First regional stint for working German shepherd championships hailed a success

The Working German Shepherd & Dog Sport Clubs of Australasia Nationals concluded the four-day event on Sunday and organisers say the event has been a great success.

The competition attracted 27 entrants from across Australia with dogs and handlers competing in several categories and three stages including tracking, obedience and character work.

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WGSDSCA president Sanne Pedersen said the event went "really well."

The event was hosted by the local Junee Dog Sport Club and was held on farms at Junee and also at Wagga's Equex Centre.

"The national championships have been running since 2002 and this is the first time we've gone regional," Ms Pedersen said.

"It's usually held in Sydney or Brisbane," she said.

She said it was also the first time the championships have been held at such a great location.

"It's the first time we've held the championships on a big rugby field," she said.

"That is what championships overseas do, but we usually run ours on smaller fields.

"So I really appreciate the Wagga Council giving us access to that."

Ms Pedersen also thanked Junee farmers for helping to host the tracking tests.

As part of tracking test, the dog follows an unmarked track laid down some time before by a stranger.

The dog must follow it to find one or more articles dropped along the way and at the end.

"We were out tracking [at Junee] on Sunday morning with local farmers helping by giving access to their fields," she said.

"That was lovely."

Ms Pedersen said the highlight of the event was providing such a great opportunity to participants.

"It was a great opportunity for dog sport people to access a stadium this big and for many it's the first time to try a field this big," she said.

Ms Pedersen said another big highlight was surveying participating German Shepherds to see whether they meet international standards, including an inspection of hide colour, build and temperament.

"It was the first time that has ever happened in Australia, since the first German Shepherd came here in 1904," she said.

"It was pretty special for us and we had to get special permission from Germany to conduct those surveys."

Ms Pedersen said the purpose of the championships is to bring the top German Shepherd dogs across Australia together and show the public just how much they love to work.

As an expert dog hander herself, Ms Pedersen also took out top prize of the championships with dog Kanikular Blast of Bindee, winning a ticket to represent Australia at the world championships in Hungary in October.

The sport was originally developed as a breed test for the German Shepherd but has grown into a popular sport all working dog breeds.

The local Junee Dog Sport Club is the host club of the nationals this year and specialises in training working German Shepherd dogs, but welcomes all owners and dogs of all shapes and sizes to the clubs weekly training sessions each Sunday between 11am and 2pm.

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