Reputable breeder..VON DEN WILDEN RABBITS? - Page 1

Hi, I am looking to get a puppy in march, to work as my first schutzhund dog. I have looked at several kennels in germany and I think I have decided on one in particular. I must have e-mailed at least 12kennels and some responded, some werent having pups, and some dident keep in contact with me after a couple e-mails. The only two that kept in contact with me were Von den wilden rabbits http://www.gsd-rabbits.de Zwinger vom Schloßgäßchen http://www.schlossgaesschen.de Have any of you had experience with any of these kennels? Or can you recommend me a good one? Stefanie from Von Den wilden rabbits seems very nice and you can tell she cares about where her pups are going to live. I have read some of the other posts and some people have been "ripped off". I dont want that to happen to me sience this is my first time importing a puppy. Any advise would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Andrea

Just curious Andrea, don't you think you could find a nice puppy here in the US??? I'm assuming that's where you are.... I have no info on either link you provided (so I'm not slamming anyone)but know for a fact of several really nice breedings right here in the US and some really nice dogs!!

Even try looking at some Canadian breeders. They have some great dogs there as well and they wont rape your wallet.

Look Locally or plan to take a trip !! For me it's something we insist on, is that folks come and meet our dogs and then if they live a long ways out they can board a plane with the pup. We have a NO Shipping policy too much room for errors for my liking. Meeting the breeder face to face too has it's advantages. Visisting the fascility as well. There are too many reasons that you SHOULD go to the breeders home. So if tha is difficult in task, you may want to choose at least a little more locally, or consider getting aboard a plane.

This is a little off the subject but Mosemcr said "Even try looking at some Canadian breeders. They have some great dogs there as well and they wont rape your wallet" I am currently in the process of importing a female pup. I have spoken to several breeders in Germany about their upcomming litters and most of time I have been able to get the pup with shipping for $1500. In the US most of the time its $1500 plus shipping. Just an FYI... Shawn

BE VERY VERY CAREFUL I AM HAVING A BIG PROBLEM RIGHT NOW WITH A GERMAN KENNEL. I SENT PAYMENT 9 MONTHS AGO AND STILL HAVE NO PUPPY. PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU KNOW WHAT YOUARE DOING!!!!!

GSDandrea, Good luck on finding your puppy. As for the statement "Why not buy here." I can think of a lot of reasons. Starting with like what EchoMeadows says. Won't ship a puppy? That's weird to me and I wouldn't even consider you for a puppy because of that statement. Don't go blasting me because of my opinion. I am just stating I wouldn't consider you because of your views on shipping. Other reasons I am skeptical to purchasing from US breeders. I want what I pay for. I don't want someone dictating weather I get full or limited registration. I don't want someone telling me you will repossess my puppy if I don't raise it to your expectations. There are other statements that if find idiotic so that's why my last dog and my next one will come from a breeder outside the US. Plus, I'm finding that a lot of breeders here in the US are all breeding dogs from the same concentrated bloodlines. How long before you all are inbreeding your dogs? Anyway, I know there are other reasons that make me avoid US breeders but that's all I can think of at the moment. I'd rather take my chances and go with those who've been at this longer than most "hobby" breeders here in the US. Gabby

GSDAndrea, there are many excellent breeders and excellent dogs in North America. There are many excellent breeders and dogs in Europe as well. But there are hucksters and shysters everywhere as well who are just waiting for the next sucker to prey upon. That is an unfortunate fact. In my opinion, it's your money and it will be your puppy, so you purchase from whoever you decide is best. But you are at least testing the water before you swim, so that's in your favour. I will offer this as a way to make this successful. No arrangement for the purchase of an unproven puppy should be done without building some sort of personal relationship with the breeder. E-mails and telephone calls are nice to break the ice so to speak, but in the end one must eventually make that trip to visit the kennel, meet the owner and dare I say, prepare to be disappointed and take your money elsewhere for another puppy another day. This messageboard is filled with the sad stories of those who received less than they expected for their money, and those who received nothing at all. In nearly everyone of these cases the purchaser of the puppy was let down because they did not do enough investigation, did not make any attempt at negotiation, and foremost did not take the time to build some sort of personal relationship with the breeder before deciding on a puppy. This is a puppy that you seek-a living, breathing thing that should provide you many years of companionship if it accomplishes nothing else in its life. Being a living thing there are no real guarantees (I don't care what any of us write in a purchase agreement, that includes me!) for anything, as life is not always fair. The puppy is not a commodity such as an automobile that one can just abandon when it turns out to be less than they expected. GSDAndrea, you are making the first good step, and that is asking questions. You state that you want a puppy for a specific purpose, and that of course is much harder to fulfill than if you just wanted a nice puppy for a companion. There are no guarantees that the puppy you eventually acquire will mature to be Schutzhund quality, but that is where an experienced breeder can guide you. A good breeder should attempt to "educate" you as to how he/she does his/her selection when deciding which puppy is the most suitable for a certain purpose, as there is seldom more than one (1) or two (2) hotshots in even a very good litter-I don't care what anyone tells you, this is just the way it is. Past all this, the only advice that I can give is that once you have chosen a breeder, plan on visiting the kennel and please, please, please take the time to build that personal relationship that will become invaluable over the lifetime of your new puppy. I wish you the best of luck! Bob-O

GSDAndrea, commenting on Bob-O said I would agree with him with the exception that in my case, I WENT TO THE EXTENT OF HAVING A GERMAN COWORKER CALL AND SPEAK SEVERAL TIMES IN GERMAN TO THIS LARGE WELL-KNOW GERMAN KENNEL ON MY NICKEL AND REQESTED AND RECEIVED REFERRECES BUT IN THE END I AM STILL WAITING AFTER 9 MONTHS. It is as if I have killed the breeder’s sister or something to get burned this way. My recommendation is to skip the puppy and purchase a green dog that you know has the tools you need to compete for titles you want. Generally Breeders keep the best two Pups from a litter so that can raise them and sell them from 3000-7000. If the person wants to screw they will screw you no matter how much homework you do. Fortunately my first experience purchasing a pup from the Czech republic was a good one. I followed all the rules I did for my first purchase for the second and the rest is history.

Saspgmer, you tried to do the right thing and are still not pleased as your arrangement has not been fulfilled. You cannot blame yourself for the latter part of this matter and must place the blame where it now lies-with the breeder. But at least you fulfilled your end of the arrangement so you can proceed without guilt on your part and wait for a solution-if it ever happens. I quote you "if the person wants to screw they will screw you no matter how much homework you do." Unfortunately that is very true in too many cases. That is perhaps the main value in an attempt at building a personal relationship. Difficult, I know with possible barriers of language, culture, and time differences. You tried. Bob-O