Suggestions on GSD Breeders - Page 1

Hello, I’m located in the US and am looking to import a female German Shepherd puppy. I’ve never done this before, but I am looking for any kennel suggestions on an ethical German Shepherd breeder. Either Czech or DDR lines, stock coat, parents health tested, no puppy contracts.
Any suggestions or links to kennel websites etc would be great thanks!

Eurohund kennel in Franconia Notch NH gets great import dogs for US customers, they have established relationships with Czech breeding kennels and know the lines. I highly recommend working with John!

Just curious, why no puppy contract?

Some good breeders don't require spay/neuter, titling before getting full registration, etc. Some do and some don't charge extra for full instead of limited registration papers.
Puppy contracts also usually provide a health warranty.

Thank You NTSD. I’ll look into the kennel.

GSCat, Looking into ethical responsible breeders over here in the US all (that I’ve found/kennels that’ve interested me) want a puppy contract on Limited Registration. For Full Reg. the dog would have to earn such tittles for conformation, IGP plus pass health testing, before they will give you Full Registration. I have yet to find a breeder who doesn’t require such. I would pay the extra for Full registration, no problem, even first pick of the litter. I haven’t come across someone like that, unless it’s out of country…
But if you have suggestions for a US breeder I’m open to it!

I agree with the Health testing portion, as no dog should be bred if they are unfit. But to say I have to put titles on the dog isn’t exactly fair considering I live 3 hours in each direction from a nearest club… Would I do sport with my dog, sure I would love to but the distance to a nearest club is not feasible for me.
To add, if the dog/puppy can’t “work” it also would be unfit to breed. I’m looking for high drive, strong nerves do to personal protection work with.

NTSD, I googled the given kennel name. All the links come up as warning for impersonations, all the reviews are from 6 months ago, all mention your guy John being a broker. Little fishy

Hello, I am John from EuroHund.

Thank you for the recommendation NTSD.

My website has been troublesome since my host Yahoo sold web hosting services to another company, then I think it has changed hands several times. Very frustrating. So my “current” website which is built on a non Yahoo builder is not showing. My old website built on the old Yahoo Sitebuilder shows which is no longer serviceable.. so these two websites cause this conflict which is and should be a red flag with Google. Both sites are mine. One is dated and one less so. I am trying to fix this but may have to switch host and site builder to all new.
Going direct to EuroHund.com brings you to the old site which has gray background. The newer site has a black background. I am on Facebook and also own Northeast Dog Training in Franconia NH. You can see videos of some of my more recent imports on my Northeast Facebook page. I talk with friends and colleagues in the Czech Republic daily. I have been training, importing and breeding for 20+ years.

As far as being a broker: when one obtains a dog for another, whether imported or not, they are a broker, regardless of what they call themselves.
I highly recommend using someone that has trusted contacts to the lines you desire. This would be a broker.
I had a guy contact me for a breeding female a few years back. He decided to import on his own. He was sent a pregnant female. Stud was outstanding. Unfortunately the maternal line is tainted with poor choices to continue breeding questionable hips. He recently contacted me to obtain another female to breed to one of the male puppies from his imported female. On here, PDB, the maternal line is conveniently incomplete. It is not incomplete on European databases.. No, he will not be getting any dog from us to continue this. So, he paid a little less for an older female from a line that no reputable breeder, broker, etc. wants anything to do with… he has no friends, colleagues or any type of recourse. With a good “broker” you get a dog that the broker is responsible for representing accurately to you. So, if you are not happy, you have someone in the U.S. to go to. A good broker not only has the right friends and colleagues to provide dogs but also the right team in both countries. Maybe even friends separate from whatever deal is transpiring that can step in overseas if things start to get out of line a bit.

So, long story short. EuroHund is legitimate. I have imported puppies and adult dogs trained in many disciplines and to the highest levels. These are the same dogs I would bring in for my own breeding program. Dogs that would live with my family. My Mafie, Miska, Indi and Elischa were all imports that slept in beds with my children. You will not find better Czech, Slovak, German or a Austrian working line dogs than what I have access to. I am selective where they go and I do require a contract. Specifics of the contract can be discussed. I always require a dog be returned to me if someone is unable to keep. Both myself and my friends care very much about where every dog goes and we want to be sure they are successful. Some of our dogs are performing very special, unexpected work in addition to what one would expect good working lines to be capable of. When raised, trained and socialized properly, all can live in families.
I hope this helps not only clarify EuroHund but also helps you in the process of importing a nice dog without issue, disappointment, heartbreak or legal issues.

To the original poster regarding puppies. Why be limited to what is available in the U.S.?? Europe has a much greater selection of incredible dogs that produce incredible pups when bred intelligently. All Czech breedings have to meet the same standards of health testing, titling, showing, breed survey, etc as Germany. Most of our dogs exceed the minimum requirements.
The U.S. has zero requirements. Also no culture that would leave someone in disgrace if they bred two good but incompatible dogs… there is no shame here in lost circles. Often times incredible ignorance breeding two “top dogs” together… There is a scattering of good breeders here. I could carry on for a very long time. Someone “looking for a stud”.. well, what stud? They are just throwing it out there. With us, breeding is well planned and a stud from Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, Austria, etc can be booked. This allows ideal pairings that maintain and improve the breed.
I will not be having a litter for some time in the U.S. due to recent divorce and eventually moving back closer to Boston. My youngest is just finishing high school up her in two weeks.
We currently have three solid black males and possibly one solid black female that can fly over in 6-7 weeks. These are Ivan x Fatima puppies. I will be posting pictures on social media over the weekend at some point. I posted a video today of them chowing down..
There was a litter of ten. I promise you, of the six spoken for, you will see and hear of them as they come into their own. We do not need amateurs to title our puppies. Those puppies were spoken for long before birth and are going to highly capable trainers/breeders. One is staying back with us in the Czech Republic.
Family homes are fine with us as long as you plan to properly raise, train, socialize, etc. and also to reach out for help if ever needed. I also live several hours from most of civilization. I understand it is not always possible to commit to club training that is several hours away. We just want to be sure you are going to be super interested in your dog and include the dog in daily life.

Curious why full registration is necessary unless you intend to breed?

If you do intend to breed you should be planning to title and health test before breeding regardless so it shouldn't be a big deal.

All my pups go out on limited registration and I don't give breeding rights at all. I don't know a single quality breeder who doesn't have a puppy contract.

There is lots of quality breeders here in the U.S. not all of them require puppy contracts.

I personally wouldn’t buy a puppy on a contract either. When I buy that puppy, I own it! What I choose to do with it is MY choice. I sell all my puppies “full registration” regardless of buyers intentions. Most of them don’t even bother registering the pups anyway. If I don’t like what they want to do with it I refuse to sell it to them.

Breeders who sell on “puppy contract” are afraid that you will take sales away from them or devalue “their lines”. That is another debate for another time.

PDB literally has hundreds of Czech / DDR listings right here in the U.S.

If you really want to import, use a broker based out of the U.S. If something goes wrong you will have some recourse. If you buy direct and have a problem, what are you going to do, jump on a plain and travel to Europe, hire a licensed attorney in whatever country the pup came from and sue the kennel? At that point you’ve just spent 5 times the money you spent on the defective pup. Broker is better!

I personally imported a Czech puppy. I did use a representative of the Czech kennel, but not a “broker”. This person was located in the U.S. The puppy was not represented honestly. $5,000 later I have a 4 year old dog that is only “grade 1” on elbows. I have NO recourse.

Also be sure to read and remember your purchase contract. Be sure to adhere to it. They are often written by the breeder with built in escape clauses for them.

Another thing to consider. Most puppy sales guarantees offer a replacement puppy for the defective one. They never offer “money back”. If you import and have a problem, you’re going to pay another couple thousand to import the replacement puppy if they actually follow through with their implied commitment.

A broker will also handle all the “customs B.S.” that comes from importing an animal. And it goes on and on. Many reasons to use a broker.

Good luck in your upcoming endeavor.

@steve1972 is spot on. The last US kennel I contacted also stated they'd grant full registration, only if and after I obtained specific titles and medical tests on the pup, and within a specif period of time. In addition to that the pups were priced $3500.00, and I believe full registration would also entail another fee to the breeder, along with the costs of the re-registration. To me, it's a bit like buying a new home and the builder refuses to allow you to use the swimming pool until you complete lifeguard certification.

The thing about warranties is that after you have bonded with a dog, would you want to hand it back over to the breeder? Would be a little tough for a lot of folks, and I suspect the breeders bank on that. And, what does the breeder do with limited/sick dog?

Let's say you have no intention on ever breeding a dog, but you obtain a good one with full registration.   In the event you have a sudden life change (terminal illness diagnosis, sever physical injury, etc..) a quality, fully registered dog would be attractive to many people, IMO, and the animal would maybe be better served.