the German Shepard dog.

[swaro79]

just wondering out there how many stalkers etc use the German Shepard for work on the stalking or deer finding???me personally think there more and capable of doing the job if trained right !!but would love to here from owners who use them?please post pics etc if you use them would love to here from experience.
regards swaro.

 

[Siggy]

Guy Wallace, who, for all his faults knew a thing or two, said deer work was basically the same as police patrol dog work so a German shepherd would be fine. My concern would be getting one with good hips, so you are probably looking at one of the working lines (I like the look of the Czech) so you have the associated problems of dealing with the defensive/attach drive problem - although in some situations that's an assest!

 

[Covert]

Never used or seen a GSD working deer. a friend had one as a peg dog which was better than most labs.
Owned and trained several for security work, no reason why they wouldn’t be capable of working deer.
Would recommend reading Colonel Konrad Mosts book Dog Training , A Manual.
Lots of good information on training GSD’s , great section on the Bringsel method.

 

[Dunwaters]

I used to use this lady. She’d find deer no problem but had a tendency to go looking on her own before they were shot. I would also be wary of her attitude toward sheep.
She is super smart, but very prone to doing what she wants rather than what you want her to do.
I got her from a rescue shelter as a young adult, she’d had a hard time and had some issues, so I didn’t put a huge effort into training her for deer recovery, she’s quite happy just going for walks and riding in the car.
I have no doubt that had I got her younger or persevered with her training she could have been really good.

 

[Bowland blades]

They will do just fine ! Though i would not choose one over a working line Lab or consider a GSD that was from pet / show background . I know of a few who chose to use a Mal again a bit hot for most trainer / handlers so choose carefully on the lines , but a better animal than most lines of GSD on health, get up and go , agility .
Dogs are however an individual choice

 

[Ranger22]

I’ve used one in the past. Very good at it she was too, took to tracking like a duck to water. Wouldn’t be my first choice but if i had to I would use one again

 

[bryn]

This is my first shepherd trained to track shot deer and was also good at indicating deer close by. She’s getting old now and past it.
I’ve just acquired another one and am at present doing a course with Paul Micheal for a deer indicating dog. Seems to be going well.
My limited experience of working dogs tells me most breeds can be trained to do this work as long as they have a good nose and you have the time and patience. However what a breed like a GWP or similar will give you is an inbred ability to do the work with just a little less effort from you but not much less.
I like German shepherds but as a previous poster said dogs are an individual choice.

 

[Madu]

I've worked and trialled GSD's for years, there's no reason why they wouldn't or couldn't be used for deer work. Tracking is tracking, they don't care what it is, just down to the training. Remember like many other dog breeds there are working lines and "others", health issues are minimised with working lines as they are supposed to be health tested prior to breeding. Socialising is very important for any breed, mine are super around all livestock and people.
What I would say though is to choose your breed carefully, they all have something to offer but most working dogs will fit into a type of work. I've seen labs and terriers doing protection work, but most people in the know will go for a GSD or Mali for that type of work.
Have a look at what people are using for deer, there's a reason why bavarians, teckels, GWP, WHV and labs are used.

 

[viking90]

I use a Mal but I would of use a German shepherd if I had one. She's wasn't bought to do this specific job, she's just a rescue I sprung from doggy prison and in true Mal fashion they're the jack of all trades and happy to do whatever you need them to. The german shepherd coat would be a benefit in winter stalking over the mals

 

[swaro79]

thanks guys just shows you these dogs are more capable than what you think>?best get this fellow to it?

 

[Bowland blades]

When we are talking deer dogs , unless the dog breed or type has physical issues its more about how you bring them up ! I have seen a few terriers , sheepdogs ( the latter are very often gun shy , but look what they do for hill farmers ) . Tackels are nothing like the labs i use but they are both employed to do the same job a different way . I have had GWP and Labradors as deer specialists , cannot see me ever having anything instead of a Lab now and look at the breed generally these dogs are the most popular in so many work tasks not just shooting related ones either ! ... They have the size to do what smaller deer dogs cannot physically manage . One of our youngest established breeds of dogs but look at how they have taken over in so many lines of work!
Choose what suits you though or what you have available because deer are the natural prey of all dogs it must be hard to find a dog that was totally, utterly 100% useless after some training with heads , skins and blood etc.

 

[swaro79]

just love seeing the gsd dog getting worked in all fields!!well capable dog under right training.

 

[bijssg]

I see this is an old thread but I must add my bit to this.

I had a Czech line German Shepard for nearly 13 years she passed away in June this year.

She was so easy to train to deer she basically picked it all up with little guidance from me. So easy for novices just need the time.

Iv had several deer found by her, her tracking ability was phenomenal.

Once I shot a fallow doe as it dropped dark I couldn't find her anywhere before thermals were about. I went and got her out of the truck she rode on my lap on the quad all the way to the shot site and went to work for a few minutes all I remember hearing was a groan from her over a brook I went in thick cover trying to get closer to the sound, finally found her she had the deers neck in her mouth waiting for me to get there the does was dead as a dodo.

She would never of passed any deer tracking courses as I'm sure there some critic on here of her deer track described but she was happy and it worked for us both, it was very much our way of deer work but she was an incredible deer dog and an incredibly loyal companion sadly missed every day and this winter shooting tens of fallow every week. RIP Dixie

 

[bijssg]

 

[Heym SR20]

If you think that in Police work one of the primary roles is to track people, and to track and find one individual based on an initial scent in amongst a lot of other human scent, getting an Alsation to follow a blood trail of a deer should not be that difficult. They are highly intelligent and form very strong bonds with their handlers. But they do need handlers who have the character to train them well.

 

[Ratel]

I have seen one retrieving game birds and being used to track and hold deer. Like others say almost any dog can be trained to track. My little horror of a Teckel started at six months old on her own with no training and proceeded to make sure the deer was dead. Being from Serbia it must be in the gene pool I think.

 

[Dogtra UK]

I’ll quote an old dog trainer here who specialised in GSD’s. He was called Don Harrison.

He said “ Ian, all dogs have the capacity to easily track us or anything you want them to track. Everything to them stinks. What differs in all dogs, even the same breed is the desire, determination and mental capacity to maintain a track”.

 

[BenBhoy]

View attachment 392408

An absolute beauty, really appreciate them dark ones, tremendous looking dogs with the brains to back it up. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Bavarianbrit]

My partner was brought up in a wirtshaus in Germany. A pub restaurant to you plebs and they had an Alsatian guard dog who would let everyone into the public area but would never let them leave so they had to all climb out of a window when leaving. The dog was passed on to an uncle who worked security nights on an American army base nearby and he said it was the best dog he had ever used.

 

[BenBhoy]

My partner was brought up in a wirtshaus in Germany. A pub restaurant to you plebs and they had an Alsatian guard dog who would let everyone into the public area but would never let them leave so they had to all climb out of a window when leaving. The dog was passed on to an uncle who worked security nights on an American army base nearby and he said it was the best dog he had ever used.

Sorry I'm late home darling, the dog wouldn't let me leave the pub!