German Shepherds
Junior
Aion
23.06.2018
Health: A/B, 1/1, LTV0
Temperament Test: SPL Evaluation
Achievements: FCI-BH, Obedience 1, JK1 (Finnish national working dog trial on tracking), Obedience National Championship Team Silver
Shows: 1x Sert
Junior returned to me around six months old, and it's not surprising why. There's more energy in him than in a larger village, and what makes him content is being at work for at least 10 hours a day. The last time he seemed like a normal dog was in Greece, after a flight, two weeks of intensive protection training, daily trips to new places like canyons, cities, and caves, and only 6-8 hours of rest per day.
Junior is a fitting dog for me because he can perform a specific movement continuously for 3 hours, and every repetition is as enthusiastic as the previous one. He enjoys every activity he has tried, and he is easily motivated with toy rewards. Junior is involved in IPO tracking, obedience, and protection work.
With Junior, it's easy to go anywhere, and often, especially abroad, he is off-leash in urban environments. However, Junior is not your typical homebody; he requires a significant amount of demanding activities. He thrives as a training dog, as there's never too much to do, and he can refine his skills endlessly. Junior is also very open to other dogs and enjoys playing with young males, for example. He only defends himself if challenged, but otherwise, he sees new acquaintances as potential friends. With people, Junior is politely indifferent. He gets along well with familiar faces, is ready to play with anyone, loves children, but nothing beats his own family and his owner. Junior is a great example of a dog that can use a training field as a dog park, freely roaming and having fun. However, as soon as called, he runs to your side, ready to give his all to training.
Junior's strengths include eagerness to work, easy motivation, and pleasant drives. Weaknesses include weaker nerves and excessive energy. He tends to leak (make sounds during performances), indicating underlying but rarely visible uncertainty.
