Help a newbie pls! - Page 2

As far as cost..my rule of thumb is it will always cost more than I plan. :) Good luck!! Just one word of caution, I hope you are buying from someone you know is reputable. Importing can be very exciting and scary all at the same time. And if it hasn't been said already, you can save a lot of money and have a better leg to stand on should the dog not be all she is claimed to be if you bought a dog right here in the states.

read kandi's post - again and again. She is correct... be careful. molly

Thank you for the informative posts! Yes, Melanie I will email you shortly-thanks. I think I will actually pass on this bitch, even though she is the most beautiful girl I have seen-and I have seen a lot. I just cannot justify paying that much right now esp. when there are just as good quality dogs here in the US, thanks to you wonderful breeders who have done the importing for us...:) Oh my this does make me appreciate the labor and sacrifice of love this takes. Kandi, I do not know about their reputation as breeders. How does one go about finding out? Post their name on this message board and ask? They have a good website but it is entirely in German so hard to read for me. It looks like they have been doing this for awhile, and their pedigrees look very good. T

Reading Kandi's post again and again... Thanks eichenluft ;)

You are a newbie , so then if I were you I would more worry about or the dog is worthy that money......think about that !!!

Ok, my fever has finally broken and I am back to my senses...I will buy locally and organically grown..lol but tell me...how do you really check on the reputation of a breeder in Germany? What are the best ways to do this besides just posting them on here? I know word of mouth is best, and the posts of "Kennels I have not been screwed by" or whatever it was was very informative and I looked at several on them listed there. I suppose you must have your "Contacts" and be one of those folks who has that info. Must this process be so damn hard? Comments pls! Thanks, T

Contact the shipping company directly for a quote: www.gkair.de They speak English and they can handle all the shipping needs for you, from ground transport, to crate, to flight, right down to the customs broker. They also accept credit card so you can pay them directly. Shipping will be in a 500 series crate. They will need to know the destination airport for a price. Since you need ground transport, GK can pick up the dog for you for much less than the owner quoted you. If you understood correctly that the dog will be 'flown' into Frankfurt, which I find a bit hard to believe. GK charges about 1 Euro or so for each kilometer driven, one way. I am not uptodate on their current charges so that is just a rough guideline, as we use our own drivers most of the time, and charge less. For the distance of 380km you should be looking at ground transportation cost of 350-380 Euros from GK. Depending on where the dog is, it may be possible to fly just the dog to Frankfurt the day before it continues to the US. That can be done for about an extra 150-200 Euros. So if a person can fly from there to Frankfurt, the dog may be able to do the same via cargo. If the seller proposed to fly to the dog to you in the US, that is a different matter. Then 500 Euros is a good price. But an extra 500 Euros just to get the dog to the FRA airport seems high. Contact GK, they will provide you with all the information you need. Then you can make a decision. They will be available again on Monday. There is a little stress for the dog when flying, nothing that a normal dog cannot handle. Lots of dogs fly all the time, its very safe. GK is very good about handling them too. Rule of thumb should be: Go with what your gut tells you, if it feels right, its probably right, if it feels off, its probably off. Rule Nr. 2: There will always be another. Calm down, let you excitement pass a bit and then try to think straight. Nothing will be lost with taking a bit more time. If the dog ends up gone, there will be another. What do you want to do with this dog? What are your plans and goals? What are you abilities to fulfill these goals? Will the dog fit? If its your first import expect that there will be a learning curve. Importing is just the start. If you like some assitance in finding out what dog would be suited for your needs and goals, and what can be realistic expectations at your end, email me privately.

So incredibly helpful all of you...Thanks ever so much, This is a wonderful community-thank you thank you thank you... T

Well, I have heard back from the breeder and the actual price of 2200 Euros INCLUDES everything but the AKC registration. The pet passport, internation health cert., and right sized crate. All I would have to pay for is her AKC if I want to breed her. This seems like a very fair price IF they are reputable. Again I ask-how do I know? They have been wondeful so far to deal with. Thanks, T

there is sometimes a reason the dealer is looking to sell a young adult - do you know that reason? Do you know what they are telling you is true? Does she have an a-stamp hip rating? Did they send you proof of that with proof of tattoo # on it? It is a fair price - wonder why. your question about how to tell a reputable breeder/seller in Europe - the best way is to know them personally yourself, or know someone who you trust, who knows them personally. Otherwise, I would personally not take the risk when there are dogs in this country which you could get for less money, and get a nice dog with a breeder or seller who stands behind the dog in case something goes wrong. molly