I have always admired the working line German Shepherd. In 2019 I found myself in a position with an immediate need to protect my family after discovering a trespasser on my property while my teenage daughter was home alone. This proved to be a pivotal point in our lives as the decision was made to no longer admire this work horse of a breed from afar. It was now necessary to acquire a trained personal protection dog.

After researching and educating myself further on the breed I made a few calls looking for the perfect prospect = one who could also adjust to home life, not having to be kenneled. After all, what good is a personal protection dog locked away in a kennel? I located a trainer, Bob Manning, who has trained law enforcement dogs (both single and dual purpose), handled working dogs overseas, personal protection, and companion dogs. Bob had recently acquired a Czech import, Jasper z Atarova Sadu, who was looking for a job. After meeting Jasper there was no doubt that he was the epitome of a well balanced working line Czech bred GSD. During the handlers course I became even more enamored with the breed – their intelligence, courage and versatility is second to none. I knew right then I wanted to take this further and began educating myself again, this time on training, handling, and breeding.

I began training with Bob regularly and decided to compete in Protection Sports Association (PSA) to further my education and skills. This meant I now had to learn to be a competitive handler. We worked together countless hours, in the freezing cold, monsoon like downpours, and bone-chilling wind in abandoned parking lots, at law enforcement training, you name it, we were training to get ME ready for a Protection Dog Certificate in less than six weeks because of course, Jasper already had all the knowledge and skills.

I successfully took the field and earned Jasper’s PDC in February 2020.

I next took the field for Level 1 however, Jasper proved to require a more experienced handler on a sport field making his own decision to not “out” within the 5 seconds allowed when asked in two different trials. At this point I was faced with a decision – end his sport career or ask Bob to take over as handler on the sport field. Bob & Jasper participated in a club trial earning 1^st place PSA 1 With Distinction and With Highest Distinction on all protection scenarios in late 2022. The duo has successfully earned the first leg of PSA 2 and will take the field in 2024 to close out the PSA 2 title.

Knowing I was fully committed to the conservation of the working line GSD I acquired two females – Darla vom Wulfrik (Ruby), and DaNiece deJasper von der Alten Garde. Ruby has been with me since 8 weeks of age. She is the daughter of Ivon von der Staatsmacht, IPO3. Ruby and I earned our PDC with a score of 140.5 / 155 in early 2023.  We are currently training for PSA1.

DaNiece is currently 13 months old and being raised by Bob. She is the niece of Jasper, and great-granddaughter of Kato Aritar Bastet. We are looking forward to DaNiece and Bob taking the field in 2025.