German Shepherd dog

[silverado427 10,720]

  just turned 10 months old.

[Sandy 44]

i found http://www.jagermeistershepherds.com/. his site looks good and he seems to know what hes doing with the german lines. best of all hes about 10 min away from where i live now. ill probably shoot him an email.

Sorry , did not read other replies...but NO on this place.

[mikeyjones 88]

Sorry , did not read other replies...but NO on this place.

 

Lol another satisfied customer...

[pbkid6974 1]

Sorry , did not read other replies...but NO on this place.

yea mikey said the same thing in his pm that I didn't realize he sent before I posted that. Won't be going there.

 

What's an average price if you guys don't mind me asking?

[Sandy 44]

1200 would be average for true good lines. Could run between a gran and 3K though. One sign of a good breeder - they tell you what dog you are getting rather than letting you choose from the litter. You tell them what you envision , and they know their litter well enough to give you closest to what you want.

[pbkid6974 1]

1200 would be average for true good lines. Could run between a gran and 3K though. One sign of a good breeder - they tell you what dog you are getting rather than letting you choose from the litter. You tell them what you envision , and they know their litter well enough to give you closest to what you want.

Ive seen a few sites that say they will pick the puppy best fit for you. And most of them want like 1800-2500. Is haggeling frowned upon?

[Sandy 44]

Probably...the pups are probably already priced based on their potential , working dog vs pet. The amount of drive they show , and so on

 

Sent from my SGH-T999L using Tapatalk

 

 

[Walt of Destiny 412]

My breeder's policy was:

 

A phone interview to see if a personal interview was warranted.

 

If it was, she met with my wife and I at the kennel and let us interact with a couple of dogs of varying ages and temperaments.

 

Then she wanted to meet our kids and do a similar interview and let them interact with a couple of dogs. She insisted on meeting our live in nanny as well.

 

She then told us of the next planned litters including a suggested litter considering the bitch's and sire's traits which she went over in detail. She considered our timeline as well. We settled on a litter that was planned for December of that year. We were in March. She also had us sign a contract where we agreed to a home visit within 90 days and attendance to 6 sessions of their "puppy kindergarten" classes to get a "good citizen" cert. No money was exchanged. We were given a cost of $1800 including the kindergarten classes. Half Payable 4 weeks after the litter is born and the rest after a puppy is identified for us.

 

After the litter, 8 pups, 2 were candidates one was a long hair. She holds off on picking if there is a long hair in the litter.

 

We went back 3 times to see the puppies and hang with his father a little.

 

At 12 weeks we took Bruno home. No regrets.

 

 

[pbkid6974 1]

what breeder did you go to walt? any website?

[Sandy 44]

All signs of a reputable breeder.

 

Sent from my SGH-T999L using Tapatalk

 

 

[pbkid6974 1]

just found http://www.kingspringshepherds.com/ in hunterdon county and sent an email. anyone ever deal with this breeder? seems she works as a vet tech and does breeding on the side. leads me to believe she knows what shes doing...

[Sandy 44]

King Shepherds are not German Shepherds . They are purposely mixed with Malamutes. Makes for a larger yet , in my opinion , duller dog. Edited to add , those are not King Shepherds , sorry.

[Sandy 44]

just found http://www.kingspringshepherds.com/ in hunterdon county and sent an email. anyone ever deal with this breeder? seems she works as a vet tech and does breeding on the side. leads me to believe she knows what shes doing...

Hips of the breeder dogs are good and fair ..meh. They are breeding pet quality dogs which is fine if you want a pet. But if there is a particular German Shepherd specific trait you are looking for , you should stick to titled Sire and Dams.

[pbkid6974 1]

by titled you mean that they have competed in schutzhund and other disciplines or shows? it seems all of her dogs have titles in their bloodlines she just never put these dogs through their paces. not defending her just trying to understand a bit more.

[Sandy 44]

Yes , either Schutzhund , Tracking , IPO , Search and Rescue , Service Dog. Until a dog can show it could do what the breed is meant to do functionally , IMO and ITO of most people into the breed , they should not contribute to the gene pool. It is ok to not try them on those tasks   , but they should not breed them until they prove out. 

[Sandy 44]

There is a wealth of information on this forum , including a good section on choosing a breeder , why breed , when not to breed :
http://www.germanshepherds.com/

[PeteF 1,044]

Yes , either Schutzhund , Tracking , IPO , Search and Rescue , Service Dog. Until a dog can show it could do what the breed is meant to do functionally , IMO and ITO of most people into the breed , they should not contribute to the gene pool. It is ok to not try them on those tasks   , but they should not breed them until they prove out.

Got to disagree with you there. Most dogs are NOT working dogs, they are not show dogs, they are pets and companions. If the dog can't do Search and rescue or whatever, so what? Will that make it a better pet? It may not be up to "Breed Standards" but an affectionate family dog is greatly desired.

[RobertJames 14]

Hips of the breeder dogs are good and fair ..meh. They are breeding pet quality dogs which is fine if you want a pet. But if there is a particular German Shepherd specific trait you are looking for , you should stick to titled Sire and Dams.

I must agree with Mrs Irish Pete, hips are a big issue with GSD's, so look for sire and dam with good or excellent hips.  If the breeder won't share that info, move on to the next.  My sister had the sweetest Shepard for 15 years, I really miss that dog.

 

 

 

[Njbanshee 9]

I have a guy near me that breeds shepherds and rotties. My friends mom breeds awesome rotties in lincroft. If anyone needs more info just shoot me a pm.

[Lecky 1]

My breeder's policy was:

 

A phone interview to see if a personal interview was warranted.

 

If it was, she met with my wife and I at the kennel and let us interact with a couple of dogs of varying ages and temperaments.

 

Then she wanted to meet our kids and do a similar interview and let them interact with a couple of dogs. She insisted on meeting our live in nanny as well.

 

She then told us of the next planned litters including a suggested litter considering the bitch's and sire's traits which she went over in detail. She considered our timeline as well. We settled on a litter that was planned for December of that year. We were in March. She also had us sign a contract where we agreed to a home visit within 90 days and attendance to 6 sessions of their "puppy kindergarten" classes to get a "good citizen" cert. No money was exchanged. We were given a cost of $1800 including the kindergarten classes. Half Payable 4 weeks after the litter is born and the rest after a puppy is identified for us.

 

After the litter, 8 pups, 2 were candidates one was a long hair. She holds off on picking if there is a long hair in the litter.

 

We went back 3 times to see the puppies and hang with his father a little.

 

At 12 weeks we took Bruno home. No regrets.

 

 

Walt, hes a beautiful Shepard, reminds me of ours when I was a little boy. And really makes me miss him. Back in the day when dogs ran free, my dog was attached to my hip following us everywhere. I remember going to the town pool and we would be there for hrs and he would wait outside for us just to escort us home, now that's a loyal friend. Enjoy and good luck. John

[Johnny 0]

Got to disagree with you there. Most dogs are NOT working dogs, they are not show dogs, they are pets and companions. If the dog can't do Search and rescue or whatever, so what? Will that make it a better pet? It may not be up to "Breed Standards" but an affectionate family dog is greatly desired.

 

A dog with a high work drive that is home by itself all day with a small yard for evenings and weekends is an unhappy dog. I can only think of a handful of people that have dogs that actually have a job (mostly seeing eye and a couple used for tracking). One of those dogs is great to have if you can give it alot of time or a job and have alot of room for it to burn off energy. I wouldnt have gotten a Shepherd myself if I couldn't give her that kind of life.

[Stonecoldchavez 92]

Sorry , did not read other replies...but NO on this place.

 

Good thing this is coming up. I was going to take my GSD there almost two years ago. After speaking with him and seeing his videos, I thought he wanted too much money for three weeks and I also didn't want to leave my dog there.

 

S.

[mikeyjones 88]

The question of price came up.  As I said in my previous post, for a quality breeder, it'll be around 2k.  That's not to say that there can't be a little cheaper with certain breeders, but that's roughly the average price.

[pbkid6974 1]

A dog with a high work drive that is home by itself all day with a small yard for evenings and weekends is an unhappy dog. I can only think of a handful of people that have dogs that actually have a job (mostly seeing eye and a couple used for tracking). One of those dogs is great to have if you can give it alot of time or a job and have alot of room for it to burn off energy. I wouldnt have gotten a Shepherd myself if I couldn't give her that kind of life.

i have a pretty large yard. once the pup is old enough thats where it will stay during the day. id like to get involved with some sort of competition as well to give it a job so to speak.

[Johnny 0]

From what I have heard from folks that are into show/competition it can be very political. Often times the best dog does not win, the owner with the brownest nose does. Never been to a show myself so I cant say if that is true or not but it has come up in discussion. People get into it for different reasons from the fun of it, to increasing the value of puppies the dog ends up producing. A puppy with champion parents will go for a higher $ amount. If it is a political thing than that would take any potential fun out of it for me. My dog is plenty busy and I am not looking to make money off her so I wouldnt bother looking into getting involved with it.

 

I see in the Husky thread you are considering breeding your dog at some point. Research it. It can be very costly. If profit is your goal you may be disappointed. If you get a female there is always the possibility that she may need a c-section. Unforseen costs can hammer you. My girl was a two pup litter and her mom needed a c-section. That wipes out their profit right there. Especially since she was a gift to me.

[pbkid6974 1]

only looking to breed to continue good genes not for money. if my dog isn't into the competitions and/or can't gain the titles then i won't breed it. i'm looking for a male so i probably wont have to worry about whelping puppies or anything like that.

 

anyone here ever deal with http://blackthornkennel.com/index.html? website seems solid and she seems to be active on the GSD forum. probably gonna send an email to her unless someone here has had a bad experience...

[wink-_-wink 1]

I have to RE socialize mine.  He is kind of an A hole... he did well in training until Sandy hit and the place was closed for 2 months.  THen when we went back he was animal aggressive and some people aggressive.  He has never bit anyone and is amazing with my kids.  When a buddy came over, he barked like a maniac in the cage, I had my buddy take him out of the cage and they were instant best friends.  He is just loud and wants you to know he is there and hes dominant over you.  He gets along with my cat just fine but I am nervous of taking him to like petsmart or a dog park.  anyone got tips?

[mikeyjones 88]

I have to RE socialize mine.  He is kind of an A hole... he did well in training until Sandy hit and the place was closed for 2 months.  THen when we went back he was animal aggressive and some people aggressive.  He has never bit anyone and is amazing with my kids.  When a buddy came over, he barked like a maniac in the cage, I had my buddy take him out of the cage and they were instant best friends.  He is just loud and wants you to know he is there and hes dominant over you.  He gets along with my cat just fine but I am nervous of taking him to like petsmart or a dog park.  anyone got tips?

 

 

Find a good trainer in your area and slowly work with the dog on discouraging dominant behavior.  Also bring it around other dogs more often.  

[Stonecoldchavez 92]

I have to RE socialize mine.  He is kind of an A hole... he did well in training until Sandy hit and the place was closed for 2 months.  THen when we went back he was animal aggressive and some people aggressive.  He has never bit anyone and is amazing with my kids.  When a buddy came over, he barked like a maniac in the cage, I had my buddy take him out of the cage and they were instant best friends.  He is just loud and wants you to know he is there and hes dominant over you.  He gets along with my cat just fine but I am nervous of taking him to like petsmart or a dog park.  anyone got tips?

 

Ditto for mine. Animal aggressive. He was fine until he got attacked by an unneutered male at a bark park a couple of years ago. I have been working with him and he is getting better. I used to take him to Petsmart; not anymore.

 

As for others saying to have them around other dogs, it is tough. When mine goes into "full Shepherd" mode, other people are terrified to go near him. I correct him, then continue walking as not to have him focused on the other animal. My problem with him is the TV. He goes apeshit at any animal (even cartoon ones, how does he know?) on TV. I again correct him and/or make him go into another room. Is this wrong? A trainer told me to leave Animal Planet on all day and let him "bark it out" of his system all day.

 

I use a vet recommended pinch collar for him (for training purposes only) and it has improved his "attack modes" from flaring up. One little tug and he sits until I tell him to move. As any GSD owner knows, they hate to be on a leash; they 'herd' you. Mine circles me in my yard or at the park. He can be off leash on a busy street and he will not leave my side. I take him to a park off leash and he goes no more than 20 yards away from me. I stop, snap my fingers, or whistle and he freezes and comes right to my left side.

 

PS: I took mine swimming this past weekend. He loves it. I use a retrieving decoy and he fetches it non-stop.

[Stonecoldchavez 92]

For GSD owners: 

 

http://www.dogtube.us/top-10-reasons-to-adopt-a-german-shepherd-funny/