Need advice with regard to getting new pup/dog - Page 2

Larry this is funny we just were fighting over feeding habbits of our pups :) and we own a dogs from the same breeder lol.

"I would run screaming from Willow Vallley, they charge MORE for long coats than they do "normal" coats. Something is wrong with this picture!"

weird to price long coats higher than standard coats - i hadn't noticed that.  i have noticed that breeders value different traits and price their dogs for all sorts of reasons that are important them - i've seen sites that use a rating system like: ultimate, supreme, choice ... each catagory is priced differently. there's a breeder in the uk who breeds coats and they are very nice looking dogs but i've seen some coat breeders who are breeding gsd with rather droopy faces.  imo a good breeder is a good breeder though some (most?- lol) are rather quirky:)   setting pricing and the coat controversy aside imo wv's dogs are nice looking but unfortunately i have no knowledge of the quality of their dogs. as a companion dog buyer i simply decide if they have a dog i want am willing to pay what they think their dogs are worth.  whether a dog has a long coat or not is an issue for show folks; for companion pets it's temp and health - at least imo:) 

if the dog comes from good stock i.e. stable & friendly temp & good health i'd pay more regardless of a long or standard coat or a bit cow hocked or whatever deviation from the standard people, rightly or wrongly, complain about.  because i'm looking for a companion and not the greatest athlete or the most beautiful.  the truth be told these 'star' dogs would be wasted in my home because i wouldn't utilize these qualities the way someone else would; so for this very reason i would never ask for the breeder's "pick of the litter"; now the smartest dog that's what i want - that would be my "pick of the litter";)

bottom line for me i don't need the dog to be strictly within standard and some very good qualities are getting lost because people are being too strict - again imo :)  in applying the standards - but that's a whole other topic:) pricing a dog that is outside the standard higher than one that meets the standard is a weird marketing ploy and might be a real red flag and for this reason you may want to run from willow valley. or you may love what they are breeding and feeling the higher price is worth it to you - i think these are very nice looking dogs but who knows for sure the underlying quality. so it's a personal choice but for me i look hardest at the care a breeder takes in breeding and rearing and the quality dogs they produce - thats what i find to be most important; fitting the standard comes in 3rd.

let me qualify one thing i most definitely favor breeders who breed to the standard - but <g> the big old but <g> - a breeder who breeds for quality first and formost, even when that might fall a bit outside the standard, is a great find.  i also like a breeder who is fine if some of the litter doesn't fit that standard. i do hesitate when i see someone intentionally breeding outside the standard though i do have mixed feelings about the whole thing.  all the arguing between show lines and work line and long coat and standard coat and not accepting white gsd into the breed and show line bias toward black & tan ... all makes my head spin:)

clearly i've been thinking about this a lot

I love long coats, I never own white, but neither I would ever discriminate, good dog is a one in a liftime find, some of us go out of our way to find the suitable replacment, so discriminating sollely on look, or coat, or color, or show vs. work, it's just silly. Always look for a breeder that belives in what he does.

hey larry glad to here from you and thanks for the compliment and assuming the way you are speaking gunnar is doing just fine... do you have any pics and video you can send me....

as far as long stock coats this is all ones prefference but it is also considered a flaw and were there are flaws there can possibly other genetic issues