I am planning to get a male puppy from this litter/breeder. - Page 2

welp, I knew I couldn't keep my mouth/keyboard shut.

Tom, I have a little experience with B/R dogs in the U.S. if you want to PM me, there are a couple of breeders I would check with if I was looking for what you describe. and I want to second what was said above, most of the time trying to keep intact males together ends up with vet bills or worse.

I do know a lady that had two neutered males running together, but one was still alpha.

also, for a pet, there are many well bred and at one time expensive GSD turning up in shelters. just a thought.

Rik

Have from curiosity looked at the vid of the pup in the link, now. Unlike Rik, I can claim to be somewhat familiar with Red&Black dogs here in Europe, but there are a lot of variables, where you wanted specific answers.

If you were more experienced with the breed, Tom, you would know that what you can see at 6.5 weeks can be different from what you end up with in the adult dog. This puppy does look as though he is going to be long-coated (I'm guessing from your feelings about the dog claimed as the Serbian litters sire that you would prefer that ?) BUT at this age most cannot call the final length, this might just become a very plush & fluffy Standard (short) coat once his adult coat comes in. By then he'll be around a year older. Or it might turn out to be very long and not really as weatherproof. [ Either way it might not fit what you are looking for, and I'd hate to think it might become one of those Shelter dogs Rik mentions.]

Best thing is to talk to the breeder or to another owner of the stock, who knows the bloodlines well, & how they generally mix genetics, & so can make more informed predictions.

Looks as though we ARE talking 'Black & Red' here, rather than black and Gold or some lighter shade of tan - but that would not be unusual in modern European lines, where the majority of dogs bred are still really close to the German Show breeding scene. Again though, puppies can vary in colour as they grow up, and the adult coat could still end up with a lot of tan on it, rather than bright red. Depends on (genetic) depth of pigment.

Colour is really not so important; try to look less for the shade of Red and the length of hair - instead look for the health, intelligence, adaptability, kind temperament and trainability of any pup, over the outward appearence of the GSD, & you'll get a better dog.

I realise folks who just want a dog and have decided a GSD is for them do tend to want something they consider beautiful to live with ... but this is a large, active, and potentially expensive breed, and it makes most sense to be aware that this can be harder work to live with than e.g. some lapdog or scruffy little crossbreed !

  Admin Edit......Please contact the member privately, thanks. mrdarcy (mod)

I have purchased several times from over seas, since covid it got alot more complicated, the last pick up in Chicago required a broker. (Avoid chicago if possible). Im familiar with the kennel I buy from (Anrebri) , and even with some delays in paperwork, its all gone just fine. One time I had to wait for the airline to send the papers they couldnt put their hands on at the pick up time, but even then they came in a few days. Yes, typically when buying from over seas, even sometimes domestically, we buy on pictures, maybe videos, and the pedigree and the breeder. I would suggest looking locally, as *I* have imported parents, as do many other reputable local (USA) breeders do. For example, my studs father is Red Bull, on the Czech National team, he is #37 in the world. So, it possible to get great lines from USA breeders. My lines are Czech working lines of course , but you can do the research and fine good show lines here as well. if money is no object then by all means, import, however, if all you want is pets, perhaps it would be prudent to seek good show lines domestically. I imported because I wanted the lines from the kennel, for my own breeding purposes. If you want to be able to tell people that your pet is imported, that is a status buy ( Look at what *I* have ), and I , personally, do not sell to status buyers. You will find out that imports are not like domestics, many differences including size, build, temperaments. Are you working with a trainer? Are you familiar with the lines? Having 2 pups at one time is a handful, I prefer my own buyers to have working line experience, that way I know my dogs will be handled properly. When I say experience, I dont mean "I owned a Shepherd once" , I prefer LEO or military working dog experience for my buyers because my dogs are hard, and they need to be handled properly. You can do 2 dogs at once, but it takes consistency, and time and training, for it to go smoothly , if you just want yard ornaments, it can be challenging to manage, to say the least.

Thanks for that post HOC, you confirm what I and others have been trying to get across to Tom, I hope he is still coming back and reading posts here and will respond (preferably with more than just a 'Thank You' note !)

Its worth pointing out that Kennel Anrebri, well known as they are, producers of great dogs as they are, and as much as most of their customers are very satisfied, even they still get the odd complaint against them ! What chance does someone - without a history in the breed, who doesn't have clear ideas about what they need the dog to be able to do, or which sorts of bloodlines produce what sort of dogs, in buying from some little kennel in any of the E European countries mentioned so far, - stand of NOT being ripped off ?

As for 'beauty over function' ALL GSDs are in their own way attractive to look at, if a handsome pet is what someone is most interested in; I can recall, over a lifetime in the breed, only about 3 dogs I'd consider really ugly - it's a good-looking breed !

There are plenty of great breeders in the US where you could get a quality dog just for the shipping cost from Poland to US alone, only reason I would ever import is if I really wanted a dog from their particular line. This breeder, on the surface, seems decent but not worth high import costs

Right now with the situation as it is, I'd be worried about shipping from that part of the world. Even if it were "just" the possibility of a puppy being bumped off a flight or ground/water transportation for something more important.

Sad to have to consider such things :-(

Indeed.

Hoc, Red Bull is my czech males grandfather, and I ll say this. He is a very hard dog, I was intimidated by him when i first got him. He was a year and a half old, has had training, but i believe that the trainer may have pushed him a bit much. If i didn t step it up, he would have walked all over me. He is a big , strong male. He also does not really like many people, or other male dogs. he's great with the females and puppies. Zero tolerance for the males.Nice dog, but really hard.