Wenatchee GSD

Since 1965; owned By Jim and Julie Barnes

We purchased our first German Shepherd puppy, Baron von Ruger, in 1960 for $10.00. He was a small 65 pound, black and tan male whose ear tips never quite stood up straight. But never the less, he got us hooked on the German Shepherd breed. By 1963 Jim had trained and shown Baron at AKC Trials to a CD, CDX and a UD degree. They won many classes and Highest Scoring Dog in Trial trophies at both specialty and all-breed trials, defeating hundreds of dogs, scoring 199++ out of 200 possible points. Not bad for a $10 investment! Baron also was a dynamo in personal protection work and Jim became an assistant trainer to local Police Dog trainer Heinz Peters. In 1961 Julie bought her first GSD and trained him through a CDX degree, winning a few trophies along the way. We then bought our first “good” GSD, a female out of German import bloodlines, and Wenatchee German Shepherds was begun. Julie trained Alcina in both obedience and protection work and she won a few conformation ribbons also. Our first litter was whelped in 1967.

WENATCHEE’S “A” LITTER

We kept the pick male from that litter: Wenatchee’s Armando. Jim trained him in obedience and personal protection work (this was before Schutzhund became common in the USA) and he also won a couple of conformation ribbons along the way

Some Wenatchee’s “A” litter progeny:

Axel: Officer Mel Friday; Anticoch K9 Unit HAGEN:Officer Jim Jones Antioch K9 unit

Ilka: Jim’s first working K9 as he began a career in Law Enforcement with Placerville PD in 1974. Ilka was also the Dam of the Wenatchee’s B and C litters.

Krieger von Hiatt CDX,TDX,ScH III,AD,FH,SH, LAWHI,KH

And some A litter Grandkids

That’s the beginning years. You can fast forward a few years and catch up with our more current Wenatchee working dogs by clicking here or on the “Previous Litters” link.

Since being involved with the training of German Shepherd Dogs, Jim has worked on the road as a K9 patrol officer for a total of 13+ years during 26 years as a police officer/deputy sheriff. He has instructed private obedience classes and directed the training of approximately 350 Police Service Dog Teams including the original San Francisco Police Department K9 unit, and units from the cities of Vallejo, Antioch, Concord, Petaluma, Cotati, Fremont, Richmond, South Lake Tahoe, Placerville, plus the counties of Amador, Placer, Sacramento and El Dorado. He has developed testing procedures designed to require Police Service Dog Teams to display minimum standards of proficiency and authored a widely acknowledged prototype of a comprehensive Police Service Dog Operations Manual. Jim has also officiated (judged) approximately 100 Police Service Dog competitions for the Western States Canine Association and for the Police Summer Games. Jim is retired from law enforcement, but he still serves as the training director for South Lake Tahoe Police Department and is a senior judge with the WSPCA.