[John C.]

Hi. This is another query about good breeders in New England. Here's a little about me. I am a reasonably experienced owner who has owned 2 GS dogs as an adult, as well as a couple of rescue dogs, a Golden Retriever and a Samoyed. I have also done some Schutzhund work with my current GS, who has a BH and did a fair amount of training towards Schutzhund I, before our club imploded.

What I am looking for is a GS from solid working lines. Don't think I will do Schutzhund again, but am seriously thinking about training him to do SAR. I have trained with some hard core sport and police dogs and do not want a dog that has off the charts levels of agression or dominance. Although my last GS was a real ball monster and it was very easy to channel his drive into training.

Finally, although appearance is secondary to temperment, intelligence and trainability, I do love a good looking West German red and black dog, or sable colored dog, and not a big fan of the blockier DDR/Czech dogs.

I know this is a lot of specific information and that you can't custom design a dog like optioning out a new car, but I figure the more details I can give you the easier it will be to point me in the right direction.

Finally, I would be willing to travel within 300-400 miles of Boston to see a breeder, but would not consider buying a puppy unless I could visit the kennel and at least meet the mother (and ideally both parents).

Thanks.