Happy Holidays!
I will be a first time GSD owner and looking for the right breeder in Central New Jersey area. I thought you all here could help guide me to a good breeder in the area (or should I import one or ship one in from another state, seems wierd to me) and also to critique a breeder as a way to educate myself on different things I have little knowledge on thus far (i.e. line breeding, pedigree details, etc).
First and foremost, I am looking for a companion dog to join my pack, wife, two children (4 years and 2 years), and our house cat. I'm also very interested in pursuing Schutzhund with the GSD, but not on a competitive basis (more of a way for the dog and I to learn about the sport together, to bond together, and to enhance his training with professionals). I'm also looking to purchase the pup no earlier then a spring 2008 litter. My budget is up to $2,500. I don't care so far (since I have little knowledge of) which line the dog comes from as long as it's German and not American, healthy (parents OFA normal/good), correct temperment, genetics are stacked my way for a good long term healthy dog.
After the holidays in Jan, I'll be visiting several kennels in the area. I will also start going to the local club events to meet other GSD lovers and really see what the breed, training, and show/sports are about. I'm compiling an entire list of questions for the breeder and preparing myself and my home for the pup (references, financial / time budgetting, fixing the 16x9 kennel i have on my property, etc).
I would appreciate any help you might have in locating the right breeder for me that you think breeds the kind of pup I am looking for, advice/guidance on the type of lines I should look at, and any feedback on the below breeder and dogs.
After doing some research about the local clubs, I found a breeder who is the president of two clubs (one with USA and the other with GSDCA-WDA). The web site for his breeding program is at: Jagermeister Shepherds .
He has a litter planned with the below dogs in 2008. When I do a Mate! check on the pedigrees, there are several linebreedings coming up that I am worried about. The dam also worries me with the linebreeding, but I have no experience to undestand if this is a red flag or not.
Sire: Branco vom Banholz; SchH3, IPO3, FH, KKL2 - Pedigree
Dam: Beau van 't Leefdaalhof ; SchH1 - Pedigree
As somewhat of a case study, what do you think of the above dogs, what kind of litter they might produce, and the kennel in general from the web site I linked.
I understand there are a lot of other important factors to consider with this kennel, and I will gather that information when I visit, but I'm wondering if I'm wasting my time if the dogs he has and plans to breed are just not correct or desirable.
Thank you for any help you can offer and have a great holiday!
I will be a first time GSD owner and looking for the right breeder in Central New Jersey area. I thought you all here could help guide me to a good breeder in the area (or should I import one or ship one in from another state, seems wierd to me) and also to critique a breeder as a way to educate myself on different things I have little knowledge on thus far (i.e. line breeding, pedigree details, etc).
First and foremost, I am looking for a companion dog to join my pack, wife, two children (4 years and 2 years), and our house cat. I'm also very interested in pursuing Schutzhund with the GSD, but not on a competitive basis (more of a way for the dog and I to learn about the sport together, to bond together, and to enhance his training with professionals). I'm also looking to purchase the pup no earlier then a spring 2008 litter. My budget is up to $2,500. I don't care so far (since I have little knowledge of) which line the dog comes from as long as it's German and not American, healthy (parents OFA normal/good), correct temperment, genetics are stacked my way for a good long term healthy dog.
After the holidays in Jan, I'll be visiting several kennels in the area. I will also start going to the local club events to meet other GSD lovers and really see what the breed, training, and show/sports are about. I'm compiling an entire list of questions for the breeder and preparing myself and my home for the pup (references, financial / time budgetting, fixing the 16x9 kennel i have on my property, etc).
I would appreciate any help you might have in locating the right breeder for me that you think breeds the kind of pup I am looking for, advice/guidance on the type of lines I should look at, and any feedback on the below breeder and dogs.
After doing some research about the local clubs, I found a breeder who is the president of two clubs (one with USA and the other with GSDCA-WDA). The web site for his breeding program is at: Jagermeister Shepherds .
He has a litter planned with the below dogs in 2008. When I do a Mate! check on the pedigrees, there are several linebreedings coming up that I am worried about. The dam also worries me with the linebreeding, but I have no experience to undestand if this is a red flag or not.
Sire: Branco vom Banholz; SchH3, IPO3, FH, KKL2 - Pedigree
Dam: Beau van 't Leefdaalhof ; SchH1 - Pedigree
As somewhat of a case study, what do you think of the above dogs, what kind of litter they might produce, and the kennel in general from the web site I linked.
I understand there are a lot of other important factors to consider with this kennel, and I will gather that information when I visit, but I'm wondering if I'm wasting my time if the dogs he has and plans to breed are just not correct or desirable.
Thank you for any help you can offer and have a great holiday!