Before You Buy a German Shepherd, Ask Yourself the Hard Questions

Every prospective dog owner has read articles about the best dog food, the right training methods, the perfect leash, and which toys are safest. Those things are important, but they're not the questions that concern me the most as a breeder.

The questions that keep me awake at night have nothing to do with kibble.

They have everything to do with what happens five years from now...or ten.

When someone contacts me about purchasing one of my German Shepherd puppies, I'm not just placing a puppy in a home. I'm placing a living, breathing family member that will hopefully be with you for the next 10 to 15 years. That is a commitment that deserves much more thought than simply deciding whether you have room in your house today.

The question isn't, "Do you want a German Shepherd?"

Let's Talk About AKC Papers One of the questions we hear quite often is: "Why do some breeders sell their puppies with AKC papers while others do not?" It's a great question, and one that deserves a little explanation. Many people assume that AKC papers automatically make a dog more valuable or that they guarantee the quality of the dog. The truth is, that's simply not what AKC registration is designed to do. An AKC registration certificate is simply a record that a dog's pedigree has been registered with the American Kennel Club. It records lineage—it does not certify quality. AKC papers do not tell you whether a dog is healthy. They do not tell you whether a dog has an outstanding temperament. They do not tell you whether a dog is breeding quality. They do not tell you whether the breeder performed health testing or carefully selected the breeding…