I don't know what the current laws are in the UK for importing dogs - but when I was a kid my dad moved around alot for business, we lived in the middle east (Dubai) for about 5 years where we had a dog from a local pet store that was supposed to be a "german shepherd" - probably never got over 50lbs n was some type of mutt - we wanted to take her to the UK with us when we moved but had to leave her behind because of strict quarantine laws and other such problems. The UK seems to have always been very problematic as far as dog imports go, if you want to start from a blank canvas then starting with a 9-11month old pup doesn't sound like your best option, almost the entire first year of your dogs life will be spent in unknown surroundings, I don't know if you have any visitation rights, and if the 6 month quarantine laws still require the pup to spend those 6 months in the animal services facilities, odds are your pup will be treated poorly. From what I've heard of other peoples experiences - it may have improved - but I remember someone who got their dog back ungroomed lookin like a big fluffball and smelling like it lived in a trash can for a month. I got my pup at 4 months from a breeder here in Florida and wish I got to him sooner - but at 4 months old I was still very happy with the boy <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> Had the breeder only had pups of 9+months old I probably would have moved on.

I know there are german shepherds in the UK... or Alsations as yall call em, and since the continent is much closer to you than the US I can only assume that you should have some nice european lines available to you somewhere.