As the economy continues to show signs of doubt – many people are worried about the potential of rising crime rates throughout Alberta.
While many people turn to technology to protect their families and properties, a local business between Eckville and Sylvan Lake, Janz Haus German Shepherds, offers a solution that also doubles as a family companion. German Shepherds are one of the most intelligent breeds of dogs and are bred to be able to work in multiple fields.
Jan Zerebeski, owner of Janz Haus German Shepherds, is proud of her breeding program and has litters of puppies that will be ready in time for Christmas.
“All of our dogs are imported from Europe from the top pedigrees in the world,” she said. “They have good overall health, temperament and great nerves which is important when you are breeding.”
She added that one of the surest signs a German Shepherd will be a good working dog is whether they have ball drive as a puppy. This is where they are considerably interested in retrieving balls during games of fetch.
“You want dogs that have lots of ball drive because that ball drive gives you the foundation to train them for anything you wish such as search and rescue and detection dogs - which is bombs and explosives,” Zerebeski said.
Many of the older dogs come directly from police canine units – which is a sure sign of capability and intelligence, according to Zerebeski.
“All of our dogs can be in family homes,” she said. “Many of our dogs are ex RCMP officers. Once they leave the canine unit they come to me to be family pets or something else.”
She added that many of them move on to work in drug and gas leak detection.
Part of the reason German Shepherds make excellent guard dogs for homes and businesses is due to their ability to react to danger and also work on command.
“The guard dogs are trained to react to the danger they see,” she said. “Police dogs are trained to work on command. They are never isolated - they are socialized and they know when it’s time to do a job.”
Another important factor a German Shepherd offers is the ability to act as a deterrent to potential crime, as a dog barking and the sheer stature of the impressive animals might make a criminal think twice about committing a crime.
“When you have guard dogs - you always want to have two of them. You don’t want one alone. Two forms a pack and we try to provide that,” Zerebeski added.
Breeding German Shepherds has been a family tradition for the Zerebeskis’.
“We have been breeding for 16 years,” she said. “My husband was involved with Shepherds before I met him and it runs in our family. The love of the breed is why we got into it and continue to strive and pass it on to our kids.”
All the puppies at Janz Haus are properly socialized during the time they are at the kennel and Zerebeski stressed that any of her customers should take their dogs to formal puppy training at six weeks old to properly socialize them with other dogs.
“Avoid puppy parks with unpredictable dogs because if a dog attacks your puppy - that stays with them for life,” she said. “You want to play with good dogs as they are growing.”
If you would like more information on Janz Haus dogs or you would like to adopt a puppy, you can contact Zerebeski at 403 597 4046 or at janzhaus.com
“German Shepherds are one of the smartest dogs out there and that is why the police use them,” she said. “They are predictable, they have strong nerves and they are easily trainable.”
reporter@sylvanlakenews.com