Ques about breeder... PENDRAGON ACRES in FL - Page 2

Someone must have heard of them; it says they're world famous righ there on their web site!  

Ok.. my take on them..  (fo what its worth)

I see a florida dog business..  they are making their living in the "pet" business.. so breeding/puppies are just one tiny part of their business.

They are breeding oversized pets/ companions, and, as Jenni said, there is no info on that website except weight of pup, and color..

Your friend needs to sit down and figure out EXACTLY what they want in a dog, just like they would if they were buying a house. (what is most important to them, least important to them, etc)

The website lists no health clearances on any of the breeding adults, no titles, working abilities, and any videos or pictures of them doing ANYTHING but laying around or being led around on a lead.

If you go to OFFA website, there are a smattering of GSD with that prefix in the name, and a proportionately large number of crappy hips to good ones being produced... especially for the amount of litters they have created and sold in the past few years.

If your friend REALLY likes the parent dogs, and wants onethat badly, they should make sure they get a written guarantee for health/hips at the minimum, and should probably plan on having their pup health screened a bit early, like at 5-6 months.

Agree on that there are lots of people in Florida breeding GSD, so beware.. LOTS of MEH breeders in that state..  lived there a looong time..

I just found out they charge..............drumroll.................$2,000 for a pup! 

Keep in mind, the only bad OFA results people see are the ones that are signed off on to be released publicly....so...that's a REALLY bad sign. 

Well, Edda, I'd say you passed your first test on how much you know--you recognized red flags when you saw them, and that is the BIGGEST part of it all. I'd say you're now at least at Phase 2 of knowing something about choosing a good breeder [Phase 1 was knowing that you didn't know what to look for, but also knowing that there MUST be things that you should be looking for before considering the purchase of what will hopefully be a friend, companion and family member for upwards of 10-12 years of your life]!

Edda knows quite a bit more than she lets on...

She passed MY test. 

Not sure what an MEH breeder is, but I can say that I wouldn't have any problem finding a good GSD here in FL. First thing I'd suggest would be to contact Diane Roberts at Tampa Bay Rescue. She's very active in the breed, has occasional litters with super temperaments and often has some really lovely rescues looking for homes. She manned the GSD breed booth at the Eukanuba show, shows her dogs in conformation, OB and herding. She will help anyone find a good GSD. 

Thank you all lots for the input.

Blitzen....I will pass your information on to my friend or maybe she'll come here to read.

pg

Really, just so everyone does know the truth.... Jenni78 was really trying hard to rid herself of precious little

Mohawk/Combover/Ely. So when I arrived to pick him up, she pretty much pitched the little fellow out the

door and I had to drive away VERY fast with sweet Ely screaming for her out the window.

Guess she thought I'd change my mind and leave him. . Yep...that's what happened.

Blitzen, a "MEH" breeder, at least to me, is one which, when you review their breeding program, your gut reaction is "MEH". It's not necessarally the worst operation you've ever come across, or even in the very bottom of your rankings, but they don't rise to a 'decent' or 'worth a look' level, let alone be among your 'recommended' breeders.

Not sure if that's what Dawulf DenWolf meant, but when I think of FL breeding operations, I do recall coming across a lot of "MEH" breeders, ones who bought dogs from decent enough lines but don't do anything with them, do little health screening beyond hip x-raying [maybe OFA, maybe not] and who trade on the laurels of the great-grandparents or further back to provide credentials for the pups and dogs they're selling. Such breeders exist in every state, but there does seem to be a greater concentration of them in the states with the warmest climates here in the US, from my observations.

Jenni, had no idea that Edda had Ely...yeah, if you allowed her to take one of your pups, she clearly has been hiding her light under a bushel basket by her self-deprecation in this thread.

Edited because I mixed up Dawulf and DenWolf.

Edda may not be able to fill in blank pedigrees of some of today's famous GSDs, but she's definitely selling herself short. She has excellent innate "dog sense" and is managing 3 GSDs together quite well, despite some challenges from one who shall remain unnamed. ;)  She's a special kind of person. I knew right away she was THE place for Ely. 

Someone say my name?