I accept your criticism as valid; but I am not going to act until I have the knowledge under my belt; I could have long ago dove in and bred a male and a female; anyone can do that and it seems lots are; however, I am not unfamiliar with many of the concepts of breeding; one core principle I would adopt is to never breed two dogs unless their pups would be better than the sire and dam.

I currently have 6 dogs, 3 Great Pyrenees & 3 Blue-ticks so I am very familiar with the cost of raising dogs, primarily feed and Vet bills which are sizable. Price should be rooted in genuine value and I see more salesmanship than quality as I look at all the GSD websites.

Plus my brother has owned several expensive German Shepherds.

The first step in learning is to admit what you don't know; I hope what needs to be learned is not so difficult that I cannot master the principles of dog breeding. I believe in excellence and fairness which I don't perceive in all the GSD websites.

I am reminded of what's going on on Wall Street now and how many investors are getting burned because they invested in stocks that were tied to sub-prime mortgages. I do not believe in buying a pig in a poke so I am not buying or breeding until I know what I am getting and I know what I am doing.

I am trying to educate myself here; is there one book that I could read that would tell me all that I need to know about how to breed German Shepherds?

Again, I have a basic understanding of 'alpha' & 'pack'.

Drive is what I'm looking for but not a 'crazy' drive; I live on 10 acres that is fully fenced on the perimeter; it's a dog haven; my six dogs all get along wonderfully and I would want my shepherds to fit in and provide the muscle on my perimeter; I've got lots of mouth already with my current dogs.

Breeders may be well intentioned but the result is not good if the population of good dogs shrinks because of greed. In math 2 + 2 = 4; dog breeding has to be somewhat similar.

 Quote: John J. Miller

Define your idea of protection, and

I live in a rural area but within 30 minutes of a metro area that is one of the most violent in the country. My 70 year old mother and 95 year old grandfather live on our 10 acres which is fully fenced on the perimeter with field fence plus 2 strands of barb wire on top and one strand of barb wire on the bottom. Currently my dogs bark when a car passes and they offer some protection but how they would respond if someone jumped my fence is not what I want; I want the shepherds to attack the intruder and bite the intruder and compel the intruder to jump back over the fence and leave my property if I'm not there. That's it.

 Quote:

why you feel you should breed.

I want more than one shepherd guarding my property; ideally I would like four. Our ten acres has a cross fence so I would put 2 on each side. I have the facilities to raise shepherds and their working life span is about 10 years.

I live in a state with about 3 million people and yet I have to get on the Internet to try and locate a quality breeder. There should be at least 5 quality GSD breeders in my state.

With all the crap I see on the Internet there is room for my kind of standards; the breed would be enhanced by my entry.

Randy,

I understand you've got to pay more for a Cadillac than a Pontiac. And when I've bought vehicles I clearly understood the one from the other; with dogs the difference in the prices are not clear to me. I seek only to understand what I am buying.

What is a fair price for a breeding pair of Working GSD puppies? And I know that depends on many factors. What are those factors and how can I understand the differences?

I owned English Pointers when I was in high school and I've got 6 dogs now.

I'm an old big & strong football player; I ain't no girly man in spite of my sweet opening post. I would be the alpha or the dog goes. Period.

Thank you.

Steve,

It sounds like you've led a most interesting life; breeding is a serious undertaking and I view it as such; there are many in the breeding for profit business who preach without effect apparently as there seems no end to the over-priced and marginal dogs being bred.

You cannot stop bad breeders from breeding no more than you can stop the lost generations of people being born by the minute today in the U.S.

All I can say is that my standards are the highest and I've held off buying the first GSD for about 10 years now because I don't understand what I am paying for. Something is not right with a country as large as ours for this to be so complicated; no doubt greed is at the root of it.

I hear you loud and clear; great point; is this the case? Is it not possible to buy puppies for breeding purposes, i.e., must you necessarily buy adult dogs for a breeding program?

Good advice. To be honest all I see are barriers.

I am in no hurry.

Mike,

Your answer was the one I was looking for. A huge if not impossible problem for me is that there are not any breeders that I know of anywhere near to where I live that I could actually go and see the dogs.

Excellence in all things is elusive. And we seem to be headed backwards on all fronts not just in dog breeding.

Thank you.

I agree with Mike, The female of any species has to be of Top quality, even in my book more so than the male, but of course we strife to have both
As regards a Stockman Yes, i firmly believe it is an inborn Thing, Just like some people have a natural affinity in training animals it is an inborn thing If it was not then everyone would be just as good but we know that is just not so, it is a small percent who do become great stockmen and trainers,