Thanks to everyone for your replies! I have considered the pound and or a rescue but I am set on obtaining a puppy from working lines. I have three children and would feel much more comfortable raising a puppy with them for temperament and familiarization reasons. As for back yard breeders that is out of the question. I made that mistake approximately three years ago. I ended up with a dog that had extremely weak nerves and was unable to walk without pain (severe hip dysplasia) by the time she was 12 months old. If paying a lot of money to reduce the chances of what we went through is what I have to do, I will do it. Thanks again for all your replies.

Adam

If you haven't had a dog with tons of drive, you might want to visit one if you can, just so you know what you're up against. I'm not here to tell you what you should or shouldn't get, just a thought. How old are your kids? Do they do well with being bit in the butt? In my opinion, if you get a working line, high drive GSD and dont work it... he or she will find something to do on thier own - like eat your house, car, etc... That drive has to be put somewhere - and if you don't decide where the dog will. I just don't want to see someone with great intentions get the surprise of thier life if they're not quite sure what they may be up against. I know if I brought a working dog home my wife would kill me. Oh - I mean my X wife <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
I proposed to my current wife on the Schutzhund field - ha - priorities!!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

I would not dismiss rescues out of hand.

Let the various German Shepherd rescue groups know that you are interested in a working lines dog. Because of the dog's higher energy levels and training demands they too often wind up in pounds and rescues. They also tend to be harder to place since most people really tend to want a golden with perky ears.

A few years back, during the dotCom bubble, there was a story in the Wall Street Journal about the number of nice imported Shepherds showing up in Seattle area pounds and rescues. The point of the article was what happens when people get more money than sense. These dotCommer's heard that the best German Shepherds came from Germany. Since they deserved only the best, they just had to have a working lines German Shepherd. Spent thousands of dollars bringing in good dogs. They were not prepared to deal with the demanding intelligence and energy levels of the dogs. So a lot of good dogs got the needle.

Good dogs are where you find them. Sadly, for those dogs, many didn't get found by the right people in time.

If you have seen Ed's "Basic Obedience", the black, long-coated Shepherd featured in much of that tape was a dog he found in a pound in Germany. I believe he Casper titled to a UDX.

"Working Lines" is not guaratee of good health or temperament. A gal in the local Schutzhund club spent a small pile of money for a working line pup she intended to train and title. Good breeder with nice dogs. The dog has grown to display serious dog aggression issues and has one testical that has not descended. Recently, she had his prelimary X-rays done and found him to be dysplasic. The hips are something she can manage by not working him hard but titling and breeding dreams are gone. According to her, the other dogs in that litter are just fine. Sometimes the genetic dice turn up craps.

You may also want to check in to the program down at Lackland AFB. Sometimes they adopt out dogs that are washed out of the program for various reasons.

If you keep your eyes and ears open, service people being deployed are often desparate to find homes for their dogs. You may be able to provide a good home for one of those dogs.

Ask Mr. Randy Kromer about rescue / shelters. If I'm correct and the story is true, ask him about Zeke, the tree eating GSD. What a trip that dog was / is.

I'm the one Tonya was talking about who got a kick-ass working lines bitch out of the city pound. I live in Des Moines, and animal control officers tell me they pick up several decent ones every month and one or two really great dogs every quarter.

I know of two in the last couple months, the other one was big red sable male that was hard as nails and a lot of fun. There just wasn't a place for him with me. He ended up with a police officer in another town, I think.

They won't adopt these dogs to "normal" pet homes. I've been training with some of the LEOs in the AKC obedience club for years, so they know me. Even then, I had to file with references and also sign a paper that said I wouldn't hold the shelter responsible if she acted like a high drive dog with no fetchin up acts (pounded my other pets, ate the house, used me for a trampoline). No kidding, I knew she's never sit in the livingroom and play "nice" with the kitty. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

She's great, exactly the right dog for me.

What's that about eating trees? Targa will jump 6-8 feet into trees and swing from branches, trying to pull them down -- failing that she lops off chunks of bark the size of her head out of the trunk and kills them good. She still has full dentition, and I wanna keep it that way, but man it's so funny to watch, it's hard to make her stop!