Kulladogs Kway and advice - Page 6

Becca, not trying to frighten you away from buying a pup right now, but many GSD's are uncontrollable balls of non-stop energy and will happily rip up the couches when you're gone if you don't keep it confined to a crate or a safe room. If you and your husband both work, then this could be a recipe for disaster.

At any rate, you sound like a sensible person who will think it all out before making your decision. Good luck.

I just posted a really long message..if it doesn't show up in an hour or so, I will write it all out again.  This is a topic that is after my heart. LOL :)

Becca best wishes during your pregnancy and I'm sure the right dog will find YOU as it often happens.  "a dog will behave how you raise it" is true but you just cannot overlook genetics in this case.  Keep researching and learning.  It's a never ending process

I am going to weigh in on this as I have just brought home a female pup from Bill Kulla out of Kway and Kenna.

I have previously owned working line GSD's and my husband has trained and titled our last male in Schutzhund.

Bill and Jen know their shit.  Bill is one of the most competent and ethical breeders that I have had the pleasure of doing business.  He and Jen took the time to get to know me and my needs and wants in a puppy.

While I had a basic idea of the type of pup I was looking for (spunky and good drive),  Bill and Jen took the time to watch my interaction with the pups and my ability to handle a "high drive" pup BEFORE a decision was made on which pup in the litter would fit my needs.

After spending time interacting with the pups, seeing my 10 year old niece interact with the pups and attending one of Bill's Sch club training sessions, I can whole heartedly say without a doubt that I trust Bill (and Jen's) advice, breeding capabilities and training methods.

I was beyond impressed with Bill's dedication to breeding a solid, well tempered working dog. 

I am an Obstetrical nurse and have worked with pregnant humans for a number of years.  Any newly pregnant woman is going to feel exhausted and possibly pretty sick in the first trimester.  This will be followed by aches and pains physically that you never thought you could feel, followed by sleep deprivation after delivery, followed by a lifetime committment  that you never thought you would be capable of.

I don't think the question is whether or not a Kway pup for you is too much dog, it's more of a question about whether or not it's fair of you to bring ANY pup into your home at this time, even if your hubby says he will train the dog.  You are still going to be a major part of your pups life and you need to be able to physically deal with the needs of ANY pup.

I will tell you that you can't go wrong in talking with Bill.  There are pups in all working litters that are a bit more laid back and ones that are much more driven.  Bill is one breeder I would trust to help me make a good decision.  I would also trust Bill to determine whether or not the OWNER is right for the pup as well.

Bill is a conscience breeder and person.  I would not doubt for a minute that he would NOT allow a pup go to a home where he felt a match between owner and pup would not be a good one.

As for my pup, she is a ball of energy, but she is smart and well tempered.  As for a house pet, I live in the city of Chicago, have a fenced yard, work full time.  We MAKE time to exercise and train her.  She's been in my house for 1 week and already knows sit and platz.  She has had 2 "pee" accidents early on, but has not gone in the house for 4 days!  She settles down well in the house and right now is sleeping under my chair.  She is loving and confident, but she does need attention and excercise.

I am hoping to go out to Bill's club in a few weeks and have him evaluate her ability and drive for Schutzhund.  If she's got what it takes, I will probably train her (my hubby is starting to fight for that right already!).  If she doesn't have the drive, then she will be our house pet only, or maybe do agility.  Either way she will be doing some kind of work.  Because that's what she has been bred to do, just like all GSD's should!

Thank you again Bill and Jen for a wonderfully smart and beautiful pup.

Sara Wallace

Well said, Sara.  I hope the original poster will read your post & take it to heart.

Ok, I have tried to post several times. LOL   Cana keeps dropping her ball on my laptop, you'd think I'd have learned to save occasionally!  

Wow, Becca, you sure have a lot of conflicting opinions on working line shepherds.  Some I think are outright wrong/that's my opinion, and you have to make your mind up yourself.  I'm most definately not going to get into a gripefest with anyone, but I will tell you my story and maybe that will help you decide.
First and foremost, you need to find a breeder who knows and understands his/her dogs, and your needs.  Someone who is reputable and breeds dogs with excellent temperaments.Second ...I have 2 children.  One and 3 years old. (will be 2 and 4 this fall)

Now, here's our story.

My husband and I were doing some reasearch online looking for german shepherd puppies, and found Marlene at AlabamaK9.  We called her, and set up an apppintment later that same day (and this was a 4 hour trip both ways for us) to see the puppies and their parents.  (Zidane Vom Haus Sevens and Quba Vom Argatos)   During our phone conversation we explained exactly what we were looking for, our household, and our needs for our children.  I have a little schanuzer who thinks he rules the house, so I definately didn't want a big dog to come in his house and bite his head off because he's a cocky little stinker...nor did I want him to bully a new puppy.   Marlene said she had two puppies in mind for us to look at, and off we went!

Our two children played with Zidane, a very very hard, driven dog - when working.   We got to see his work, and as soon as he was finished, he was right back to the "family dog" mentality.  He was so gentle and sweet, not to mention GINORMOUS next to our little babies! LOL  But he was adorable.  He would let them throw his toys and play with him like little kids do.  There was another giant male as well named Blackstar, he was the most gentle giant I have ever seen.   But my kids played with both of them, wandered around hanging on to them...etc    They are excellent companion dogs as well as hard, driven dogs.  You could sit on the couch and eat popcorn with either of them! LOL  This was a really special experience for us, and our children.

Long story short, we spent a lot of time with the dogs, and brought Cana home with us and she has been a perfect addition to our family.  She was housetrained easily, with no crate.  When I say easily, I mean, I pointed at the poo, said "NO", and put her and the poo outside.  That happened twice, if I remember correctly.  And she was only 13 weeks old.  She is in NO way a scaredy cat dog.   My children climb all over her, she cleans them if they have a runny nose and I don't get there with a tissue quick enough.   Ok, It's a little gross, but funny and sweet.  They are "HER" babies.  Not mine. LOL  She doesn't like when they cry, she goes to them and kisses them trying to make them feel better. 

Cana is extremely ball driven (as you can tell by her continuously dropping her ball in my lap while I'm trying to type), and has never bitten my childrens arms/hands/etc off.   They play with her daily, and are constantly around her.   And regardless of what someone else said about parenting skills, etc....kids WILL pull hair/tails/ears/etc....it happens.  You know what Cana does?  NOTHING.  Of course, I don't let the kids terrorize her and am always present, but the few times they have done something like that, she has no reaction.

OH, and Cana sleeps in bed with me, my husband and Boo.  Occasionally the one child or both will want to sleep in bed with us.  Cana generally sleeps with her head on the tummy, back, side or legs of whichever child is sleeping in bed with us.  We took a famiy trip to look at houses in the state my husband is stationed.  On our way back we stayed in a motel, and there was this drunk, loud man yelling and banging on doors.  I had never heard Cana bark but when that man started making all of the racket, she flew at the door barking and growling like I had never heard.  We heard him say "Oh f***" and that man shut his mouth for the rest of the night.    Once she was sure we were no longer in danger, she hopped back on the bed with me and my daughter, right back to her normal lap dog behavior.

I am very proud of Cana, I'm proud of her behavior, I love how easily she learns and how much she enjoys playing.  I love her beyond anything for her bond with my children.   She is gentle, loving, playful and jprotective.  I will only have working line shepherds, and am already looking to getting another puppy when my husband returns from Iraq next fall.

Good luck to you Becca.  May you make the choice that is right for your family. :)

Jeri

(Sorry I had to make 2 posts out of one because it was way too long...hope I didn't bore you)

Heartbroken and Cana thanks so much for sharing your stories!  Do either of you have fenced in yards?  I live in a townhouse so he/she will be inside during the day.  Have any of you ran into problems with this?

Becca...

I wrote this nice long post and it didn't go thru...

If you want...email me and I can give you some info on my situation. 

I may have some ideas for you.

Sara

Hello Becca!

We have a fenced yard, and take her out periodically through the day to go potty, swim and exercise.  It is waaay too hot down here to leave her outside all day, especially without a lot of shady areas in our backyard.   I love having her inside though.   She gets bored when she's not exercised, even if it's just a nice long walk with me.   know the yards are pretty small in a townhouse BUT you can make it work without having to take the puppy for walks.  Just throwing a toy and letting him/her run will do the trick. 

Most definately invest in Kong balls, and whatever the weird shaped thing by Kong is called.  Be careful with the balls cause they will bounce over into your neighbors yard....learned that one the hard way...  They will chase them for HOURS, not to mention they're practically indestructable.   Cana likes to catch hers in mid-air.  LOL 

For a little puppy, a ball on a string. LOL  I would have never thought of it until I saw them using them the day we went to get Cana.  Hands down, that was the coolest toy to play with when she was little.

OH!  And I keep Cana in the kitchen during the day if we're gone just to keep her out of mischief.  She's used to being in that area, its large with her water right there whenever she wants it.

If I can be of any other help let me know!

Jeri