Is a Shiloh Shepherd Right for Me?
Overall, the Shiloh Shepherd is highly intelligent and easy to train, but they do require consistency in training and rules. They are versatile, adaptable and very family oriented, so they enjoy being with their people.
The Shiloh breed comes in a variety of temperaments, which makes this breed more accessible to many different households. Read through the following to see how these dogs might line up with your lifestyle.
Shiloh Shepherd Pros and Cons:
• Shilohs generally possess a calmer nature, they are content to hang out with their pack, and can easily settle after exercise. Though they do need moderate exercise with daily walks or a game of fetch outside.
• These dogs are easy to train, with a strong pleasing drive. They require consistency and will test their boundaries if rules are not set early and enforced.
• Because of their intelligence, energy, and size, Shilohs can be destructive if bored or left alone too long without an outlet. Because they are highly intelligent and love to use their nose, providing them with stimulating puzzles that keep their attention and make them work for their food are recommended.
• Early positive socialization and introduction to many new experiences is an absolute must with this breed in order for them to grow into confident adults.
• Their gentle, stable temperament can make them well suited for households with children and other animals.
• Shilohs are extremely large and strong dogs. It’s easy to underestimate how much strength and physical stability it may take to handle an excited Shiloh, especially when younger, so keep this in mind (especially if you are used to smaller breeds).
• They can have a herding instinct, and once they have established their pack, they may focus on attempting to keep their people together if separated.
• Shilohs are sociable creatures with a strong drive to be with their people. They require quality time invested by their owner and are not a dog to just leave out in the yard or to sit at home while you are away at work for 12 hours. This is a recipe for an unhappy, dysfunctional Shiloh.
• These dogs have a protective instinct but are NOT attack dogs. They are often foreboding just due to their size and stature. They will alert and bark at strangers but generally are not aggressive and usually make friends easily. Protective tendencies should not be encouraged, as they can train the dog to be reactive and potentially escalate to aggressive behavior.
• While an 8-week-old puppy may show a solid temperament, it’s crucial for owners to actively engage with their puppy during this formative stage. Consistent training, socialization, and positive reinforcement are key to ensuring that the puppy maintains a stable and well-adjusted demeanor as it grows. Regular follow-ups in the form of training sessions and social interactions will help reinforce positive behaviors and prevent any potential behavioral issues in the future.
How to Ask for the Dog You Need
Our Breed founder Tina Barber used to ask, “Good temperament? Good for what?” What this means is that whether a dog’s temperament is “good” is subjective, based entirely on the traits that you and your family are looking for in a companion.
It is up to you to communicate honestly with your breeder, so that they can understand what you are looking for and what you are planning on doing with your dog. Your breeder will want to know about your home life, your lifestyle, and what an average day in your home looks like. Your experience as a trainer, as well as your experience with large shepherd-type dogs, is also very important. All of these things will be taken into consideration when determining the best puppy in the litter for you.
When entering into this process, it can be useful to know what we, the breeders, are testing for, and what sort of terminology we use to classify different puppies.
How We Evaluate Temperament
The International Shiloh Shepherd Alliance mandates temperament testing for all Shiloh puppies by a certified evaluator. Improper readings can lead to improper placement, which in turn could lead to unpleasantness for the dog, the owner, and the reputation of the breed.
All puppies are temperament tested at around eight weeks of age. A certified evaluator scores each pup, with a tester running the pups through a series of exercises. Our testing process has components that test human interaction and sociability, forgiveness, submission, pain tolerance, retrieve drive, prey drive, gun shyness, and problem solving.
The tester is a stranger, and the testing is done in an unfamiliar place the puppy has never been. This gives us the puppies’ base personalities outside of their comfort zones: how they are likely to react when you first bring them to a strange place like the vet’s office or for a walk in a strange neighborhood.
In addition, the daily observations of the breeder, who is very familiar with the pups’ personalities in their home, are taken into account when choosing the right pup for each family. This gives us an idea of what each pup is like inside of their comfort zone: what they will be like after they have adjusted to being in their new home with you.
General Temperament Rating System
Once the testing is done, we rate the pups on a general spectrum based largely on the first four components of testing.
The most often seen here are Medium Hard, Medium, Medium Soft. True Hard and true Soft dogs at the extremes are rare, with most pups spread out on a continuum in between. Following is a general description of the temperaments.
Hard and Medium Hard
These dogs are independent and strong-minded. They need a consistent handler that can provide lots of structure and correction when necessary, as they will try to run the household if left to their own devices. With consistent training and good ground rules established early, they will develop into a rock-solid companion. Good for the active owner who will provide lots of training and stimulus. These dogs can be great family dogs, but it can be harder to provide the consistency and structure they need with children in the house; everyone needs to be on the same page regarding what is expected of the dog..
Medium
There’s quite a range of personalities represented in the Medium dog, and in general this is a nice, well-rounded temperament. Often scoring right down the middle in sociability, independence, and confidence, Medium dogs still need structure. However, they are much more likely to go along with their owner without needing too much convincing! Medium tends to be a good all-around fit for dog-savvy owners and active families with canine experience.
Medium Soft
Dogs with this temperament are easy going and happy to be with their people. They are easy to please, friendlier toward strangers and many exhibit a childlike attitude. They are generally easy to train. They will show protectiveness if provoked, but only if they feel they are in real danger. They generally do not need harsh
corrections, just consistency and training. Medium-Soft can be a perfect temperament for an owner who is new to shepherds and Shilohs in particular.
Soft
These dogs are passive, sweet, and friendly, not interested in a fight or conflict. They will generally be most loyal to their own family and aloof to strangers. It can take lots of socialization to get them to come out of their shell and to be confident out in the world with you. Many softs will look to their people for direction and they will generally require more confidence-building than with other temperaments. They will not do well with harsh corrections and may shut down if subjected to them. They are generally good with children because they are not looking to challenge anyone. The Soft dog can be ideal for someone who just wants a sweet, biddable temperament above all else.
Energy and Drive
In addition to the general temperament rating given above, we test for retrieve and prey drive. The breeder’s own input and observations are very important here, as they will have insight into the puppy that never stops moving versus the puppy who’s always chill!
Energy level can have a heavy influence on how happy you are with your Shiloh, based on the information you give the breeder about your lifestyle. If you want to do a lot of training and/or dog sports with your Shiloh, then you won’t be happy with a lower energy dog. Whereas if you are older and living a quiet life at home with long walks in the country, a lower-energy dog would likely be perfect for you. Be sure to discuss this parameter with your breeder.
Drive is its own element, and there are different types of drive. For the purposes of our testing, we’re most concerned with prey and retrieve drive. If you have small animals in your household, you won’t want a pup with high prey drive, whereas if you would like to try lure coursing with your Shiloh, you do want it! Retrieve drive is prized for dog sports and also for some potential Service applications, but even a Shiloh with low retrieve drive can be taught to do so if it makes their owner happy.
You’ll want to think about what range in these attributes would be best for your lifestyle, and share that with your breeder.
Do Shilohs Make Good Working/Sport Dogs? Shilohs as Service Dogs?
The question regarding Shilohs as Service Dogs often comes up. As an incredibly empathetic breed, they are often used successfully as SD’s. However, the very thing that would make them great as a service dog (empathy and intuition) can make them a challenge to train as a service dog. When they are young, they may pick up on any insecurities or inconsistencies that the owner may be exhibiting. Because of this danger, it is suggested that any potential SD be trained with the assistance of an outside, professional trainer.
A Shiloh that is being sought out as a service dog for mobility issues is NOT recommended to be used until the dog is fully mature (~3 years old) as pressure on the developing skeleton can cause long term orthopedic issues and hurt the dog.
Shilohs in Therapy and Search and Rescue
Shilohs have been successful in both Therapy work and in Search and Rescue. Therapy dogs must be friendly, even-tempered, gentle, confident, and comfortable meeting new people, so if you want to do therapy work you should ask for a more sociable pup and plan on a lot of socialization around different types of people and in different surroundings.
If you are looking to do search and rescue with your Shiloh, you may request a pup with higher prey drive, scenting aptitude, and independence. You will also need a pup with energy and working drive. Socialization in a lot of different environments is advised to help the dog be even-tempered in stressful situations as well as people and dog friendly.
Shilohs in Dog Sports
Shilohs are becoming more popular and successful in various dog sports, and the sky is really the limit when it comes to what you can do with your dog! Shiloh shepherds currently participate in nosework, disc dog, dock diving, lure coursing, agility, rally obedience, and more!
If you want a pup for sports, you’ll want biddability, energy and drive, as well as to make sure that you have enough time in your schedule to commit to a dog that wants nothing more than to get out and do stuff with you.