Ah, Shadow!  This guy is my constant companion, thus the name “shadow”!  He is extremely well-behaved, obedient, intelligent, eager to please, ready to learn, and confident!  I have never had a dog which was so easy to train and ready to work! 

     I’ve been training Shadow to accompany me  while I’m selling wares at the Farmer’s Market on the Westford Green.  He never needs a leash, always close by my side.  Gentle with children and adults, he is my biggest draw!  All the kids love to come by to play ball with him. 

     Besides that, he does have a real job to do on the farm.   We are in the midst of training rudimentary herding skills, and is already my “enforcer”!  If any of the goats get out of the pasture, I can send him to chase them back in,  if the goats are bothering me while I’m milking in the shed, I tell him to “get them out!”, which he does.  The only thing holding Shadow back are my own inabilities as a trainer. 

     Shadow is a pure-bred German Shepherd whose lineage comes from a working line out of the former Soviet Bloc Countries such as East Germany, Czechoslovakia and Hungary.   His Father Treu v Schafertiesel came from  von Hena-C kennels , who specializes in these  working GSD lines, producing a stocky, large boned, dark pigmented dog. These dogs make great family pets with superb trainability, laid back disposition, and are also beautiful to look at. Most of the puppies from this line go to family homes as pets but they also have many doing police, schutzhund, search and rescue, show obedience, and therapy as well.   The dogs they breed also have some sort of working or temperament title and are out of a titled schutzhund background. Females range from 60-75 lbs. and 22-24" tall. Males range from 75-100 lbs. and 24-26" tall.   The color of these puppies are very dark because of their bloodline background.  (Shadow’s father is all black, his mother a sable.) 

     Shadow's mom is called “Rusty” by her owners, Sue and Don Broscious.  She has had 3 litters so far and is a fantastic mother. Of all of their dogs, she is the brightest and most intelligent; almost human like in how she communicates. She also throws puppies who are also intelligent, loyal, loving companions.

Shadow, the working dog