Can German Shepherds catch?

baloneysmom

TCS Member
Thread starter
Super Cat
Joined
Mar 25, 2008
Messages
1,081
Purraise
1
Location
New Brunswick
I love German Shepherds. They are my ultimate favorite dog, I vow never to be without one (or at least half of one like Bruny) in my life. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve had German Shepherds, volunteered for Shepherd rescue, had friends with German Shepherds and noticed one thing about them all.


They CANT catch!!



I am trying to teach Bruno how to catch his toys with his mouth when I throw them, like every other Shepherd Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve tried to do this with it always, 100% of the time hits him in the face (of course I use soft toys). I can remember at least 10 Shepherds off hand I have done this with. I just think its so cute, its being thrown right at them, the smartest dogs in the world, no matter how slow you throw it, it always hits them in the face lol.

Just thought id share, it makes me laugh when I try and train Bruny and think of all the other Shepherds.
 

2dogmom

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Aug 12, 2006
Messages
2,208
Purraise
1
Location
among the moose and the deer
LOL That's funny!
I know just what you mean!

My Zircon has fantastic eye-snout coordination. He catches treats in his mouth, gives balls a nose bunt to keep them airborne etc. But Sophia lets the treats bounce off of her and then goes looking for them on the floor, kind of like your Bruno.
 

cococat

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Feb 2, 2007
Messages
4,953
Purraise
12
Location
USA
Originally Posted by silvionc

I love German Shepherds. They are my ultimate favorite dog, I vow never to be without one (or at least half of one like Bruny) in my life. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve had German Shepherds, volunteered for Shepherd rescue, had friends with German Shepherds and noticed one thing about them all.


They CANT catch!!



I am trying to teach Bruno how to catch his toys with his mouth when I throw them, like every other Shepherd Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve tried to do this with it always, 100% of the time hits him in the face (of course I use soft toys). I can remember at least 10 Shepherds off hand I have done this with. I just think its so cute, its being thrown right at them, the smartest dogs in the world, no matter how slow you throw it, it always hits them in the face lol.

Just thought id share, it makes me laugh when I try and train Bruny and think of all the other Shepherds.
We must be seeing different GSD's!
Purebred GSD are one of the smartest breeds that is out there. They are regularly used for everything from police work, guide dogs, show dogs to sport dogs. They can catch just fine, be it treats or balls.
Not sure why we have such different experiences
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #4

baloneysmom

TCS Member
Thread starter
Super Cat
Joined
Mar 25, 2008
Messages
1,081
Purraise
1
Location
New Brunswick
Lol funny. I actually did teach my old Shepherd, Silver (purebred), how to catch… the only thing was I had to count to 3 real slow, stand no further then 1 foot away, and throw it really slow LOL. Sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s the only one though. Funny, they were excellent at everything else, odd we have different experiences.
 

nekochan

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Aug 5, 2006
Messages
2,760
Purraise
22
Location
Chicago, IL
My German Shepherd can catch! I don't even have to throw underhand... When I try to throw a toy across the room, half the time she just leaps up and catches it in the air instead.

Here is proof she can catch:



And a video (sorry, I forgot I was holding the camera sideways):




My last two dogs were opposites. Pooch my terrier was an amazing catcher. He could catch a crumb if I tossed it in the air. I would take him to a tennis court and either toss a tennis ball straight up 15 feet in the air, or throw it straight down really hard so it would bounce high. He would look up and maneuver his body to get himself directly under the ball and then catch it in the air. My Golden Ginger on the other hand was not so good. She would open her mouth as soon as you threw the object and half the time her mouth would either be closed before it reached her or she'd try to catch and instead make it fly off her muzzle. The only way to get her to catch something was to aim carefully for her mouth as she opened it and hope you made it in!
 

clairebear

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Nov 17, 2006
Messages
1,541
Purraise
1
Location
Manchester, CT
I've had three German Shepherds, all of which loved to play catch. I don't think I've ever met one that couldn't catch.
 

Ms. Freya

Advisor
Veteran
Joined
Sep 19, 2008
Messages
3,348
Purraise
123
Location
Ontario, Canada
Our German Shepherd while I was growing up, Order (named after the GI Joe character's dog :p) was a great dog and too smart for his own good...but he was pretty bad at catching.

I won't say he couldn't catch, but he bounced 3 out of every 4 tosses off his mouth - he just never closed his mouth fast enough.


The only thing he was absolutely great at catching was one of those frisbees with the hole in the center - he'd run under it and jam his nose up through the hole....so it was kind of catching.
 

Willowy

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Mar 1, 2009
Messages
31,886
Purraise
28,287
Location
South Dakota
Yeah, my Shep mix, Toby, is terrible at catching. Even his favorite treats just bounce off his nose most of the time. My Lab was excellent at catching, my Husky mix is OK, my Rott is pretty good at it, and my mom's Aussie mix is REALLY good at catching. I don't think it's really a breed thing. Just an individual thing, probably mostly dependent on depth perception.
 
Top