Quote: Dennis Jones

Talkin 'bout my Erika? she was the happy mild puppy, the rest of the litter were little monsters

Dennis, you just missed the perfect opportunity to tell folks what a wild, intense dog my boy is. grrrr.

(LOL).

 Quote: Barbara Schuler

 Quote: Dennis Jones

Talkin 'bout my Erika? she was the happy mild puppy, the rest of the litter were little monsters

Dennis, you just missed the perfect opportunity to tell folks what a wild, intense dog my boy is. grrrr.

(LOL).

sure, just 'round supper time when he falls off the couch

Okay, that does it, no more fresh, salmonela-free eggs for you!!!

 Quote: Barbara Schuler

Okay, that does it, no more fresh, salmonela-free eggs for you!!!

 Quote: Al Curbow

I'd look for a working lines, take the 500 dollar hit, you're going to have the dog for a long time

I would definitely agree. There are some really quality WL dogs out there for pretty much half the price that breeder is asking, so you would still be paying less.

I agree about giving the SL breeder a $500 donation and chalking it up to a cheap education;-)

$2500 is average; I've heard lots crazier amounts from SL breeders. My issue with one of your comments is that you have first choice; how can the breeder match puppy to family if YOU have first choice? Maybe I misunderstood what you mean by that, but just as an example, I pick all puppies for buyers. No one gets to choose their puppy unless I am torn on two and cannot decide. Then, I'll let them pick between those two. Otherwise, all puppy matching is done by me, after EXTENSIVE conversations about what the person is looking for. After all, *I* am the one who knows the adults, *I* am the one who has spent countless hours just observing those puppies and how they naturally interact with each other and their environment, and *I* am the one who is responsible for putting each one of those precious little pups in the home that will best suit it FOR LIFE.

This is not something to take lightly, so I don't let people pick their own. Anyone who has a problem with this is welcome to go buy a pup from someone who takes PayPal directly from their website as a deposit on puppy #4,etc.

Since this is a lifelong commitment, go with your gut, and get a working line dog. It's unfair to expect a SL dog to be the dog you want, so like I said, eat the $500; it's only money. You'll still be out $500 less in the end than if you'd gone w/the SL dog. Typical WL pup is $1500.

I would caution you that not all WL breeders are created equal. There are those who only care about bitework, and there are those who are committed to churning out pretty dogs who have working pedigrees way back in their lineage, but are little more than decorative throw pillows themselves. Pay attention to health and structure. IMO, the shortcoming of many/most WL breeders is that they seem to be leaning towards breeding for extreme prey drive, etc., and don't concentrate enough on the other aspects of a sound working dog- like structure, and if you let structure fall too far in ANY direction from the standard, you will start to see it negatively impacting working ability.

Good luck w/whatever you decide, but I have to say it again; don't get that poor SL pup (who will be no doubt adored by someone else for what he/she is) and put your WL expectations on it. It's simply not fair to you or your family or the puppy. JMHO.

 Quote: Jenni Williams

Good luck w/whatever you decide, but I have to say it again; don't get that poor SL pup (who will be no doubt adored by someone else for what he/she is) and put your WL expectations on it. It's simply not fair to you or your family or the puppy. JMHO.

Very well stated...