german shepherd breeders

eoin.d

hello im looking for a german shepherd pup. a straight back old style ,long hair, and big boned. im looking for advice as to who breeds them or where could i get one. also would you recommend staying away from the likes of donedeal. any help would be apreciated. thanks

doubter

eoin.d wrote: »

hello im looking for a german shepherd pup. a straight back old style ,long hair, and big boned. im looking for advice as to who breeds them or where could i get one. also would you recommend staying away from the likes of donedeal. any help would be apreciated. thanks

There are lots of pretty GSD pups in rescue's at the moment.

eoin.d

do you really know what your getting with a rescue dog?

DBB

eoin.d wrote: »

do you really know what your getting with a rescue dog?

Actually, I'd argue that it's easier to find out what you're getting with a lot of rescue dogs, because you can do real-time assessments on their adult temperament, which is often quite different to how they were as pups. You can often get a really thorough history on them too, if they are owner-surrendered, and there are plenty of really nice dogs surrendered through no fault of their own
If you get a pup from a good rescue, you'll often find that they've been much better prepared for life as a pet dog than many that have been produced by breeders.
As doubter says, the world is awash with unwanted GSDs at the moment, try googling Irish German Shepherds fb page, as they have regular links to GSDs needing new homes.
That said, if you're very keen to get a pup from a breeder, getting a good breeder of GSDs can be hard. Definitely and absolutely avoid any GSD show breeders. See if you can get in touch with lads who are involved with working lines of Sheps, bearing in mind that the working line dogs can be VERY driven and can be difficult enough to keep as family pets, but these lines often produce well put-together but softer-natured sheps that make super pets. The people on the fb page above may be able to put you in the right direction

Lemlin

eoin.d wrote: »

hello im looking for a german shepherd pup. a straight back old style ,long hair, and big boned. im looking for advice as to who breeds them or where could i get one. also would you recommend staying away from the likes of donedeal. any help would be apreciated. thanks

I know a good breeder who has bred champions and should have pups available soon depending on litter size (he has a number pre ordered) but his would be the show style breed with a crooked back.

RosieJoe

DBB wrote: »

That said, if you're very keen to get a pup from a breeder, getting a good breeder of GSDs can be hard. Definitely and absolutely avoid any GSD show breeders.

Just curious, why do you recommend not going with show breeders? I'd have thought they would have health checked lineage for whenever they breed.

ferretone

RosieJoe wrote: »

Just curious, why do you recommend not going with show breeders? I'd have thought they would have health checked lineage for whenever they breed.

Cos this

RosieJoe

Is the crooked back being driven by a breed standard though? Not agreeing with it, definitely not my cup of tea.

OP, as always advised here - stay away from adverts/donedeal/buy&sell for getting the pup. As DBB said already, get in touch with Owners groups on FB, or get in touch with the IKC to see if they can recommend Breed Goups/Communities.

maggiepip

ferretone wrote: »

Cos this

Ohh I find it so difficult to even look at that poor dog without getting upset :-(

DBB

Yes, what ferretone said!
The show judges are heavily predisposed to selecting winners with astonishingly sloped backs, and GSDs with sloped backs have a significantly higher tendency for hip dysplasia and spondylosis.
You don't have to health test to be a show breeder, as it happens, and there are famous examples of very successful show dogs passing serious untested-for health problems down their lines, and they have LOTS of puppies because they're show winners, so the effects is spread far and wide.
There's also some nice evidence to suggest that dogs bred specifically for show are not as suitable for the pet dog market as people might believe... that's not to say this applies to all show dogs, but there is a significant tendency there.

maggiepip

Surely a physique like that causes back pain. Its so unnatural, its feels uncomfortable just to look at.

DBB

Just to illustrate what I mean, here's the dog who has won BoB and BoG in the past 2 years at Crufts, Elmo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ri76fQC6oaw

eoin.d

ya the german shepherds with the sloped back look wrong. id say you would have alot of vet bills later on. just out of curiosity what would the diffrence be between say a buy&sell dog and a rescue dog?

DBB

eoin.d wrote: »

just out of curiosity what would the diffrence be between say a buy&sell dog and a rescue dog?

Do you mean health-wise?
If I were looking for a GSD, which is something I do from time to time, it doesn't matter where they're coming from... the vet's got to have a right good root at them first to see how their back and hips are. A good vet will tell from a robust physical exam whether further investigations are needed (x-rays).
They also have to have a fairly rigorous temperament test, checking to see any signs of tension or aggression whilst being handled or approached in a number of different circumstances.
The difference between a B&S dog and a rescue dog? It can be zero, other than with the first, you're paying someone for a dog, and with the second, you're donating money to a rescue for the dog, perhaps with some bells and whistles attached, and probably not as much as you're paying the B&S seller!
Does that make sense?
And does it answer your question?!

ihatewinter

Whatever you do, stay away from GSD with sloping backs. A neighbour bought one, probably Done Deal and the poor dog has been plagued with joint problems and arthritis since he was 3. Horrible to see the poor dog walking. An Great Uncle of mine, used to have them back in the 60's and 70's and breed them. They were a different type, they were registered but I remember the last one he had was hairy and had a shorter, wider face and straight back compared to the one's nowadays. He never showed them, but more for a family dog. He got too old and so they all died out.

DBB

Just to add OP, I have two GSDs here at the min, both straight-backed, both sourced direct from owners as surrenders (i.e. I didn't pay for them), both with first-class temperaments. One was 9 months old when I got her, t'other 2 years old.

eoin.d

thanks for all the info. i will have a look into rescue dogs. i wouldnt mind paying a breeder for a pup if i could get a pups history, espically when a fog will be around children

DBB

eoin.d wrote: »

thanks for all the info. i will have a look into rescue dogs. i wouldnt mind paying a breeder for a pup if i could get a pups history, espically when a fog will be around children

Don't underestimate how much easier it can be to assess an adult around kids... Again, my two dogs, both adopted as adults, are utterly bombproof with children. One of them in particular you could trust with your life

ppink

I know we cannot discuss particular breeders on here but if anyone has any info on alsace royal german sheps can they pm me please