BYB vs. reputable breeder

Rocky is definitely from a BYB. When we got him the guy had the pups in a chicken wire kennel in the back yard. When we got him he had worms. fleas, and had different areas of his body that were chewed up so bad there was no fur left. He has severe food allergies, chronic ear infections, and pano. We have not had his hips done and probably wont unless there he has a problem in the future. As of right now, he is healthy and we have his ears under control.

We got Apollo from a breeder. I would not consider the guy a typical backyard breeder. In aftersight not exactly sure he was a "great" breeder, but we have Apollo. He is healthy, happy and just full of energy. He doesnt have any health issues that we currently know of but if they appear we will cross that bridge when we get there. Again unless there is a reason we will not have his hips checked either.

We've always considered Gunner's breeder a BYB. However, we're not sure if she knows how good her dogs are (at least ours). We paid a whopping $300 for him. Neither of his parents are titled, but there's a couple vom Fleischerheim dogs a few generations back. ScH titles run rampant after (before?) that. Size is well within breed standard.

We got Kenya from a better breeder. All of his dogs are ScH titled, including her parents. Kenya is a large-boned girl; at the high end of the breed standard.

Both are smart, but Gunner is much more intelligent than Kenya. Gunner has a higher ball drive, and is more high strung. Gunner LOVES everyone he meets, unless they try to come in the house when the boss isn't home. He's great with kids, other dogs, everyone.

Kenya, on the other hand, is agressive towards strangers. She's the biggest baby/whiner in the house, but outside, she's awful. We took them both to be evaluated for Sch training. Gunner "got it" right off the bat. Kenya wasn't interested in the slightest.

Both are in excellent health. No problems at all with either, unless you count a floppy ear (Kenya).

Maybe we were wrong about Gunner's breeder. Maybe we just got one heck of a dog at a great price.

I'm not sure I would consider Argos and Anka's breeder a total BYB in so far as it implies an unknowledgeable person who just wants to make money off a litter of cute puppies and puts 2 dogs together with complete lack of concern for what they could produce.

She had 2 super dogs with good pedigrees and stellar temperaments. The puppies had excellent health care, early socialization, and clean environment. She did not show them or work the parents herself, she didn't have the resources. She cared that the puppies went to good homes, but her breeding market/goal was primarily pet people. Dad was OFA'd, Mom was not. She did not guarantee the puppies because she does not breed enough litters (maybe 3 in 5 years) to have a replacement if something goes wrong. So perhaps not the most reputable breeder, certainly not a puppy mill either, but I couldn't be happier with the result.

Argos had some early health issues with itching and we thought allergies, but they have since resolved themselves and after talking with several vets and people from the UF vet school, we determined that his problem was probably had more to do with a stressed immune system from leaving his litter, rounds of vaccinations, and the introduction of many new elements in his new home environment. His Hips look good. Elbows look great. Super solid temperament. Great worker.

Anka has had no problems.

Cherry is from a reputable breeder. She's very healthy.. And if I do say so myself - perfect
I like the fact that a reputable breeder breeds to better the breed. Cherry's breeder is a lovely lady and I e-mail her regularly.

I'd say that Logan was from a BYB. She didn't want any contact with us after we took him home. She'd done the hip scoring, etc. And the Sire was from good lines.. But Logan showed signs of aggression from the first day we got him home. We tried to work on it. At about 10 weeks old, he started to attack people - he'd just lunge at them, sometimes foaming at the mouth. One trainer even turned us away. We then found out that some of the others from his litter were having the same problems. My Grandma had bought Logan's littermate and he too was very aggressive. He was also obsessive about shadows and would scratch at them until his paws bled.
I understand that aggression is often down to the owners/environment, but we spent so much time with him.. I mean my Grandparents were breeders themselves - it's not like we'd never owned GSD's. It's just strange that all of these pups were unstable. Is aggression hereditary? We didn't give him up like so many trainers had told us to do. We kept him and researched and helped him ourselves.
Apart from that Logan was relatively healthy.. Although he was a lot bigger than the average GSD. He died aged 9 from a cancerous tumour. His brother died aged 5 from bloat..

I loved Logan with all my heart, but when I decided to get another GSD, I really spent time looking for a good breeder. And I now have a beautiful, well-behaved GSD, she's exactly how a GSD should be.