For a long time, I have thought that English Shepherd would be excellent SAR prospects. Bred for their desire to please and to do a multiplicity of jobs including searching for lost livestock seem to be a genetic fit for the kind of attitude necessary in SAR.
Pushed to the back of my mind, these thoughts were stimulated by a request for a pup for possible SAR work. Now the need for more information has been pushed to the forefront.
Emailing a group of breeders, I received this informative email from Heather who is involved in SAR with English Shepherds.
“We came to the ES breed largely because we could not find another GSD that met our needs for a working dog and companion in one package. Ken and I
started with Lilly in ’91, (Lilly is a GSD) with both of us handling one dog. We wanted to get her operational, and then get another pup to train so we could each field at searches instead of fighting it out..I’d actually looked into the ES back in 1992, before we moved to PA. I liked the working Aussies on our SAR team, but hated tail docking; this was before show breeding had taken off among Aussies.
So the ES attracted my attention. I’d spoken on the phone to Marian, and had some brochures from her. Pre-internet! But first we relocated — put off buying a pup — and then we found Mel’s breeder, so our second SAR dog was another GSD.
We started looking for a pup to take over Lilly’s job in about 1998. Hunted for two years before finding another GSD breeder who had what we figured we wanted. A teammate was also looking for a first SAR dog at the same time, and really wanted a smaller dog, and one that could work without being crazed all the time.
I suggested the ES, and Barb did the research. She found Theresa, and I went up to Erie with her to check out the dogs. We both really liked Dust-Dee and Cocoa, and my instincts told me that they could throw pups that had the right characteristics of each parent. So I told Barb to wait until they had a litter — turned into a pretty long wait.
There weren’t any other dogs at Theresa’s that I thought had “it” as far as making SAR dogs. The GSD litter and Cocoa’s litter came at about the same time, but there were health problems with the GSD litter that worried me greatly.
When I went up with Barb for a first look at the ES pups when they were five weeks old, I made the call that we would be better off with one of these pups than with one of the survivors of the GSD litter. Pip and her siblings were a really nice bunch of pups. Ken was uncertain, but had to agree. So it was in some ways a really snap decision, based on the individual dogs more than the breed.
I’ve always counseled people who are hunting for a SAR dog to search among several breeds that are acceptable to them and pick the best pup from the best parents, even if that’s their third choice of breed. So I actually followed my own advice!
Barb had first choice in the litter, and chose the most “medium” of the bitch pups in terms of temperament. That was the right call for her.
Ken and I chose the looniest of the five, the one with the most zest, drive, and chutzpah. I tested all the pups while Barb and her husband videotaped and assisted.
What I look for in a pup’s background, regardless of breed:
Working parents — in a job that selects for good character (junk yard dog or flyball don’t count, for example)
Genetic health — I took some gambles with Pip and more or less won, but
probably wouldn’t be so trusting againParents who I would wish to own myself. Intelligent parents who can problem-solve
Breeder who is committed to socializing
Then, in the puppy itself, through observation and testing:
Sociable
– no such thing as a too-friendly pup; discernment can come later, or not, I
don’t careBold and curious about people, things and animals
Fearless in new surroundings — you put it down in a new weird place, and he “owns” the space
Good following instinct
Prey drive — not excessive, but must be moderate to high
Hunt drive — almost can’t have too much of this, if the pup is sociable
and cooperativeRetrieving — nice to have at 7 weeks, but not the shibboleth it
is to some peopleCooperative — will tolerate some restraint
Forgiving — i.e. will follow after pain and restraint tests, will take a social correction without sulking
Bounce-back and persistence — later to manifest as “fight drive”
Emotional self-control — this shows up in the problem-solving exercises
Signs of intelligence — also can show up in the problem-solving, but often
breeder’s observation or my own is more valuableA balance of all of the above — for example, I don’t want a pup with super-high prey drive who has medium or low social drives. The prey drive could become dangerous in that dog. If a dog is going to have one drive very high, others must be up there too, and the dog must not be stupid.
That’s Mel in spades — 95-100 in all the “forward” traits on the Volhard scales, 0-5 in all the “inhibiting” traits. Her social drive controls her prey, hunt, and fight drives.
A dog with a nice balance of medium drives has enough oomph to do the work, and will be much easier to live with.
Good solid sound physical structure, to the extent we can see it at this age.
Of these, probably the most definitive trait is the attitude when the pup is set down all alone but for a human stranger in a weird new environment. His attitude ought to be “Cool!
What’sthiswhat’sthiswhat’sthis????” as he explores every inch of space, and
occassionally “checks in” with the evaluator in a happy way. Tail up and
wagging, little S on his chest leotard.I’ve picked three pups for myself (Moe picked me, and Sophia was shipped to us) and probably dozens for other handlers.
I’ve never picked a dud — and this is a field with a very high wash-out
rate. Some have washed for physical problems down the road, often
accidents or things one couldn’t have foreseen without a really good crystal
ball, but none have washed for lack of talent.What I think the ES brings to the table as a breed are some things that are rare in other breeds:
Functioning off switches — Handlers are always oohing and aaahing over Pip’s
ability to switch instantly from rocket-powered to boneless.Intrinsic ability to pack up with the handler in a smooth way while maintaining independent volition
Sensitivity to context (found in other herding breeds)
Self-controlVery high intelligence & good problem-solving”
Yes, those are the traits that we are trying to preserve in the English Shepherd. And one of the reasons that it is a rare breed.