WHAT TYPE OF BREEDERS ARE WE?
According to
the GSDCA’s table on Types of Breeders we are somewhere between “Reputable Hobby Breeder” and “Reputable Experienced Breeder”, but it’s really up to the buyer to decide…
To our puppy buyers we make the following promises:
- We will always breed with the best interests of the breed and the puppies in mind.
- We will always produce the highest quality puppies possible.
- We will always base our breeding practices in sound science.
WHAT IS YOUR MOTIVE FOR BREEDING? To better the breed and perfect a specific line that continues a legacy for many generations.
ARE YOU BREED CLUB MEMBERS? No, we don’t have time or desire to participate, nor the intent to add costs to our breeding program through showcasing expenses and other fees. We do encourage our buyers to participate if they want to and to do whatever they find fun with their dog.
DO YOU HAVE A MENTOR? Not specifically who is alive today, but we will always seek new knowledge and pass on knowledge to others.
DO YOU BREED TO THE STANDARD? Yes, striving toward the original standard with the intent of continuing the perfection without catering to fad.
DO YOU PARTICIPATE IN DOG RELATED ACTIVITIES (SHOWS/TRIALS, RESCUE)? Not any more. Leah did many years ago, but no longer has the desire, time or money. Both of us would rather invest our resources in the physical and mental health of our dogs and spend time with them at home.
WHAT IS THE EXTENT OF YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF THE BREED? We are constantly studying current research, re-reading the standard, observing individual members of the breed and comparing them to that standard. We also plan and modify that plan for the future generations of our lines based on what we learn, but don’t cater to whim or fancy. We can and will tell you how the traits of each of our dogs match up to the standard and how we select our breeding pairs to focus on the positives.
DO YOU SELL PETS WITH SPAY/NEUTER CONTRACTS AND TRY TO STAY IN TOUCH WITH NEW OWNERS? We limit registration per specific contract requirements because we strive to breed a breed quality dog – we don’t differentiate between breed and pet quality as our puppies are intended to be both. We will deny removal of limited registration if at two the dog does not meet specific standards. Leah will probably be a total pest wanting updates and pictures and to offer advice to our buyers.
DO YOU KEEP UP WITH HEALTH AND TEMPERAMENT ISSUES AFFECTING THE BREEDING AND PROVIDE IN-DEPTH GUARANTEES? Their are no certainties, but we invest a great deal of our personal resources up front to ensure that our dogs are producing puppies that are good tempered and healthy, and so our buyers can feel confident that their puppy will remain healthy throughout its lifetime. We will always be available to our buyers throughout the lifetime of their puppy for support and advice.
DO YOU PERFORM HEALTH TESTING FOR ALL BREEDING STOCK FOR GENETIC DISEASES AFFECTING THE BREED?
1. Yes, our dogs are genetically tested for everything that there is a genetic test for.
2. Our dogs are not bred until they are two as that is when the majority of issues will have surfaced.
3. Our dogs are kept healthy by annual visits with our veterinarian who may be contacted by our buyers who will receive a release of information form. Our dogs receive annual vaccinations as well as monthly preventative treatments to prevent parasites and transmitted diseases.
4. Our breeding dogs are given an extensive pre-breeding exam that includes a full CBC, test for inflammatory markers (CRP) and clinical joint integrity exams (in lieu of x-rays unless indicated), as well as tests for brucellosis and urinary tract issues. We always plan our breedings and our dogs go through these tests before they are bred.
DO YOU MAINTAIN RECORDS ON ALL THE DOGS IN YOUR GENE POOL INCLUDING PROGENY? We keep track of our own dogs as well as their offspring and all of our buyers have access to these records. We research the backgrounds of as many of the dogs in their lines as we possibly can and only buy breeding stock that we have personally seen the parents of. We ask our buyers to keep us updated on the health of their puppy throughout its lifetime.
IS A CLEAN ENVIRONMENT ALWAYS MAINTAINED FOR YOUR DOGS? We are proud of the facility we are building and welcome all visitors. We have a strict protocol for cleaning and maintaining the areas our dogs are kept in when they are not in the house. Each dog has its own space inside and outside as well as areas for play time, training time, me time and zoomie time. Our dogs are part of our family and their puppies will always be raised as though we are keeping every single one of them. During gestation and nursing time mothers are kept in whatever environment they find the least stressful and we do everything in our power to keep her fit and healthy as we believe a healthy mother is the best way to avoid congenital issues. Each of them has a different personality and we will cater to their comfort on an individual basis. We probably need to vacuum more, but otherwise our home is orderly and healthy.
HOW LONG DO YOU EXPECT TO BE INVOLVED WITH THIS BREED? There are days we wonder what we were thinking, but those are few and far between. We want to build off a legacy that was started by Leah’s great-grandfather and leave something to our sons. Our goal is for our lines to continue from generation to generation. We hope someday to be passing on our breed book, records, and knowledge to our own great-grandchildren. You will never see one of our adult dogs for sale because it is past productivity – that is like selling one of our kids! When they are retired from breeding they are not discarded as no longer useful, they are loved, and adored until they die of old age. By Leah’s track record with dogs that is well into the double digits.
IS A HEALTH GUARANTEE PROVIDED ON THE PUPPIES YOU SELL? We strive to ensure that our breeding dogs are of the highest quality in health and temperament so that our buyers don’t have anything to worry about in the future. Should a genetic defect arise that affects the health of the dog, we will offer that buyer a replacement puppy, but this shouldn’t be necessary or of concern due to the extensive health testing done before breeding is even considered. We are also available to our buyers should they ever have any concerns or questions and want to hear from them all the time about their puppy.
CAN I MEET THE PARENTS? We INSIST that you do! We will only sell a puppy to someone who has visited with us, seen the parents, spent time with the litter, and filled out our pre-purchase questionnaire. Yes, its like being interviewed, but we have the best interest of our puppies and their buyers at heart. We can’t know the best puppy to match a buyer with if we don’t get to know them. Our adult dogs have different levels of socialization which speaks more about our time socializing them then it does about the dogs. We live on a farm in the country, not a lot of people visit us and we don’t go anywhere. We do try to take our dogs out into different situations and expose them to people and other dogs though. Also, they are German Shepherds and part of their job is to guard our pack and property. They do a very good job. Mother dogs can be very protective of their pups no matter how well socialized they are and we ask our buyers to please keep these things in mind when they come to meet the parents.
WHAT CAN I EXPECT AFTER PURCHASING ONE OF YOUR PUPPIES? We will always be available to our buyers for questions about health and training. We hope to see pictures and get updates all the time and even though we don’t like social media have Facebook pages for all the buyers of a litter to share with each other and have Q&A’s that may benefit everyone. If for any reason a buyer cannot keep one of our puppies, we must be informed that it is being rehomed and it must never go to a pound, shelter, or rescue – we will take it back every time if there are no other options for you.
WHAT DO YOUR PUPPIES COST?: Our puppies are $1000.00. This does not cover what we have invested in them and their parents and it seems like it never will, but we are not in this for the money. We do not charge more for papers, we limit registration on all of our puppies until our contract is fully met, but since that is not possible until he or she turns two the puppy goes home without the full price being paid. If the buyer does not wish to apply for release of limited registration or there is a health or temperament issue the full price will not be paid and the dog may be neutered or spayed. Our contract does not allow our puppies to be registered with any other organization than the American Kennel Club so that if a bad buyer gets past our screening processes, they cannot circumvent the contract.