the dog, fed him, watered him, took him for his walks at least three times a day. I loved hm and it!
After days of agony, my mother told my Dad that she would take the dog back to her friend.
Then my Dad said “you can’t do that to the kid!
Fight was over. I just got my first dog!
Dog training clubs in Germany are like pubs in London. There is one of them in just about walking distance of your home. Bred specific training clubs as well as all breed training clubs.
I happened to walk by one of them on a Sunday when they had training session and watched over the fence. I looked at my dog and thought, this what I want you to do.
Ever since that thought came up, I was at the club three times a week. Yes I had to walk 20 minutes one way, or took the bike to get there faster. I never skipped a single dog training day. Besides, I got up half hour earlier before going to school to take him for a walk. Believe me, I loved sleeping! And I also came straight home from school to take care of him, while my friends would go to other friends’ houses and play. I wanted it badly, and I needed to show my parents that I am dead serious.
As the sport of Schutzhund IPO involves bite work…I sadly, after two attempts to trial with insufficient results in that phase, and two years of training, realized that my dog was not cut out for this. Every trial I failed the bite work test. He just didn’t have it. He was a natural in tracking. Therefore I participated in tracking tests very successfully. But the tracking was something that was trained in the farming fields and woods. Away from the social aspect of the training club and its field. Needless to say, the bite work training was such a tickling aspect of the whole process.
The club members had learned over time that “this kid was serious and super talented”, as they realized that my dog had excellent training and performance in tracking and obedience- yet just didn’t have the drives and courage to pass the protection phase. And luckily they tried to keep me motivated. Therefore they involved me doing decoy work for all other club dogs. It really peaked my interest to learn all about bite work training as that was what my dog was lacking. I needed to know everything about it!
At fifteen years old, I was utilized as the trial decoy for the very first time. Only for three Schutzhund 1 dogs at that event. That was a time when the helper used a reed stick. And dog training methods were not as sophisticated as they are today. The trial requirements were also not as “tight” as they are today. The dogs could circle the helper in the out and guard phase, and the decoy was allowed to defend himself with the stick from dirty bites other than the sleeve. I remember being in the bathroom, padding my legs by taping news paper around them. When I was done with the three dogs, I was shaking from physical exhaustion and tension in mind and body to do everything by the book.
What a great feeling!
The more I learned about doing decoy work, the more I wanted to perform with my own dog.
As money was very tight, there was just no way at the time to get another dog that could be more suited to do the work.
Members of the club, that realized my talent and passion were willing to help me to get another dog!
A Breeder in the club had raised a puppy for his wife, but she after all, didn’t have the time to work with her. This female was 12 months old. The breeder decided to give me this female for free!
Now the next obstacle were my parents…..more likely my Dad!
I remember us sitting at the dinner table and me mentioning the opportunity.
He said “we cant have another dog! End of discussion!”
I didn’t talk to him for one week straight. After that he said “if it is that important to you, go get that female!”
This female, Bibi vom Buckower Feld, was a hot start! SchH / IPO 3 by 2.5 years old.
She went on to be my customs service dog ( dul purpose trained Patrol / Narcotic Detection), bringing us to top ten rankings in International Law Enforcement K9 Competitions.
At age 20 I acquired another Female, Jenny von der Herdersfarm. Jenny won Regional competitions and qualified for the Bundessieger Pruefung. She was the mother of my very first litter!
Very soon thereafter, I owned a total of four dogs that I started my breeding program with.
Ever since, I have trained my own- as well as clients dogs, and have been guiding dog owners to be better trainers.
Zauberberg in America was founded in 1995.