Anyone travel overseas to hand pick pups?
 

I posted this question on another thread,, but decided to give it it's own space.
I have friends who go to japan every year to visit the top koi breeders in the world and hand pick new koi... most of the time they will also pick koi for friends that can't travel. Do people ever do that for German Shepherds?

I just spoke to a breeder last week that goes to Germany to hand pick her dogs. I don't know how many breeders do this but I know at least some do.

Unless you have loads of experience and money that is ooozing from every crevasse this would be completely pointless. Most breeders will pick a dog for you anyways but I'm sure that if you are a breeder and you have a connection with someone there, they would allow you to come and pick a puppy. Otherwise, I don't even see a reason for a regular owner to do this.

I know with koi... it's the same deal.. unless you know what you're looking at it's pointless,, but let's say you do know,,, I could definitely see the value in doing so... koi cost as much and more than any German Shepherd... so the desire for absolute quality sometimes means doing it yourself ...quality koi start at over $2000... it's not unheard of for someone to pay five thousand for a tosai (baby koi) then pay a yearly pond fee to the breeder to raise it for a year or two before bringing it home to the states for show.
If I'm paying thousands of dollars for a dog, why not invest the time and money to learn what to look for and to go pick it out myself?

The thing is, it's not just about hand picking the best dog. You have to network to the point where anyone will even let you near those dogs. I know someone who went to "pick" a puppy but it wasn't really a pick at all because turns out the breeder's friends came first and picked all the good dogs and my friend's was the last one left. You would need to make sure you actually get to pick from dogs that would make it worth your while and not just picking from dogs the breeder and their other acquaintances don't care for.

As it is,, the same exists for most all German imports ... according to the lady who got me Yoschi,,, first picks are almost never let out of the country. I was just wondering. The same with koi... to get a top pick out of japan will cost you $50,000 and up. They just don't let them get too far.

Just saw your new thread and remembered about this one so I'm resurrecting it.

It would take you a really long while to learn exactly what to look for. Usually through training/trialing a dog, getting in with the right people, and probably making a name for yourself as a top trainer/handler in the world of dog sport. I can see a German breeder selling a dog to someone with a name and clear plans to go to the world championships with that dog, but if you don't have that you'll still probably end up with the final picks. Fact of the matter is that breeders (in the US and Germany) love selling to their friends and club members since then they closely get to follow that pup's life (and possibly use it for breeding in the future).

I guess its maybe something that I don't understand because you're talking about spending amounts of money on a dog (or a fish) that I would never dream of spending. For 99.9% of people there is no need to spend thousands more to import a dog from Germany when there are plenty of good dogs in the United States that are from the same lines and even kennels as some of those German dogs. I've met people that get all caught up in the fact that they spent $5000 on an imported German dog that is just a pet and their dog doesn't act or look any different than mine does.

I guess if you have the money, and want the prestige of telling all your friends where you got your dog from and how much you spent on it, you can do whatever floats your boat, but the problem is when you run into someone "in the know" who just laughs at your story and wonders why you over paid by thousands.

Even if I had the networking needed, the experience to hand pick for myself.... I wouldn't because I can find what I want here in the US. If I found the perfect dog/breeder, I would probably travel to Canada... but that's about it.

I know people who have done this though. My trainer/Storm's breeder has. But that's because he has very tight networking all over Europe, and he knows what to look for and what he wants for his program. He's trained overseas, lived overseas, and his dogs have gone overseas. So I can understand why he does it.... I just wouldn't though. Not unless I was a breeder or highly ranked competitor and that was the ONLY way to get a specific line I wanted. For pets, and hobby training... nah. Many great breeders here.