In a nutshell: A beautiful dog with a lovely temperament, always a big puppy.

Also known as: GSDs, Police Dogs, Alsatians  

Description: A large breed which demands lots of exercise. Colours include black, black and tan and sable. Whites and creams do exist.

Temperament: Excellent. Steady, intelligent and highly trainable. Renowned as a herding sheepdog, leader of the blind and as a police dog. In the early days of agility, it was considered THE breed. Loves people and other dogs.

Advantages as an agility dog:

• They retain what they have been taught better than collies
• I think they are, with one or two others, the next best breed to run after the collies

Disadvantages as an agility dog:-

• Can be very nervous under pressure
• Drops tail hooking the poles off

Rating out of 10 and why: 8/10. Though very agile, lots of ABC courses can be dispiriting as they are straight up and down.

Examples of dogs that have done well in agility: 

The first dog I ran in agility was Dianne Talbot's GSD Cory. She is brilliant and taught me how to do it. In her day the big competition was Spillers Agility Dog of the Year. She saw off all the collies in a thrilling final with the box just about touching each wing - that’s how agile she was.

What's it like to live with as a pet? Loyal and a first-class household member but not for the house-proud. They leave lots of long hairs wherever they sit which knit into your carpet when you are not looking!

Would you buy another one for agility? No. My dog Tia came along at the right time. It would take another good one to catch my eye... well, maybe!.

Source: Jim Gregson

Photos: Action Shots, Kevin Potvin