The real German Shepherd Herding Dog

In awe of the real German Shepherd herding dog!
In my attempt to do right with our new German Shepherd/Husky dog from the shelter and after observing her around the cows the other day, I could so see the herding instincts in her. She also exhibits much independence and shows little interest in learning "tricks". I see though that she could be happy herding, which might sound like a humanizing description, but it seemed she was happy. She seems to come to live in herding and guarding though that is not going to happen in her present circumstance - which is why I went back online in search of "work" ideas for her. I myself feel such an affinity for something quite indefinable here - and then I stumbled upon these pages which describe the German Shepherd herding dog - and I am in awe.

Times have changed - and dogs are raised for different reasons now - but this is amazing.
It seems that some of the lineage is being carried on on the Nickelsberg farm.

The Training of a German Shepherd Herding dog

The link below is an interview with Manfred Heyne - and it is totally worth it to read it all, especially the descriptions on how he selects the suitable puppies, the way they work together.

Priceless - Interview with Master German Shepherd Dog Trainer and Breeder Manfred Heyne

Nikko with the flock at Schloss Eisenbach – 1990    

Shepherds and their dogs - 19th century - and still today - in Germany

Being a Shepherd(ess)

In looking for guidance on how to best train our new year old German Shepherd/Husky  which we picked up 3 months ago from the shelter, I came across a couple of sites describing a way of working with German Shepherd dogs that ring deeply true.

For a number of years I have wondered and felt that somewhere, sometime, I was a shepherd. Before observing our dog with the cattle the other day - what triggered it was this thing about liking, or rather, a deep familiarity of eating bread and cheese, not neatly done, but by hand, in a chunk,  and the love and naturalness of walking in nature with a stick.
This is a great site for herding dog info Herding Dogs - German Shepherds - a must read for German Shepherd lovers - and his story of escaping East Germany is worth a movie.

When I took on the job of training our new dog, it seems to have come back, the instinct to walk, the dog just around somewhere, staff in hand. The other day I went into the other pasture to get her back from herding cows - something just felt so familiar....I even knew that is was not proceeding the "right" way - but her instincts are there - keep those big cows away from the fence and out of sight...she did this in a short time and happily returned...the cows seemed fine with it too.

The picture above looks a lot more romantic than it likely was - but the times way back then were different than today. Shepherds were poor and few had 3 dogs.

I look at the pasture and wish there was a herd of sheep to take care of, with enough  land to graze on. I'd love to walk it, with a couple of dogs doing their jobs. Our new dog is quite independent, and somewhere buried, she already knows how to do this. You'd think it would get old, being out there with a hard and simple life, alone a lot. There are moments of freedom there though, lots of them.

Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts wurden in Deutschland, Holland, Belgien, Frankreich, Italien, Ungarn usw. riesige Schafherden von Hirten mit Ihren Hunden betreut. Je nach Region und Land entstanden unterschiedliche Typen von Schäfer- und Hirtenhunden: Aus diesen Vorgängern entstand in Deutschland der "Deutsche Schäferhund", in Frankreich der "Briard, Picard, Beauceron" und nahe der spanischen Grenze die Pyrenäenhunde, in Italien der Maremmano, in Ungarn der Puli, Kuvasz usw.

This here is the first certified "shepherdess" in Germany. It takes 3 years of apprenticeship. It is her dream job.

Dream - job - shepherdess Read more here - it's in German tho...

Feeding your German Shepherd Husky

What to feed your German Shepherd/Husky?

There is a lot of info out there on what is best to feed your dog. Some even go all vegan, and then there is the all raw food diet. Commercial foods have the advantage that they are already calculated to be balanced...but their ingredients are often questionable. There is a budget consideration also.
I figured to have a mix of commercial soft and kibble food, a more or less daily vitamin, a sardine and egg for the oils and biotin and other nutrients and some bones and meat - plus treats - might be a good way to go.

So ok, she is about 1 year old and weighs 59 lbs atm. (up 3 lbs from a few weeks ago)
After some experimenting and observation of her likes, dislikes and eating habits as well as sensitivities, I feed her more or less this:

- 1 to 1 1/2  cans/d of soft commercial dog food
- about 1 cup/d of lamb based kibble
- a meaty bone or a soup bone (she LOVES this) - best for her work beef neck bones.

I know  - the small bones. The loose ones I take out, and she chews well. I figure, wolves eats all kinds of bones - but then, their live span is not that long. In any case, I think dogs are basically equipped to handle raw meat and bone.

- 1 sardine/d - for the oils, and I might up that to 1-2/day.
- 1 raw egg about 3-4 times/week

- and she gets  lots of treats during training
Since she is not very food oriented - I kept having to upgrade from kibble, to hot dogs to meat cubes and now to cheese and cooked carrots and I use the sardine as a treat as well - because she LOVES it. I use it all in the course of the day...only during training.
OH she gets 2 large dog biscuit/d from someone else.

I found when I feed her more, she looks like she gains too much weight. So I adjust it week to week. She gets more when it is very cold outside (she is an outside dog).
So far she's been fed twice a day - after early morning and late afternoon/early evening training...plus the treats during other training sessions.

So far she is happy, healthy and vigorous with this and has a nice shiny coat.
These photos are from this morning playing in the sun.