What is your definition of a "REAL" working dog - Page 1

Instead of derailing the "Female Handlers Ruining the Breed---my rebuttal" thread I started a new one.

Susie.......in the other thread made the following remark; (in case you haven't guessed.....I take exception with)

"Another point I really don´t understand -and this seems to be a problem of the United States-you breed dogs because they are therapy-, agility-, or SAR dogs, and the breeder say (mostly women) that these dogs are working dogs. These dogs ARE working dogs, but NOT in the world of the German Shepherd."

I disagree..........German Shepherd SAR dogs are considered working dogs in the World of the German Shepherd. Obviously the FCI & IRO also agree, or they would not have created the RH test to determine if a dog is suitable and mission ready for SAR work.

I agree...agility dog's are not "real" working dogs.

I think therapy dogs fall more into the Service Dog category. Mostly because they are not (typically) tested under extreme physical and mental conditions. While they still play an important role in society they do not have to be athlete's and can still perform a service even if they are not physically sound.

My definition of a "Real" working dog is this.........a dog that has a job.

Whether it as the farmers herding dog, or as a military dog, or assisting and protecting a Police officer, or searching for someone with a rescue team. All of these jobs require the dog to be agile an athlete, physically sound, have the appropriate temperament and drive, and be mentally sound. I'm sure I'm leaving out qualifying characteristics but these are the biggest IMOP.

For those of you who have not worked side by side a GSD for hours and miles, in all types of weather and terrain conditions, not to mention the wildlife (human included) hazards, you can not truly appreciate the heart of the "real" GSD working dog.

So what do you think PDB? What is your definition of a "REAL" working German Shepherd?

Cheri

Cheri
You are so right. People who have not done real life work with a working GSD have no idea how valuable they are. When you see one of mine at barley 8 months go down into a bog where a stubborn bull has put himself to keep away from the horses, and then bite him on the nose to get him out, you really appreciate that dog!
I can't say for any other real work personally other than PPD. But I really do appreciate the real working GSD!

Collects a w-2 

my definition of a "real working dog" is a dog that is completely balanced.

a dog that can easily live inside a home, be a best friend and protector. a dog that can be taken anywhere and be comfortable with the public and yet understand when trouble is in the air.

a dog that is easily trained and enjoys work......herding, sport, SAR, therapy, or whatever the work happnes to be.

a beautiful dog that can only be described as "one in a million".

a working dog could also mean a dog that does any work or job for its owner; ie my gsd guards/protects my family, home n property. For instance, i'm presently not disposed to selling my bitch even if i need to because of the sense of security she invokes. A working dog must not only be a herding or police dog: how many of us live in farm house?

A GSD that utilizes correct to standard temperament and has been specifically trained in order to provide a needed service to people, to me, is a working dog. A working dog that can also perform his/her task in all environments and show trustworthy and stable character is ambassador for the breed and worth it's weight in gold.

They often get overlooked and even sneered at by some as there are no points or trophies awarded them, and less money and prestige to go with them than in the sport/show world, but to me, they are every bit what was intended for the GSD.

Clc29.... I will tell you waht susie is talking about when she said that. First off a gsd doing sar is in fact doing real work and I admire them for what they do. What she is saying is sar work alone does not justify there breed worthiness. If we were talking about bloodhounds then yes it would be. Would a gsd with the temperament of a bloodhound be breedworthy? Many different breeds have done well in sar work but most of them could never be a dual purpose psd dog. I hope this answers your question. Another thing people don't understand about sport tracking or foot step tracking is that it is not a natural way for a canine to track. If wolves tracked like that they would never catch their prey. Training fst tracking with all its precision is not as easy as many on here who don't actually do it think it is. Tracking like this goes against their instincts and shows the biddability in a dog because it is tracking the way you want him/her to do it and not the way its survival instincts tell it to do. I have seen a number of gsd's that do quite well in SAR work that would NEVER make a dual purpose police k9. I hope one of my club members don't take offense to that statement....lol. cheers. Kurt

I would like to add that not ALL gsd's doing SAR work fall in that category but a good number of them do. Remember this thread is an offshoot of female handlers weakening the breed. This is what susie was talking about. IMO if a dog is not capable of dual purpose police k9 work then it is not a breed worthy dog. I do schutzhund and many of them fall under the same scrutiny. Just wanted to clarify. Kurt

Cheri... (your statement souds like you do not think herding GSD'S qualify as breed worthy). That proves my point "MOST PEOPLE ON HERE CAN'T READ A POST AND UNDERSTAND IT much less READ A DOG AND UNDERSTAND IT".