Well, Last night I took Kate (my 10wk GSD)back to the breeder, and I am pretty angry. I took her over to my friends house to socialize her, and I did just like the video said, I gave my friend's kids some treats that kate LOVES, and when they approached her very calmly she growled and snapped a few times at them. My friends kids are very sweet and they are old enough to know how to treat an animal with respect etc. Maybe I'm overreacting here, but I just can't have a dog like that in my home. My husband and 2 year old son have been out of town and didn't get a chance to meet Kate, and I just cringe to think what would have happened with my rambunctious toddler and this dog that seems to have that fear/shy aggression. It wasn't just this either, she was shy around everyone, like not normal shy. She was the complete opposite of the cute pup in Ed's video in the socialization section. I think that this breeder must have not socialized her well or something? She was an idiot anyway, when I took Kate back, she was lecturing me saying that she "could have made a sale" during the time that I had her (two days). Yeah, I can tell that you are really concerned about the welfare of your dogs or even producing good dogs to begin with. It just goes to show you that even seemingly good breeders aren't all good breeders. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />

Anyway, I think we are going to wait until we aren't having children anymore and they are a little more grown up before we consider another dog, but I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for your help and advice! I will definitely come back when we are ready to get another dog!

Allison

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Anyway, I think we are going to wait until we aren't having children anymore and they are a little more grown up before we consider another dog

That is probably the best at this point.
I found that during the "raising kids" period in my life, there seemed to be not enough hours in the day for the humans, much less the animals...!

I commend your decision. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Some dogs just have poor temperments and that's genetic and no matter what you do, you can't get them beyond what they're born with. You can try to control it, but it will always be there lurking. Sorry you had such a bad experience, not all pups are this way.

I agree with Angela. There are plenty of good tempered pups out there that are great with kids. Problem is that there are breeders who are only in it for the money and don't care what they produce and there are those who lack objectivity and will never acknowledge or recognize poor temperament in their lines. They insist the buyer did something wrong instead of learning from these types of problems.

OK...............

She has a puppy for two whole days and clearly does not know much about them from previous posts and you write off the breeder and the puppy just like that? I am sure one of our little working lines demon devil pups would be written off as agressive, too.

Granted it was American Showlines but I am amazed that people don't do enough research to even know what they are getting.

Who knows whether or not the pup really had issues?

She has a puppy for two whole days and clearly does not know much about them from previous posts Yes.
But give Allison some credit that she has come to the conclusion that she doesn't need the hassle of a puppy in her life right now.

A decision I support as being the right one for her...and the puppy.

I agree the decision was the best one for this person at this stage in her life.

It just seemed everyone was quick to jump on the blame it on the breeder bandstand.

I have raised pups with kids in the house (we got our first GSD puppy when I had a 2 year old and was pregnant with my 2nd child) so I know firsthand what a handful that is. My kids are grown, we now have grandkids - always had one or two dogs (even three at one point) and never had any serious issues.

I just felt that she had some unrealistic expectations for a pup she only had for 2 days and doesn't quite grasp that ALL pups are an incredible handful and was very quick in dismissing the pup as defective.

No, but I have an american line female that was like that as a puppy. She's my spayed agressive fear biter. She has been a big challenge but my family took on that responsibility and didn't see it fair to push off on someone else. She's gotten better, but she is under complete control at all times. Even going to the vet she has to be sedated and muzzled. I had a new vet that thought just sedating her would be fine until she saw my female trying to turn to bite her where just seconds before she was licking at her hands. She's now 8, but it doesn't mean it hasn't been difficult with her. She has tried snapping at my children which was quickly fixed. Just seems like I see more ambreds with temp issues so it's easily believable to me. JMO.

Woah, Nancy!

In my defense, I have a sweet two year old boy that is my everything, and I have a huge responsibility here to make sure that he is raised in a safe and loving environment. You are correct in thinking that perhaps the pup may not have had issues, but I wasn't really willing to find that out at the expense of my son and his security. I'm sure that if I were single and didn't have children I could have worked with her and made everything better, and this is why I have decided to wait until my childbearing years are over.

As far as the breeder is concerned, the others may not have enough information to make a judgment about her, but in my opinion, any breeder that is dealing with a person bringing their animal back, and the first thing she says is that she could have made a sale, having no regard for the dog or the situation or her aggression is not in it for the right reasons. This may be my first dog, but I have been around a lot of breeders both for dogs and cats for many years, and I know what to look for and what makes a good breeder and a good pet. So with all due respect Nancy, you don't know enough about me to say what I know or what my experience level is.

Originally posted by Allison Hallstrom:
Woah, Nancy!

In my defense, I have a sweet two year old boy that is my everything, and I have a huge responsibility here to make sure that he is raised in a safe and loving environment. As far as the breeder is concerned, the others may not have enough information to make a judgment about her, but in my opinion, any breeder that is dealing with a person bringing their animal back, and the first thing she says is that she could have made a sale, having no regard for the dog or the situation or her aggression is not in it for the right reasons. This may be my first dog, but I have been around a lot of breeders both for dogs and cats for many years, and I know what to look for and what makes a good breeder and a good pet. So with all due respect Nancy, you don't know enough about me to say what I know or what my experience level is. Nancy is not out of line with her statement....

First of all..why would you get a puppy that would be living in a home with a 2 year old child without introducing that particular puppy to the child? If your child is your first and foremost responsibility, and the dog will be living in the home with your family doesn't it make sense to take the family with you to select a pup?

I wouldn't have even gotten involved in the thread had you not made the statement that YOU KNOW what a good breeder is and what to look for..

SO the big question is....why do you now blame the breeder for what happened? You bought the dog from him/her!

As a breeder and as a puppy buyer, I have problems with your post!