Piker!

Pike del Lupo Nero was a legendary producer of some of the highest quality German Shepherds in Germany and the rest of the world.  His progeny have excelled as service dogs, family companions, sport dogs and police k-9s.  They are known for their intelligence, loyalty and health.

Stacie vom Lusenpark comes from an incredible pedigree of strong, intelligent German Shepherds with many coming from the former country of East Germany.  Her bloodlines are also known for their intelligence, health and longevity.   

Piker as a young puppy.  She was born in Germany where she spent the first 12 weeks of her life before flying over to the United states.  She was one of the last females coming from her dad, and I couldn't wait to get her!

Once at her new home, I started training Piker with food and her toys.  I soon noticed that despite how crazy she was for her ball and food, nothing motivated her like saying, Good girl Piker!  Her coat was lighter in color but started getting darker as she matured.

At around four months, Piker's ears were up and her coat started to get darker.  A little black ring of hair that started on her tail, started spreading over her body.  Her adult coat was coming in!

After turning a year old, her adult coat color would be worn from there on out.  Her intelligence, confidence, desire to please and natural protective instincts were in full force.  In a blink of an eye, my puppy had grown into a loyal, confident, very protective, trustworthy and well behaved German Shepherd!

Socialization to new sights, sounds, smells, animals, people and events was a critical component into making Piker a great German Shepherd.  I started taking her out to retail stores that allowed dogs to walk around.  Lowes was a good place to start.

Even if we couldn't go inside, Piker benefitted from walking around the shopping centers.  Everyday I located a place to go and something to do.  

Another excellent place to visit were the playgrounds.  Piker was a natural and would readily climb ladders, go thru tubes, down slides walk across elevated planks and play on suspended bridges.  It became obvious that Piker wasn't scared to try anything!

Piker was exposed to dogs of different ages, shapes, sizes and colors.  Not all dogs have ears that stand up!

Piker met all different types of animals.  Puppy kisses were sometimes exchanged for cow licks.  These cows were fascinated by Piker's confidence and eagerness to introduce herself.  

I located a long walking bridge that went across a pond.  Piker was curious how those dogs just seemed to float on the water!

Piker was exposed to different surfaces like stairs, tiles, carpets, gravel, dirt, tarps, water, grates, floors you could see through, floors that moved, and even floors that went up and down.  

Sometimes Piker found her own chew toys.  Early in her life was a good time to teach her manners and what the word, no meant.  She was a quick learner and worked to right the wrong.

After a long day of adventure, Piker would lay down and rest.  A pup needs plenty of rest to meet the demands of puppyhood and all the fun that comes along with it!