Looking for info about a breeder and thoughts about a breeding - Page 1

Hello. Been a while since I have been on this board.

I have a nephew looking for a German Shepherd mostly as a companion dog. He is 27 years old and has wanted a GSD for quite a while but will be a first time owner. Looking for an active dog to take hiking and hang out with with good temperament but still have a little edge to it.

He has found a breeder and littler he thinks he likes but I have never heard of them and the pedigree of the parents of the litter look like they may be more dog than he is looking for, but I'm not an expert by far on pedigrees and don't know the dogs personally so I am looking for a little help/advice.

The breeder is Rivers Edge Shepherds in New Paris Indiana.

The Sire is Benjamin Vom Westendorf and the mother is Hennessy Aykmar.

Any info would be appreciated

Thanks in advance,
Mick

If he's able to, have your nephew travel to meet the parents and meet the puppies. There's always at least one calm pup in the litter. Ask the breeder if there's one pup he'd recommend as an active pet.

Also, do your homework on the breeder. Search high and low for bad reviews. Talk to the breeder. Will this be someone you're willing to do business with and have a relationship with over the course of your dog's life? Does the breeder seem trustworthy, involved with his dogs, and actively trying to place them in good homes or is he trying to simply make money and place the dogs yo the first people who come looking for a puppy?

The most important thing to me, personally, is trying to find someone who seems like he'll be involved with me and the puppy I receive over the course of the dog's life, the health of the puppy, and the temperament of the puppy. My dog's breeder is overseas and still sends me messages, asking how the dog is (he wants to make sure the dog is happy, healthy, and not being abused, asks regularly for pictures and videos) and how I like the dog. Even the breeder of my dog's sire has reached out to me, asking how I like the pup and how the puppy is doing (which was surprising to me). This showed me that he had true love and concern for his lines and what he produces.

On the other hand, I've dealt with a few "top" breeders here in the USA that only contact you when it deals with money. I've even dealt with one that barely contacted me at all, even when money was involved. If the person is unwilling to talk to you before you have the puppy, what's going to happen after the puppy is in your hands? What if the puppy has health problems? Don't go with a breeder that is unwilling to talk to you or whose dogs aren't health tested at the very least.

For the dogs in question, they have no working titles. The dam has no health certifications even though her dam has borderline/mild hip dysplasia. This is what I see here on PDB. I say, don't go with this litter.

He needs to consider exactly why he needs "a little edge", and what he is going to DO with that 'edge'. It is no good getting a ballsy, drivy, 'sharp' or whatever dog, if you do not need it for any real reason; and it is a complete waste of that 'edge' if you are not prepared to foster it by taking the dog to Training. Also, it can build up problems with a 'companion dog', if the dog gets no outlet for its working ability.

There are absolutely litters born where no pups will be suitable for pets, just as there are litters where none are suitable for police, or sport, or whatever. There is not "always at least one calm pup in a litter," Reliya. Some litters are very uniform. Some are all over the map. There are no rules, but a breeder who knows their lines can pretty reliably predict what their dogs will produce and sometimes, sometimes, that "calm" puppy is plotting world domination and that is NOT the one to put in a pet home, LOL!

Good post overall, just saying that there are no "rules."

I would say that everything depends on your nephew...What experience does he have with Working Dogs...and in particular German Shepherds...

Not only it would certainly be helpful to understand what experience he has but does he understand what it takes to raise a Working line German Shepherd...

Raising one is not so easy and can certainly frustrate someone who isn't aware of what to expect...

I don't know the kennel he's talking about but I do know some of the dog's in their pedigree...It's a mixture of West German Working Lines...Czech lines and DDR Bloodlines...Some of the dogs are very good dogs but not necessarily for a first time German Shepherd owner...

I would suggest he do his homework and visit some breeders and also attend some working dog clubs to see and be around some working dogs...

~Bob~

Beetree
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Does it need to be a puppy? He could go to a GSD rescue and get an adult.

Sorry, Jenni. If I could correct my post, I would. Also, I'd love to help a puppy with world domination. Sounds fun.

Unclemick, if budget is an issue (my guess based on what I saw on the page- I've never heard of them, either, and I'm not that far from there), my sincere advice is to have your nephew WAIT, do his research, and then spend the hard-earned money on a quality animal, bred by someone who values their dogs and what they put into them, and is doing their utmost to put the best dogs into the best homes.

Another option is an adult or a pup from a reputable breeder or even a rescue, who might have a flaw- maybe an undescended testicle, a floppy ear...stuff like that- the things that don't change the OVERALL health of the dog, or the temperament. A breeder selling pups for $1000 is cutting corners somewhere 9/10 times. For his first, I think an adult is a great learning curve- the groundwork has been laid and he can learn to handle without messing up the pup as so many of us do early on. You can get a stronger adult as a novice sometimes, since you're not having to raise it from "scratch." It's a lot harder to raise a stronger pup from the get-go, correctly, than it is to take over the handling of a well-rounded strong adult who's been properly trained. JMO.

I looked at the bloodlines, and honestly, more than the C hips on the dam's mother and the fact that the dam isn't even certified, the dogs in the ped would concern me. I know a few of them and one in particular, combined with another, I don't think are going to give him what he wants. I could be missing something, but I doubt it due to the lack of even the most basic effort put into the breeding stock, but I don't see any particular goal with this breeding. It's a breeding typical of someone who is simply putting 2 GSD peds together to make puppies.

Reliya, we were typing simultaneously. I agree about an adult. A retired female (4-6yrs old) with plenty of energy left but a ton of sense would be my suggestion.