My sucherquelle expirence was great, she even offered to drive halfway to IL from WV to have me pick up my puppy instead of shipping him because i didnt want to put him through that at his young age. She was very helpful and understand of what i wanted from my dog (sport) and im very happy with him. He's full of drive, has a very nice bite and has both of his testicals dropped. And for the record, he dislikes his own waste and will cry for HOURS quite literally if im gone if he has a accident. He's a great little busybody and i really do have to watch my whole person when playing with him because he will bite everything and anything he can get a hold of. Im not novice at dogs but im still new. I also have one of the top IL trainers on my side and has told me he will be perfect for what i expect of him to become and should compete very well in Mondio as long as he's trained, treated and cared for properly. My little Spartacus aka Rev Vom Sucherquelle is a blessing because I used to hate the breed because of bad expirences and Jill understood my concerns and has the perfect puppy for me. He's stable, which is sometimes rare in german shepherds (they tend to be to sharp or to shy) he's fast to learn new things, has good structure, and has the proper drive needed for my intentions. This is my first Sucherquelle pup but i would not hesistate to bring another one home from them because i am so happy with him. Remember, every breeder has a fluke dog here and there. Just because pedigree's are great or the sire/dam of your dog is what YOU want not every dog comes out perfect in the end. Ive seen GSD's with pedigrees 8miles high in scH dogs and have absolutely NO drive. it's up to the owner to create what he wants his dog to become. Spartacus is Birko/Molly incase your wondering.

My experience with Sucherquelle was radically different from yours, "lordkevork". Obviously I don't have any knowledge of the circumstances other than what you and Jill Keaton have said here, but I do know that I was treated very well.

My experience:
A few months ago I was looking for a protection dog...not necessarily an official PPD but definitely a visual/audible deterrent. Sucherquelle was selling a young male, green but with a high suspicion level. I inquired about him and told Jill Keaton that I was also interested in sport, but only as a novice and only if the dog had the ability/interest. She was QUICK to make clear that the dog I was interested might or might not have the drive for sport, as she had not done drive-building with him. He did not (at the time) have enough drive.

Since this time he has exceeded my expectations. As stated previous, I am a novice and have no experience with sport dogs...and have nothing to compare my dog to. I do know that I have to watch my hands, legs, feet, etc. when playing ball or tug...This dog would play tug in a noisy parking lot for hours, if I let him. He is a completely confident dog in all areas. Perfect for my needs. I got what I asked for and Jill made sure I knew I was getting a protective companion who could POSSIBLY, NO GUARANTEES have his drive built up.

Again, this is just my experience. I usually do not get involved in this sort of dispute, but since you made a negative public comment about your experience I think that it is fitting for me to publicly reply with my positive experience.

I also agree with biljenbec that crate-training is an owner issue.
My amazing dog: http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/gsd/pedigree/539004.html

I just bought a female pup from Jill's Birko/Bora litter, have had her for almost a month, she is housetrained, crate trained, and such a little spitfire! I admit, she was a hellraiser in the crate for about a week, very little sleep, but I finally won, she is now comfortable in her crate. I feel sorry that your dog sits in it's own waste, that is an owner issue I believe.

I have been breeding dogs for 30 yrs., German Shepherds since 1981, and have met many breeders, and found that Jill knows her stuff. Jill is not a "mouthy" person, she has knowledge of her dogs lines, and knows what their potential is.

If you bought a DDR line dog for SchH, shame on you, you should have done your research. DDR dogs are great protection dogs, there are many threads on this forum that explain the lines.

Do not blame your breeder for drive, that is produced by not only genetics but by owner participation. My 11 wk old pup from Sucherquelle has the drive of a czech dog, my 8 month male DDR line has drive but would not make a competiton dog.

I am glad you have a new dog that you are happy with, sell Dante to someone that will love him and appreciate him for what he is.

Rebecca

As owner of Birko I need to let everyone know there is another side to this story. Birko male pups do not always have testicles down at 6 weeks. This was the age when my vet checked the "D" litter ( the only time he saw this litter)....the age I do first shots and tattoos. I told this new owner that I would buy the pup back......he refused. I even changed my guarantee (for him).....he would not return a signed copy. They would not even have their vet send me a statement the the pup only had one testicle. This party did not ask for a breeding or working dog....they asked for a family companion/protector. I have all the e-mails....just remember...there are always two sides to each story.

I have had many Shepherds over the years.
The breeder I got Dante from was in my opinion a scam artist. They lied about the dog having both testicles. This was important to me as he would one day be a breeder. When we pressured the vet they said the dog had one teste during examination. After further examination we learned the dog has hereditary Cryptorchid. In my opinion i would stay away from Vom Sucherquelle. They offered to refund my money after 1 year if it had not fallen and then never did.
I should also mention that i was hoping not all would be lost and that this dog may have a Shutzhund future. Well the dog possessed no drive to speak of and wouldnt even take to crate training. He enjoyed sitting in his own waste time after time.
I have since had the dog fixed so he can never reproduce.
I did get another dog from another breeder and the new pup has been amazing!