Dargo...

[BadAttitude]

A friend of mine passed on the word to a local group of breeders that I might be looking for another GSD. Last night I got a call from one of the breeders that she had one female left from a litter of 5. Made a few phone calls inquiring about this group of breeders and it was all positive.

A few questions if you have time...

I was hoping to be able to pick one pup from several, but this pup is the last...is that something to be concerned about?

What specifically should I be looking for when I review the pedigree? The parents are also there, along with documentation for several generations. I do know about the OFA...thanks to Bob S.

The price is a little steep IMO...$950, but from what I've seen it's not excessive. What justifies the pricing? Might be a tough Q to answer, but offer anything that you can.

I also spoke with another member of this group of breeders and she said I could stop by and see her 6 GSD's that were born from the same parents. These 6 range from 1-6 yrs old. Anything I should pay particular attention to? For example...eyes-mine had dry eyes which I'm sure contributed to her sight problems. ears...mine had perfect ears and many people commented about them. hips...I know a little about that issue, but not sure what to look for. coat...mine had a beautiful coat, black and tan. The pup that is available also has the same. temperament(sp?)no clue as to what to look for.

I'm going to visit both breeders in a couple hrs and would greatly appreciate anything you or anyone else can offer.

Thanks
BA

 

[Dargo]

I've read so much about GSD's that I'm nutz.

Here is a good general info source: http://www.cluebus.com/holly/gsdfaq.html

Here is more reference information: http://www.vonhausmeyershepherds.com/vhs_german_shepherd.htm

You can look around on this site and see lots of pics and read quite a bit about the breed. This is who imported Dargo. Mike does a lot of police training and sells quite a few of his dogs to law enforcement agencies.

Quite a bit of a GSD's price will be dictated by his pedigree and awards they have earned. I just picked up "Bruno" as a companion to Dargo. I was going to get Dargo a female companion, but after his health issues he had about a month ago, I bought another male.

I have a hard time trying to explain to someone the difference when they pick up the paper and see "full blooded German Shepherd puppies with papers, $100". If you spend very much time researching the breed, you'll find that nobody is going to sell a GSD with any pedigree to speak of for much less than a grand. You already know about the OFA. You should be able to see what several generations of his pedigree ratings were. Also, as you can read in the links, there are also several designations as to awards that have been won etc. Although I have no interest in ever showing a dog, to win shows the dogs must have good bone structure, good teeth, a good coat, good temperament etc. Also, as you know, I'm very much against "line breeding". If I can't verify that there has not been any inbreeding for a few decades, I pass.

Be sure to get several generations of pedigree in writing. It's nice to have AKC papers, but the AKC is a joke around the better breeders. AKC's standards are extremely low. If you do get the female, perhaps in the future we could make a little money. If she has (which I assume by the price she does) a good pedigree, the puppies out of Bruno's lineage have been selling for several times that amount. If the two bred in the future, their puppies should bring from $1500 to $2500 each.

I wouldn't be too concerned by the puppy being the last in the litter. Most people pick their puppy by which puppy runs up to them first and acts "normal", or because someone likes their color the best. A lot of times the last puppy picked has the best personality because it doesn't have to be overly aggressive to be happy. Sometimes these dogs are the best with people and are the least likely to bite someone unexpectedly. Often the first picked are basically the bullies. They have a dominant behavior personality and they may stay that way. In the past, I've had the "pick" and I've had the "runt". I don't think anyone can tell from a quick observation of the litter which will turn out to be the best. I'd be more concerned about the pedigree. Good luck!!

Okay, I don't know why the 2nd link I put up here goes to "the reference zone" of the site. I tried to link to the home page. Grrrr! This is one thing I really don't like about FireFox; I cannot copy and paste here into a post. I have to type it out. If I can't get Firefox to work for "copy and paste", I'll have to go back to the ole IE.

 

[BadAttitude]

Thanks for the input, especially the links. I feel much better after reading what you said in the last paragraph.

I'm short on time right now, but I'll post back later if I need to know more.
Knowing me...I will!!

Thanx very much
BA

 

[XeVfTEUtaAqJHTqq]

I wouldn't be too concerned by the puppy being the last in the litter. Most people pick their puppy by which puppy runs up to them first and acts "normal", or because someone likes their color the best. A lot of times the last puppy picked has the best personality because it doesn't have to be overly aggressive to be happy. Sometimes these dogs are the best with people and are the least likely to bite someone unexpectedly. Often the first picked are basically the bullies. They have a dominant behavior personality and they may stay that way. In the past, I've had the "pick" and I've had the "runt". I don't think anyone can tell from a quick observation of the litter which will turn out to be the best. I'd be more concerned about the pedigree. Good luck!!

I'll second this observation. Both my dogs were the ones that were kind of sitting around the pound and not freaking out like all the other dogs. I figured if they were that cool when in prison then they could certainly be layed back for me. They have both been excellent dogs. It's important to take a prospective dog out of the kennel/breeder environment if possible (i.e. a short walk) and see how they do with the one on one attention. Good luck and I'm sure if you follow Dargo's guidelines you should be in good shape.

 

[BadAttitude]

Okay, I don't know why the 2nd link I put up here goes to "the reference zone" of the site. I tried to link to the home page. Grrrr! This is one thing I really don't like about FireFox; I cannot copy and paste here into a post. I have to type it out. If I can't get Firefox to work for "copy and paste", I'll have to go back to the ole IE.

I wondered about that site too. Can you PM or email the home page to me?
The first one with the list of FAQ's was actually helpful.

Have to admit...now I know what a REAL pedigree is all about . The breeder went to the trouble to explain all the in & outs, and I'll admit...it was a litttle confusing to keep up with her. There was at least 4 or 5 generations documented and all were either OFA GOOD or Excellent. There is some additional codes listed and somewhere I saw what they meant. Like I already said...lots to comprehend.

I do see a few places that inbreeding is listed. Grandpa has .806% and the other ones listed a few generations behind him are .635% and 1.074% The others are listed at 0.00% or nothing at all.
Grandma has .393%, a couple others list 2.344% and 4.6% further back. The remaining are 0.00% or nothing
I take it this is not desirable if I understood you correctly? My intentions are not for any breeding purposes...strictly 'show & shine' as a family pet. We did plan to have her spayed after she was old enough.

I'll be real interested to hear what you say about the inbreeding I listed...
considering we decided to get her.