Yello-St. Michael Berg Kennel-Werner Zwiertz - Page 1

Be very cautious when dealing with this individual/kennel. Werner Zwiertz does not stand behind the health of his dogs. He sold a sterile dog to me and refuses to take responsibility. Beware......

Not responding to this specific incident, or defending any breeder, just want to edify some, that may not know. German breeders do not provide a guarentee or warranties for the dogs they sell. The guarantee/warranty is idigenous to North America. It is a sales tactic, design to give the consumer a sense of well being when purchasing a dog or puppy, so they will part with their money. When you buy a puppy from Germany, you get what you get. If your 8 week old puppy grows into a perfect VA1 you do not share that with the breeder, that accomplishment is yours along. If you buy a puppy that develops a health problem or you discover later is less than perfect, that too(now a problem) is yours alone. Not only do you not get any type of guarentee or warranty, you probably won't even get a receipt for your purchase. Every society is not the same and is not as litigious as the North American continent, and thank goodness Europe has not "evolved(for lack of a better term)" yet, in that regard. It keeps the prices down, exponentially! I say that to provide the background for the following. Just because you get a puppy that is less than what you anticipated or expected, does not mean that the kennel or breeder intended to screw you, or is a poor breeder. It does not mean the breeder can not be trusted. It hardly means that this is a breeder to be avoided. The love and passion for the German Shepherd between the Atlantic is the same. However the mentality regarding breeding practices and sales responsibility is VASTLY different. I have been buying dogs from the Germans, since 1981 and I am accustomed(even prefer)to the their "mindset". I certainly understand where someone today, just getting into this would not understand, and feel that they are being mistreated, but this is just far from the truth. If you request a grown dog for show and sport, then it should fit that criteria(still won't have any sort of guarentee/warranty). It should not be oversized, ect. But when you purchase a puppy, you get what you get and you keep your finger crossed. Stephen

Stephen, I was very aware of the lack of warranty one receives for a puppy when purchased in Germany. In this case it involved a adult,titled dog purchased for breeding that was found to be sterile upon receipt. It was not a few thousand thousand but a large sum of money. The breeder sold him as a breeder-I did not purchase a pet.

I understand Huntshep. I did not know the details and was not trying to discredit your post. As the last of my post stated, if you buy a dog for a specific purpose, it should fit that purpose. Sorry for your bad experience. Do not take that post as "setting you straight", that was not my intention. Actually that post was not directed at you personally. Maybe someone else will learn something from it. Stephen

Stephen, I am a business person and believe that people have your respect until they give you a reason not to otherwise. For over 6 weeks I have given this individual time to resolve this problem by replacing the dog. I have NEVER asked for my money nor gotten nasty. I have been VERY patient. It was not like months had passed since I owned the dog and then he was sterile. Medically prooven- sperm removed today is 60 days old-therefore the dog came sterile. It is not my style to bad mouth anyone. I do however believe that there are some people out there that are not so honest and others need to know.

I know Hunt personally and she is 100% right, she was expecting a good stud for her kennels. Sen

And I agree with her, that she should have gotten what she paid for.

There are medical reasons why a dog may be temporarily sterile. One is that the dog has Lyme disease or an infection. Other reasons exist as well. A noted canine repro specialist has this to say about sterility: "Is your dog really sterile? Does he have a diagnosis of aspermia (no sperm)? Did the veterinarian check him for retrograde ejaculation? Were hormone studies done? Just because your dog has no ejaculate at all, or no sperm in his ejaculate, he may not be totally and finally sterile. The first condition you should check for is retrograde ejaculation. After attempting to collect the dog that won't produce anything, take him out to urinate, and collect the urine. If there are sperm in the urine, the condition is known as retrograde ejaculation. It is often possible to treat this condition. In our clinic, we have excellent success in returning these dogs to normal fertility. The blockage that causes the retrograde ejaculation is generally associated with the prostate gland, and a result of infection. Never accept a diagnosis of permanent infertility in such a dog as final until treatment has been attempted. If your dog produces plenty of fluid, but no sperm - aspermia - he may have a testicular tumor. Dogs rarely have the highly malignant type of tumor that Lance Armstrong had. Generally, testicular tumors in dogs are benign. Through careful palpation, ultrasonography and hormone studies, a proper diagnosis of such a tumor can be made. These benign tumors are usually in only one testicle. If this is the case, the affected testicle can be removed, and the other one will resume normal sperm production." The kennel in question is a reputable kennel and I know reputable Germans who deal with them often. Though I do not know the details of this situation, I hope it will be resolved appropriately.

It is essential when buy a male dog that you have a sperm test carried out before buying the dog if he is under 2 years old. If he is over 2 then he must have been bred from and if he has produced pups then that will be the proof you need. But even then you can ask for a sperm test. That has to be the final result. Temporary sterility can occur and then vanish just as quickly.

There was no question that this male was sterile, we went to bred him to one of my females. Than 2 weeks later he was reevaluted still no semen. This this doesn't sound like a reputable kennel to me I know Hunt Shepherds has been keeping this quite waiting for Warren to handle this he has not so buyers need to be aware and learn from others mistakes. Tsk TSK what goes on for a $$$ Dollar.