Kai the German Shepherd ready for the world stage (From Hereford Times)

Kai the German Shepherd ready for the world stage

9:00am Friday 22nd June 2012 in Leominster By Lauren Rogers

A German Shepherd Dog from Herefordshire is getting ready to represent Great Britain on the world stage.

Travis Foster and four-year-old Vongalanberg Kai are heading to the IPO World Championships – best described as a triathlon for protection dogs after taking first place at the UK qualifers in Bromsgrove.

The pair, who are based at the Vislor training centre near Leominster, will lead Team GB at the international level in Austria in October.

IPO was created in Germany more than 100 years ago to test and grade dogs that work in services like the Army or police.

The competition tests various skills including tracking (searching for evidence left behind by a criminal), obedience and protection (finding, apprehending and detaining a ‘criminal’).

Kai has been training since he was seven weeks old and is currently ranked the German Shepherd Dog League’s Number One Working Protection Dog’ in the UK.