Anyone know any breeders here in IL?

John, it's coming through loud and clear from your posts how excited you are at the prospect of a new dog. And who can blame you? We're all dog lovers here, of course, and any one of us would be excited about a new dog, too.

In your posts so far, you've mentioned Malinois, DDR GSDs and Dobermans, and you say you have an open mind. So I'm going to throw something out here that I don't think has come up at all in any of your other threads.

Have you considered adopting an older dog from a rescue or shelter? There are breed-specific rescue organizations for all of the breeds you've mentioned so far (I don't mean specifically DDR, but certainly GSD), and local shelters often have mixes of the breeds you are interested in, or occasionally even purebreds.

You may be able to find a mature dog that has been fostered and is known to be tolerant of small children, for example, which is an important issue for you. There is no shortage of nice dogs that need loving homes. I'm not meaning to further confuse you. Just a thought.

I don't want to do this because I don't know what I'd be getting and I can't risk it being I have kids in the house. I also have a feeling my kids grand parents would throw a fit over knowing I'd brought an adult dog that we had no previous life history on. I know I would If I was them. I hate that it's that way but to me pup's are the way to go because your the one helping them turn into a mature wonderful dog if you do your part. Heck for me the 4 month old mal i'm going to look at tomorrow is ALMOST too old. He's had some training but ah not much. Just walking and tug and kennel training. I feel between 2 and 3 weeks old to 4 to 6 months is a VERY important time in a dogs life.

I currently own 2 dogs that were rescued from a shelter as adults. (One was 1 yr old, one was apx 2)

They are outstanding family dog, and I was sure this would be the case because of through temperament testing/evaluation.

Please don't write off a rescue/shelter dog. We all know how irresistible puppies are... but those older dog could easily be MUCH safer around your kids. I have a 3 and 6 yr old... there is NO WAY I'd be able to bring a young pup into our home and expect the kids and pup to coexist.

How'd we get from Mals to DDR's?

 Quote: John Caven

I don't want to do this because I don't know what I'd be getting and I can't risk it being I have kids in the house.

Actually, with a carefully selected young adult rescue you would know exactly what you are getting. Puppy temperament testing isn't always accurate.

Even with a puppy from excellent lines, with the perfect temperament selection according to the test, raised carefully, life happens and you can still have some problems.

Trust me on this

One day my dog got into a lunging bark fest with another dog in the neighborhood. The owner went and put her dog away and came to apologize to me, and mentioned how sweet my dog is and how she wishes they could be friends. She said she suspected her dog's dog aggression was because he was a rescue and might have been abused or attacked by a dog at some point.

I pointed out that my dog has been with me from 9 weeks, and has never been abused in any way or attacked by another dog. She frequently is the instigator in these situations and I don't know exactly why either.

If anything, with little kids around and no solid working plans for the dog I would prefer to bring home a young adult. All of the temperament traits that come with maturity are right there to see.

I'm keeping my options open randy.

Ahem, so what is it about the GSD you think you'd like more than a BSD (Belgian Sheep Dog)? And what is it that decided you towards the DDR side of the GSDs?