I am talking to a fellow, who has a contact with a Sch1, kkl1a male German import GS that I am contemplating buying. Anyone out there have any ideas as to what this quality level animal should cost? Any pointers as to educate me are appreciated, this is my first post.

Hi,
If you could e-mail me in private I could help you with some info.

When I tried to send a private message, board came up with a note saying no private message except by forum leaders.

In my opinion, unless you have someone who is VERY knowledgeable and trustworthy helping you, there is a 90% chance you will get burned when trying to import, no matter how much you pay.

There are plenty of excellent dogs here in the States.

What do you think of buying a young dog? The reason I am considering it is because it seems there are so many mistakes you can make with the dog when they are young. I want to end up with a quality companion/protector and I am trying to determine the most effective route. This is my first dog for me to train to work. I do have a six month old puppy as well, that I am starting to do some work with.

Dave is right. 90% is conservitive. I understand that $6,500 is about average for what you have discloded thus far. A lot depends on parentage, kennel name and theoretical potential. Starting out with a young adult that knows more about what is expected than the handler is an excellent idea for a new or novice handler, is that the case here? If you decide to go this way, it is like anything else, if you get a bad "vibe" from the broker / seller; WALK AWAY! Remember, there is a reason this dog is for sale, its up to you to determine if it is legitimate. The chances of purchasing a Canto or Uran are non existant; shop around and study the people as well as you do the dog you plan to purchase. Just some friendly and hopefully, helpful, advise for one who has made the mistake twice.

Yes, I am a novice handler, and I have in fact been thinking that having a dog that knows more than me would be the best route. Thanks for your advice, I am trying to get a quality dog and avoid any pitfalls. I am trying to become educated, and you have helped.

This is not going to be popular with all those people that import dogs, but NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, buy a dog that you can't see for yourself and test. There are plenty of people that import dogs AND have those dogs on site where you can go see em'. Don' buy a dog that is still overseas. Stupid bet man. If you have to spend $1000.oo to go visit the kennel before you buy, then that is money that you will be saving yourself later.

There are a lot of A-holes out there that have "contacts" in Europe and can get you a top-quality dog. Ask them how the dog is trained, ask them if you can test the dog, and ask them who the dog was trained by and if you can talk to him. If the answer to any of these questions is "Oh. . .well. . .hmm. . ." or they give you a line of generic BS- then you run like Carl Lewis.

The only people that I would even consider buying an import from are people that I know very well, people that have gone overseas and selected the dogs themselves(and brought them back to their kennel), and people that are serious trainers. If this "people" that your're in contact with isn't all of the above, then you are running against the odds.

Scott, another issue to keep in mind too, is that there will be a time where you and your young dog will become equally as well schoolled and there WILL BE mistakes made on your behalf. Be patient and understanding. The will be the "dawning" of when you realize that you have made an unrecoverable mistake in your early history with your new dog. Questions to keep asking yourself are as follows:
Am what I'm about to do reasonable?
Am I acting or reacting?
Do I really TRUST and UNDERSTAND the advice I have been given?
Have I surrounded myself with like minded and more knowledgeable people than myself?

There was advice I followed that put permanent fissures in my relationship with my Uran; although they were patched over, the real relationship and bonding we all hope to have with our canine companion was not 100% what it could have been. I wish you the best of luck, as I'm sure everyone on this board does. It is an excellent place for ideas and philosophies. I have been involved with dogs for 14 years and continue to learn almost daily. Some really great minds here. Any recommendation from Richard and Josh and many others; you take it to the bank but watch that guy VanCamp.........just kidding!

This has helped me a lot hearing this. I think these guys are right. There are plenty of good kennels in the states, and let them bring the dogs from overseas, this way you can eliminate the chances of getting screwed.

I can't imagine paying five to six times more and then uping the odds on getting ripped off. I think also with the internet this is just a better way to scam people. And your going to start seeing this stuff more too. That's just my opinion, I'm sure there are plenty of good places but these guys make a very interesting point. What ever decision you make, good luck Scott.