Hadley,

I am considering a 1-2 year old. I would just prefer to start with a puppy, but maybe that's not the best idea. I talked to a guy named Paul Hoelle with Von Der Hollenburg GSD's in Ohio. He said he has a female, somewhere between 12-18 months, can't remember off hand, that's supposed to get Sch I soon. He said I could have her now, before the title, for around $2,500, or it would be $3,500 after. Problem is I can't really afford that right now, nor do I have the time right now. I need a good 6-12 months before I'm really ready to start.

Brad,

I'll check out the video.

Thanks for all the help so far everyone. I guess my next biggest question is about family, friends, strangers coming over in the future. I have never had to worry about my Rotties with anyone before. They were always well socialized and never showed any sign of biting/attacking anyone. Can I have the same trust with a properly trained Schutzhund dog? In other words, if someone comes to the house, wether I'm home or just my wife and son, how do I treat the situation? Let the dog introduce himself to the person? Keep the dog restrained, or something else?

Kory

 Quote:

Originally posted by K Fox:


He said I could have her now, before the title, for around $2,500, or it would be $3,500 after.

Be careful here!!! People that quickly title dogs and then sell them often use A LOT of compulsion to get quick results. You may be better off with a "green dog" that has had little or no formal training... but good drives / nerves.

This doesn't mean that this particular dog / kennel / breeder are bad. Just be careful.

Please don't feel the pressure of the sale. There will always be good dogs and puppies for sale. It's important to the well being of the dog that you have full committment to it. When your ready for a dog, then ask the list for referrals.

Bryan Colletti
President of K-9 CRIME STOPPERS INC.

 Quote:

Originally posted by Bryan Colleti:
Please don't feel the pressure of the sale. There will always be good dogs and puppies for sale. It's important to the well being of the dog that you have full committment to it. When your ready for a dog, then ask the list for referrals.

this is always such good advice that everyone (including myself) forgets to include. As long as there are those dedicated to the breed, you will always have good prospects to choose from, don't feel pressured by the "brokers" or "hardcore salesmen". Take your time, as urgently as you might want it, there is plenty of time, and the dog you get deserves to be everything that you're looking for, so keep your eyes and ears open, and when you're ready, then look at what's available. If nothing is available then, well give it some time and just keep looking, don't settle, you'll regret it in the long run.

Everybody's post have shown the people that come to this BOARD are in it for the love of the dogs. Not the almighty dollar.

It's an honor to be associated with such good people. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Heed their advice for most what we all have learned was through mistakes we made.

K............. more than anything else, to hell with the breed; make sure you can trust the individual from whom you are procuring a dog. It appears that, by virtue of vicariuos liability, I'm about to take it in the shorts..........again. Starting with a young adult is sound advice.... the best dog I will ever have had the privilage of calling "mine" knew more about dog training than I did when God brough him into out lives. It's sad to say that I belive the best dog I could ever own has been here and gone. RIP V Uran v. Burbrink III KKL1A life, savior of my ingorant butt on more than one occasion.

Good Luck,
Please let me know what and on whom you decide by private message. I might have some insight.

Just my 2 cents. while I am not one of the most experienced on this board i have purchased some rotten dogs and paid alot of money for them. The best advice I can give is know what you want and dont settle for anything less. Tell the breeders what you expect and make sure to get everything in writing. I have had some breeders ready to guarentee me that their dogs would chit gold, but they sure would not put it in writing. All the good breeders give written guarentees.

Sorry to confuse anyone. I wasn't seriously considering that dog, just wanted to see what anyone thought about choosing dog like this, compared to a puppy. Like I said, it will be at least 6 months before I'm ready. I'm not going to make any hasty decisions.

What about my last questions:

Thanks for all the help so far everyone. I guess my next biggest question is about family, friends, strangers coming over in the future. I have never had to worry about my Rotties with anyone before. They were always well socialized and never showed any sign of biting/attacking anyone. Can I have the same trust with a properly trained Schutzhund dog? In other words, if someone comes to the house, wether I'm home or just my wife and son, how do I treat the situation? Let the dog introduce himself to the person? Keep the dog restrained, or something else?

Kory

Going back to your first post - that you want to get into Schutzhund - I have to suggest that you DON'T get a pre-trained dog. There's only one way to learn to train a dog and that's to do it from the ground up. If your goal is only to buy and compete dogs, then buying a trained dog is fine. But if you want to actually learn the sport, you have to struggle thru that first dog (God bless 'em for putting up with our mistakes!!). If you want to minimize your risk, buy a 4-8 mos. old pup, so you can eval hips, temperament, grip, prey drive, etc., but train the dog yourself.

On your second question: Just because the dog is Sch trained does NOT mean it is an aggressive dog that will bite everybody. They are normal, social animals (if you've chosen a good pup and socialized it). You don't have to treat it like a loaded weapon. A well-balanced dog will not indescriminately bite.

Kory--

Another thing you might not want to rule out is breed rescues.

I got a very nice "generic shepherd" bitch from the local GSD rescue that so far has proved to be an excellent working dog. I know several people who have put SchH titles on rescue dogs.

Many GSD rescues are having the same problem right now: Too many high-drive dogs and not enough working homes. Of course with a rescue dog you don't (normally) get papers, and in my particular case I have no idea who the sire and the dam were. Don't care--I've got a great dog.

The one thing you want to be careful of if you look at rescue dogs is any baggage they may have from poor treatment in the past. I was very lucky there--the only problem my girl had was that no one could handle her drive. I've seen other cases that were not so fortunate--where the dog has been beaten, neglected, and even starved almost to death. It can be very hard for a dog to overcome this kind of past, and it can play hell with working temperament.

But I have seen probably 20-30 rescue GSDs that were excellent sport candidates and had no overwhelming personality issues. If you aspire to reach the top ranks in Schutzhund in the least possible amount of time, then forget about rescue dogs. But if you want to get yourself a nice Shepherd for not a whole lot of money and get started in a fun sport, then this is something I would definitely consider.

Pete Felknor

p.s. many GSD rescues will allow sport trainers to evaluate their dogs extensively before adopting. As I've said, there are always too many working dogs and too few good working homes.