Guidance needed - central New Jersey - Page 1

Happy Holidays! I will be a first time GSD owner and looking for the right breeder in Central New Jersey area. I thought you all here could help guide me to a good breeder in the area (or should I import one or ship one in from another state, seems wierd to me) and also to critique a breeder as a way to educate myself on different things I have little knowledge on thus far (i.e. line breeding, pedigree details, etc). First and foremost, I am looking for a companion dog to join my pack, wife, two children (4 years and 2 years), and our house cat. I'm also very interested in pursuing Schutzhund with the GSD, but not on a competitive basis (more of a way for the dog and I to learn about the sport together, to bond together, and to enhance his training with professionals). I'm also looking to purchase the pup no earlier then a spring 2008 litter. My budget is up to $2,500. I don't care so far (since I have little knowledge of) which line the dog comes from as long as it's German and not American, healthy (parents OFA normal/good), correct temperment, genetics are stacked my way for a good long term healthy dog. After the holidays in Jan, I'll be visiting several kennels in the area. I will also start going to the local club events to meet other GSD lovers and really see what the breed, training, and show/sports are about. I'm compiling an entire list of questions for the breeder and preparing myself and my home for the pup (references, financial / time budgetting, fixing the 16x9 kennel i have on my property, etc). I would appreciate any help you might have in locating the right breeder for me that you think breeds the kind of pup I am looking for, advice/guidance on the type of lines I should look at, and any feedback on the below breeder and dogs. After doing some research about the local clubs, I found a breeder who is the president of two clubs (one with USA and the other with GSDCA-WDA). The web site for his breeding program is at: [url=http://http://www.jagermeistershepherds.com/]Jagermeister Shepherds[/url] . He has a litter planned with the below dogs in 2008. When I do a Mate! check on the pedigrees, there are several linebreedings coming up that I am worried about. The dam also worries me with the linebreeding, but I have no experience to undestand if this is a red flag or not. Sire: Branco vom Banholz; SchH3, IPO3, FH, KKL2 - [url=http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/gsd/pedigree/410115.html]Pedigree[/url] Dam: Beau van 't Leefdaalhof ; SchH1 - [url=http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/gsd/pedigree/526830.html]Pedigree[/url] As somewhat of a case study, what do you think of the above dogs, what kind of litter they might produce, and the kennel in general from the web site I linked. I understand there are a lot of other important factors to consider with this kennel, and I will gather that information when I visit, but I'm wondering if I'm wasting my time if the dogs he has and plans to breed are just not correct or desirable. Thank you for any help you can offer and have a great holiday!

Congratulations! I think you have done an excellent job of researching dogs and clubs. You are definitely on point. Never hurts to visit two or three clubs and hang out awhile and talk and watch, but your instincts seem correct. I have dogs from similar bloodlines you are looking at. They are 100% for work, attitude, and health. You will definitely have an excellent chance of getting a fine working dog from that prospective match IMO. Good Luck! cindy

Thanks for the feedback gieske! When you do a Mate check on the two, the following linebreeding is noted. It looks like from the 2-2 in Dasty that these dogs are half siblings. Isn't that a bit close for a breeding? Also, I'm a novice dog owner so would these lines produce something that I might have difficulty handling? Here is the mate check for the two: 5 - 5,5.............. in SG Timmy von der bösen Nachbarschaft 5 - 5................ in SG Arthus vom Lünsholz 5 - 5................ in Erle vom Buckower Feld 5 - 5,5............. in V Orlie vom Körbelbach 4 - 4............... in SG Half vom Ruhbachtal 4 - 4............... in V Karlo vom Peko Haus 5 - 5............... in V Ork vom Wolfendobel 5 - 5.............. in Jago vom Haus Gremm 5 - 5.............. in Nancy vom Mutzbach 4 - 4.............. in Gipsy von der Schafbachmühle 5 - 5.............. in Dunja vom Bernet 3 - 3............ in SG Pike von der Schafbachmühle 4 - 4............ in Anja vom Kerpener-Land 3 - 3.......... in SG Forma von Karthago 2 - 2.......... in Dasty Von Der Berger Hochburg

A 2-2 linebreeding is not permitted under German regulations! That is way too close. Chris

A 2-2 linebreeding on Datsy and 3-3 on Pike may produce puppies that will be somewhat difficult for a novice GS owner to handle. This is not negatively aimed, its just with the little info you gave on you and your intentions it raises a red flag. Not saying you can't get a good puppy out of this breeding, but I would look hard to be sure that the puppy will be managable for you and your family.JMO

You may want to check out this kennel but be aware that herding dogs are definitely working dogs wiht very high energy levels. http://www.whitecloversheepfarm.com/sh-kennel.htm

Thanks, TIG and all for your replies. I'm going to pass on the litter of the dogs I posted. Instead I have the following on my short list to interview and visit: http://www.vonwyndmoor.com/ http://www.vomfloydhaus.com/ http://workinggermanshepherd.com/ (thanks rezkat5 for the references!) I'll check out the kennel TIG mentioned as well. I also had someone tell me to look outside of the NJ area but I find it difficult to rationalize traveling the world to look for a companion dog.

My bitch is from Ulf's kennel and she is high energy, but also does do very well in the house. But when she's herding sheep she is none stop motion for the entire time she is working, whether it is one, two, or even three hours.

Hi, located in S. Jersey. Not a breeder but can offer some suggestions. please send private message let meknow where you are in centraL nj

I have seen dogs from both Jagermeister and White Clover. I have also worked them in protection. This is just my opinion but HANDS'DOWN HANDS' DOWN HANDS' DOWN Jagermeister is the better choice. And that is based only on the dogs. Talk to both and see who has better references, etc.