The English Shepherd is an active, energetic dog, very intelligent with a calm, gentle nature. They are known to be gentle and patient with children, courageous with strong protective instincts. Many a child has grown up with an English Shepherd as their guardian and best friend. Some are reserve around strangers, therefore early socialization and training are recommended.
They do best with positive, reward base training.

The English Shepherd is a working dog and requires regular activities and daily exercise. They require an owner who will take charge and be their leader, someone that will give them rules and provide direction. Although the breed is not consider to be as high energy as their cousins the Border Collie, they still require regular daily exercise as part of their needs. Without a leader, rules to live by and daily exercise they can become destructive and difficult to live with.

They do well with a good game of ball or frisbee, hiking, jogging, long walks or any of today's dog sports like agility. Its also important to exercise their mind. This can be done with training and games like finding the hidden toy or tricks like roll over or play dead.

The breed is very loyal to their family and social with them; therefore they need to be included in the families lives. They generally do very well living in the house and can be easily housetrained. They are very aware of their surroundings making them wonderful watchdogs.

Being a herding breed they may be inclined to herd the children or chase the cat. Early socialization, training and rules to live by are recommended to prevent undesirable behaviors.