Sierra Working Dogs

Wenatchee German Shepherds   Walburga German Shepherds   Widerhall German Shepherds    

Walburga German Shepherds is dedicated to the preservation of the true working German Shepherd Dog.   Because we focus on the true utilitarian aspect that the Shepherd was meant to be,  our dogs are raised in our home. The German Shepherd was meant to have excellent drives for their work, but also to have such stability of temperament that they would be a trusted member of the family.  The truly were meant to be the “Ruler of the Fortress”

 

Mentored by Jim and Julie Barnes we strive to maintain the excellence in breeding standards that they set.  Take a look at the Wenatchee GSD page to see a sampling of their tradition.  Walburga GSD benefits from their experience.  Here at Walburga, we strive to continue the  tradition of breeding, under their strict mentorship.  Check  out the page on “Breeding Philosphy” for more information and what goes into our decisions on which dogs to breed.   We believe that every puppy needs the best start possible and that includes being raised in a home environment where they can be taught confidence from the earliest stages and we continue the traditions that Jim and Julie set for puppy raising.  Before being placed, every puppy is tested in order determine its aptitude for his/her job in life.  It is critical that the right homes get the right puppies.  Like the Barnes, we understand what people are looking for in their working dog, because we are heavily involved in actually working the dogs we own.  Our belief that every German Shepherd Dog should have a job is not just an idle philosophy with us. 

Walburga German Shepherds are bred and raised by Mike and Cherie Flores. 

We know about true utility working dogs because we work them. 

Cherie has been involved with dogs all of her life. As an adult college student she attended her first formal obedience classes.  She fell in love with training and continued on until grad school.  When grad school was finished she returned to the obedience arena where she quickly began assisting in instruction and eventually taught classes in Sacramento, California.  In the many years that she spent teaching pet dog obedience, she worked with well over 700 dogs.

 

Cherie has been involved as a volunteer in Search and Rescue since 1997.  She started with “Geri”, a German Shepherd that she had rescued from the streets of Sacramento and rehabilitated.  It was quickly apparent that she was not bred for the work as she did not possess the qualities that a true working German Shepherd Dog should have.  In searching for the right dog, Cherie was taken with the working ability  and temperament of dogs she knew that had been bred by Jim and Julie Barnes of Wenatchee’s German Shepherds.  On July 27, 1997 her first “real” German Shepherd, Wenatchee’s Marco, was born.  Marco certified in area (wilderness) when he was two years of age.  When  Marco retired, he entered his second career as the “office dog” often comforting and playing with the kids whom Cherie works with in her “real” job.

          

Marco is an excellent example of the stability of temperament that exists in the Wenatchee lines.  While he was an outgoing active searcher capable of bouldering with the best in Yosemite, he quickly switched easily to the gentle dog around the kids in Cherie’s office.  He was always the “big teddy bear” of the office always ready to play with lego’s or read a book with a child.

In 2002, Cherie’s second working dog, Rio, came into her life.  Rio is the daughter of Wenatchee’s Heiko, a working Sheriff’s Department dog.  She is also the granddaughter (on her mother’s side) of  another working Sheriff’s Department dog, Ex vd Grube Waldecke, (“Eike”).  Eike was also a Schutzhund 3.

 

Rio is a power house of a worker.  Cherie wanted a dog to focus on human remains detection and Rio excels at her work. Rio   certified with WOOF Search Dogs as a Type 1 Area Search Dog, HRD dog and avalanche dog.  Type 1 means that we search in the toughest of conditions throughout the Sierra Nevada mountains for lost persons. 

 

Rio has been on many searches, some for multiple days in the vast wilderness of Yosemite.  She has searched for many different counties both for live and deceased victims.    Rio never slows down and gives the “energizer bunny” a run for his money.  Rio has shown her heart, drives and love of her job in working in untenable conditions for hours on end when necessary. 

In 2005, Cherie decided she also wanted to work a dog in the exceptionally demanding world of Urban Search and Rescue (Disaster).  [Is she crazy?] While Rio has  all the necessary heart, drive, and independence  to work as a  disaster dog, it is discouraged (in California) to cross-train between disaster and Human Remains Detection (that means one dog should not do both). Cherie jumped at the chance to get Hexe because her lines were almost identical to Rio’s.  Hexe is a granddaughter of Heiko and daughter of “Eike”. 

 

In Hexe’s previous home, she was in training for Schutzhund. 

While Cherie is new to the sport of Schutzhund, she decided to see what Hexe did know.  Hexe quickly showed her strong drives and excellent grip.  Hexe’s incredible temperament and love of her work has made it easy for Cherie as a first time handler in the sport.  In approximately 18 months, they achieved their first Schutzhund III title, with an overall score of 283 (96Tracking, 92 Obedience, 95 Protection) and qualified for National competition.  Since then, they have achieved the Sch 3 title four times, and Hexe was the third highest scoring female at the 2008 National German Shepherd Championships.  Not bad for a first time team!

Hexe vom Treuhaus

5x Sch III

Mike has been involved as a volunteer in Search and Rescue since 1991.  He began on the technical team, the swiftwater rescue team, and the ground search team.  Mike often saw the great advantages that the dog handlers had over himself as a ground searcher when searching for lost people. 

 

In 1999, he began his pursuit of handling a K-9 and became certified with Jag, a Belgian Malinois in area (wilderness), avalanche and disaster (state level).  Jag was an honorary GSD in this household since we never told him he wasn’t quite like the others.  Mike was pursuing certification with Jag as a National FEMA Disaster Canine Team when we lost Jag at an early age after a long battle against the devastating illness of Chronic Kidney Failure.

 

Mike’s second dog was born on September 29, 2006 in Walburga’s “A” litter.  Mike has chosen the light blue girl “Artemis vom Walburga.  She has pretty big pawprints to fill, but we are confident she can do it.  She showed tremendous drive and stability during her testing, never hesitating to venture out and take on any challenges presented to her.

D’Jag’s F-14 Tomcat Du Dantero

“Jag”

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Artemis vom Walburga

“Artie”

Rio and Cherie being raised and lowered during the training