One of the post got me to thinking about breeders and what to look for. If you don't have the budget to purchase a GSD that's worth 1500-2,000 what are your other options? I know one option are the GS shelters but my family wants a puppy and they are far in between in shelters. What's too cheap? And is it smart to get a working line GSD if you just want a pet and you are new at training or does it not matter? Any advice would be wonderful.

It isn't about how cheap the dog is, it is about the quality of dog.
And if it is all about "quality" I would recommend a working GSD any day of the week. Working or Pet Home included.

German Shepherd rescues often get puppies. Rescue organizations often pull out puppies or dogs from the shelters that are "next in line" for euthanization.

I would stay away from backyard breeders.

That's my issue. How do I know if someone is a backyard breeder or not? If someone charges 1500-2,000 dollars is that a guarantee that he or she is not a backyard breeder? And what price is too low that you KNOW it's a joke and this person is a con? I'm completely ignorant of this process and I really don't know how to go about or what to look for.

I find it's the information and research they've done, normally a good breeder will justify why he crossed one dog to another based upon something other than "well they're both akc" or to earn a buck. The usual intention as well is to keep a puppy from that litter for a purpose rather than just sell the whole litter.
Be careful about generalizing byb to hobby breeders. They're not the same thing.
I generally stay away from price being the justification on who is a byb and who is not. One of the best dogs I own was actually *free* just for giving him a forever home. I personally do a ton of research, and my dog prices vary from litter to litter based upon the cost assoiciated with raising that litter. A litter that had to be c sectioned costs a bit more than my natural whelpers and my base price usually is set just high enough that I'm pretty sure I'm not going to attract any puppy resellers which is a chronic problem in this area. This usually rounds out to being about $600 - $700 with my pups being altered and chipped before they leave my possession.

*Just as a side note. There is no such thing as a free dog.*

Do not look at the price of the puppy per se. Look at the health testing done. I THOUGHT I found a breeder. Pups were $2,500.00 but I was not price shopping. Once I saw the kennel I realized even though the price was high end the breeder was not. More of a lover of the breed than knowledgeable. The kennel wasn't adequate, her reason for the breeding was weak, she didn't socialize pups, she fed cheap dog food...

My puppy cost $2000.00 but was in every way superior to the $2500.00.

Maybe put off the purchase and save up because the cheapest thing about the dog is what you pay for him/her.

A quick buy can cost you loads in the long run if you run into personality or health problems.

 Quote: Michelle Berdusco

Maybe put off the purchase and save up because the cheapest thing about the dog is what you pay for him/her.

A quick buy can cost you loads in the long run if you run into personality or health problems.

That's pretty much what we've been doing and that's what we've realized. This is really our first time trying to buy from a reputable breeder. Our first dog was given to us and was a shepherd mix and turned out to be a WONDERFUL dog. The second was a Siberian that we bought from a couple we knew who had two AKC Siberian Huskies and decided to breed them. We knew nothing at the time about what a good breeder was and we were lucky to be blessed with two wonderful dogs. We've realized now that that's no guarantee and we want to find a good breeder. I just wanted to know what questions I should ask a breeder. Should a contract be involved? Should there be a guarantee of the health of the puppy? If they have a pedigree on the dog how do I tell if it's from good working lines? This is unchartered territory for us so we kind of need a step by step explanation. Also where do I go to look for a breeder? Are there websites that point you to a good direction?

Maisha, look for a breeder that does all the health checks on the dogs they breed to begin with. There are different things with different breeds but you should be able to verify that they have passed. Take a look at OFFA.org, you can do a search for a kennel name and see if the breeder submits the tests and xrays. I would look for a breeder that actively does something with the dogs, obedience,Schutzhund,conformation,herding,agility.Something. What you are buying when it comes to akc registration is your trust in the breeder. Go out to dog shows, events and things you are interested in and talk to people. Websites can be very misleading.

Maisha,

I can't find any rhyme or reason to puppy pricing. I think if you got peoples opinions of who the quality breeders are, then looked at those breeder's prices, you'd have a hard time figuring out any kind of pricing rationalization.

Here is what I did. I found someone who was smarter than me and knew some breeders. She recommended three breeders to me. She either had a dog from these breeders or knew someone who did who was happy with the dog they got.

We decided to go with the most expensive breeder, not because he was most expensive, but because he lives in the same county we do. It was easy to drive to his kennel and see the place, his dogs, etc. And if anything went wrong, it would only take a 20 minute drive to get his throat in my hands

So I guess my recommendation is to find someone you trust, who knows what they are talking about, and get some recommendations for breeders from them.

That's what worked for me, and we are happy with the dog we got.

Oh, tell the breeder what you are looking for. In our case, we went to a breeder of working GSDs and told him we wanted a pet. He steered us away from the pup we had seen on his web page towards her brother. Comparing the two of them, the brother seemed to us to be a better fit in our home.

Rich

With that said, I live in Southern California and none of our friends or family members are dog owners. It's just us alone. If anyone lives in the area and can steer me to the right direction please pm me.