Originally, German Shepherds were designed to be working dogs. Their genetic background nowadays is still similar to how the breed was invented, but the spectrum in which we use German Shepherds as working dogs today has widened significantly. When Fenris Fangs was established, the dogs that built our fundament had the perfect qualities for the work as Service Dog or Therapy Dog with an excellent sense for energy shifts, unusual situations and reading body language without showing any form of aggression. They were gentle, friendly, affectionate, undemanding, but with will to please and an adorable way of communicating. We continued to select future generations based on this personality type. We added slightly more focus, determination and endurance and created a perfect fundament for a highly adaptable and refined family companion dog in first place. Our concept draw attention and the requests for puppies meant to be trained as Service Dogs or Therapy Dogs rose with time. Today there are several of our puppies certified as Service- and Therapy Dogs but also Detection and Rescue Dogs worldwide, all of them doing a wonderful job.
By optimizing our lines we added some working temperament and willpower to our previous lineage and created a second strain, that is suitable to be used as Detection- Tracking- or Sport Dog. Because we want to stick to the Service Dog temperament, we breed a ratio of 2/3 of puppies with Service Dog temperament and 1/3 working stock. Feel free to contact us for more information about our Service Dog breeding program. We’re glad to assist.
Service – and Therapy Dogs
Service Dogs
There are different types of service dogs, trained to perform specific tasks that assist their handler with any number of mental or physical disabilities like Guide Dogs, Hearing Dogs, Autism Service Dogs, Diabetes Service Dogs, Medical Alert Dogs, to name a few.
Therapy Dogs
(are different than Service Dogs, but require similar traits like Service Dogs to be suitable for their tasks)
Therapy dogs are trained to provide comfort and support to people in hospitals, nursing homes, schools, or disaster areas.
Emotional Support Dogs
These Dogs can provide comfort and improve their handlers wellbeing in difficult life situations or after experiencing traumatic events.
Sport – and Detection Dogs
Detection Dogs
There are several type of Detection Dogs. While the most people may know Narcotics Detection Dogs or Explosives Detection Dogs, there are a lot more types. Medical Detection Dogs, Cadaver Detection Dogs, Conservation Detection Dogs, Tracking Dogs etc. Nowadays dogs can be trained to use their olfactory to find nearly any specific substance.
Rescue Dogs
German Shepherds thrive in tracking work and are used for different type of searches in disaster areas, like avalanches, landslides, water rescue or searching for missing people on difficult terrain.
Sport Dogs
German Shepherds are active dogs by nature and come in different energy levels and body types. They are lovely companions for sports like Canicross, Bike- or Ski- joring, Mushing or Carting, Dock Diving, Obedience Trials and so on. However we do not recommend to do Agility or any other fast pace parkour sports in general with German Shepherds. These are sports for lighter and more flexible dog breeds.
