Put deposit down on a GSD!!

[devinh]

After a long search and many calls, I have found a great breeder!! I went to visit the kennel on 50+ acres of land. The owner/breeder was extremely informative and answered every question me and my wife had. He has been around GSDs his whole life and has been a Breeder for 13 years. We even got to pick out the parents of the litter(he is going to be mating them today or tommorow) All his GSDs are AKC certified and are awesome looking examples of the PERFECT GSD I have been searching for. I CAN NOT wait to go and pick out my new puppy.

Just thought I would share, since I am sure I will be visiting this forum alot.

[onyx'girl]

Congrats! What do you mean you got to pick out the parents? He has several pairs breeding that you chose the ones with the pedigree match you like? Hopefully the breeder will be choosing your puppy for you as the breeder would know which one would best match your criteria.

[devinh]

Originally Posted by onyx'girl

Congrats! What do you mean you got to pick out the parents? He has several pairs breeding that you chose the ones with the pedigree match you like? Hopefully the breeder will be choosing your puppy for you as the breeder would know which one would best match your criteria.

Yes, As soon as I got out and saw the GSDs my eye was drawn to a female that I asked him about and he said "I am planning on breeding her today" and The Male is beautiful. And he also has 4 litters coming. And I asked that question about what puppy to pick, so I told him about my family and he said he will absolutly help me pick a puppy out. He said he will know by 7 weeks which one will be a good fit for me and my family, I get to choose my puppy at 7 weeks, he says I should bring a sock or a tshirt with my scent on it so the puppy gets my scent and I dont get to pick her up until she is 9-10 weeks old. But his facility is GREAT, all puppies are inside his home and crate trained while they are with him.

[tucknroll]

Originally Posted by devinh

And he also has 4 litters coming.

Whoa how many dogs does he have in his breeding program? Typically large numbers of litters = breeding for profit rather than advancing the breed...

[devinh]

Originally Posted by tucknroll

Whoa how many dogs does he have in his breeding program? Typically large numbers of litters = breeding for profit rather than advancing the breed...

Thats what I thought at first, but after visiting his property he really loves all his GSDs and he takes ALOT of pride in his dogs. Check out his website and please tell me what you think.

germanshepherdsusa.net

[Lucy Dog]

"All puppies are sold as "pet quality". - red flag 1

No mention of any health certs - red flag 2

No mention of any titles or working ability for breeding stock - red flag 3

And that's just at first glance.

[onyx'girl]

Home - GERMAN SHEPHERDS USA - 770-380-0407
I don't see anything about pedigrees or working/titles/health testing on the site. Does the breeder have certain goals to achieve with their program? Are you sure you are going into this with eyes wide open? And what questions did you ask the breeder?

This sticky should be read by all who are looking for a puppy: Things to look for in a 'Responsible' Breeder

[devinh]

You guys might be right, I will do some more research and make a more informed decision. If I decide to not get a puppy from him then luckily the deposit wont break my bank and I will take it as a learning experience.

[I_LOVE_MY_MIKKO]

Originally Posted by devinh

Thats what I thought at first, but after visiting his property he really loves all his GSDs and he takes ALOT of pride in his dogs. Check out his website and please tell me what you think.

germanshepherdsusa.net

Usually only large, commercial operations are USDA inspected. It would make me weary that they are...usually puppy mills will show you dogs and make you think it's a nice family farm, but meanwhile they are breeding too much, with no regard to health or temperament, and keeping dogs in deplorable conditions. Of course they don't show you that part.
I'm not saying that is what is going on here, but I would definitely want to look into it further before I purchased a dog from them.

But, they also don't list anything about the parents' hips and elbows being OFA certified, or any titles or anything. I would make sure the parents have had their hips and elbows OFAd, and this should be the bare minimum they do-the parents should also have some sort of titles or real work experience.

[devinh]

Originally Posted by I_LOVE_MY_MIKKO

Usually only large, commercial operations are USDA inspected. It would make me weary that they are...usually puppy mills will show you dogs and make you think it's a nice family farm, but meanwhile they are breeding too much, with no regard to health or temperament, and keeping dogs in deplorable conditions. Of course they don't show you that part.
I'm not saying that is what is going on here, but I would definitely want to look into it further before I purchased a dog from them.

But, they also don't list anything about the parents' hips and elbows being OFA certified, or any titles or anything. I would make sure the parents have had their hips and elbows OFAd, and this should be the bare minimum they do-the parents should also have some sort of titles or real work experience.

I did see the kennels and all the paper work for his dogs. He does have 4 GSDs that sleep in his house. I saw where the dogs sleep and I saw them all play and run around, they all were great with my 2 young sons. But like I said I will do more research.