Maverick ( 17 mos old German Shepherd) Herding Sheep

[vonSontausenGSD]

His drives and balance are very nice. He is not upsetting the sheep, and he is balancing off them. If you are a stock owner, you need a dog to control the stock, not chase it. He does not work like a BC if you know anything about the  the breed. I don't know this dog or his breeding but he has a very nice natural style. You don't *teach* them to stare or crouch, that is genetic and its the contact between the dog and the STOCK not the handler which is important especially at this stage.

[vonSontausenGSD]

Actually his drives and balance are very nice. He is not upsetting the sheep, and he is balancing off them. If you are a stock owner, you need a dog to control the stock, not chase it. He does not work like a collie if you know anything about the history of the breed , and what it is supposed to actually be. I don't know this dog or his breeding although some show lines are likely in there ( as they are in most of our dogs ) What counts is how he works which is a very nice natural style.

[storm91520]

That's not how a GSD is supposed to work. Why do so many people insist on treating them like stupid Collies? They are a totally different animal for a totally different purpose. If you want a dog to work like that go buy a Collie.

[KikiSpaghetti]

Yay Mavers!!

[camillajonsson]

what a handsome GSD! I love to watch a WORKING GSD. Not a fan of the show lines though.

[helsinkisuomi]

@camillajonsson, amen to that!

[95wakingthedemon]

@camillajonsson He's show line, nartard. Just look at the crappy drive. In the end, he finally starts to get into it but for the most part, he's just walking in circles behind them.

[stockdogs]

Hey, hey! Give them some slack y'all! Critic is based on what? Do any of you know how many times this team has worked? I think you did a great job! Nice to see other breeds work sheep than the usual ones. Keep it up!

[playinginamist]

I take my GSD herding but she goes on cows usually. Your dog has a beautiful disposition. A lot of GSDs would rather be near their owner than gathering sheep... And, a lot of them are very bite driven. It's so nice to see one that herds more like a collie than a rude mouthy one :)

[Janosita]

Great loooking dog - but 'herding'... Not really. He's not paying enough attention - no trainer-dog interaction here. He is just running after them. You have to teach him to stop, stand, stare, crouch, lie and only move when you tell him.

[playinginamist]

This is how you start a dog... It has to have fun and want to chase... Then you start putting commands when the dog is focused. That is herding. Maybe you have only seen trials with seasoned dogs. This one is obviously green but still has a great disposition for it.

[LesCrapio]

Genuine, 'A' class GSD trot.

[lovinggsd]

I T A :)

[SteinbaumGSD]

That handsome boy has the herding instinct. You should keep him in it.

Check out my first-time herding videos of my 3 GSDs that I have posted on here.