Finding your Dog - Page 1

Dawulf,
I totally agree with everyone on the message board, Listen to them for they are good breeders, and usually have bred for years. They know thier stuff.
Also, check for OFA..even if it's a service animal or you want to go thru trials with the animal they must have good hips and elbows. Don't listen to the seller, they'll tell you what you want to hear, and don't buy unless you can see atleast 3 generations that have been OFA cert. You also want to look at the puppy or "teenager" as to how he/she acts. Is he staying with his liter mates, a loner, runny eyes, skin problems. Even the best lines can and will be bred to just make money. (not SV Standard)
I say this because I'm like you, need and want a little of both; Schultzhund and Agility/Service Animal or shall I say show lines. I found a great line, first drop of pups from a year old Sire and Dam..11 pups in the liter. I found my little boy, which I put thru obdience training and was hoping on SCH training...at 5 months started showing a "bunny hop" run; really didn't think much of it. Then more signs, dragging of  his rear legs, hair loss, runny eyes (thought he was allergic to my cig smoke & cat) so got an air cleaner. Well at 6 months right when he was starting to drag a leg..not both yet, I took him in for an xray and showed terriable HD and the doc diagnosed him with myelitis ( like MS in humans),which is very uncommon in young dogs to say the least even in older dogs.. then came the change in mental capacity..aggression, by the time 6 1/2 months rolled around and all that time, love, effort,
attachment, vet bills, etc..(You know we put alot into our animals) the best food money can buy...I had to put him down, In just 2 weeks I watched that "teenager pup" go from hop, drag to loosing control of both back legs. You can imagine what would've happened in a month or so..VERY Sadly to say it was an aweful deal.
So, the moral of this story I quess...Is, listen to everyone on the board. I've had GSDs for 23 years and have never in my life seen anything like this. I was told to run by one of the Breeders that posted a message to me when I asked about the lineage. I had all the info and saw all the papers from Germany..but those last 3 generations on the AKC papers had no info on OFA cert....HD is bad enough, but just research online, ask alot of quesstions here, Most Everyone here are great at giving info about backyard breeders (BYB) and Puppy Mills and can give you the best advice and most likely the best breeder for the type of GSD that suites you.  Just remember HD is a genetic problem and can lay dormant.
I just wish I had listened to this one Breeder in Australia..I should've ran, but wanted that great line I thought was SV Standard and turned out to be just another BYB that didn't know crap...which in turn I did some education via email to her.
Good Luck with your choosing of a GSD to suit you.

TxGSDLvr63

Man do I feel your pain.  I have had just the opposite happen;  my 8 year old male with both parents bought from Germany died in June, 2010.  He started showing signs of slowing down at 6 l/2;  took him to the vet and his blood work showed no signs of trouble;  in fact all was well.  Kept slowing down, down until just before his 8th bd went down and could not get up any more;  and when he did he could not walk.  His hips were good but it was DM.  I spent 7+ years loving this dog, training as he was my service dog, my protector, my first GSD and just gone at the blink of an eye.  I cannot tell you how devastated I still am and missing him every day and unable to find anything that will suit my needs without having to worry about health issues or spending a fortune shipping from another country.  I am totally lost without him.

So believe me I know how you  feel.  I hope you find a great dog and happy new year.  Nanci

I'm really sorry for your loss,  I started out with 4 German Shepherds when I was little, one had to be put down at 7 due to hip dysplasia, 2 died at the age of 2 and 4, we had no idea why, the last one who was actually my first German Shepherd spent most of her life with severe allergy dermatitis, spent thousands at the vet on her, they couldn't help her, it looked like we abused her, skin would become raw and bleed, Cephalexin would clear it up but it always came back, I got into animal nutrition and was able to keep the infection at bay but still she suffered, the other 3 suffered, and I was very young at that time, I was mad at the jerks that bred the dogs because of their ignorance and drive for the greed of making a couple bucks it put me and my dogs in pain and it could have been prevented, it took me a year of studying before I found my perfect dog.

I agree with everything you've said but I'd also like to add to anyone who doesn't know, new studies show that HD/ED is partly due to environmental factors, (they say 70-75%) weight, feeding premium kibble, jumping on and off of things because their joints aren't calcified until they are a year old, supplements like Vitamin C, glucosamine, chondroin and MSM may help (I also supplement with salmon oil, Probiotics and enzymes), even if a dog has good hips for several generations there is still that chance your puppy could develop HD or ED, all breeders and pet owners can do is the best that they can to ensure that doesn't happen.  Because of what happened to my dogs I'm very paranoid about the health of my dogs because I don't want anything to happen to them, they are the loves of my life.  Again, I'm REALLY sorry......I know how painful it is....I hope you find your dream puppy and (s)he lives a long and healthy life. <3