breeders and first time pup

[Kissy1921]

A good breeder will question you for hours, the first GSD i bought from a puppy, i spent 3 hours with the breeder, and she sent me home to say, if i still wanted one of her puppies to come back tomorrow, which we did.

She also visited us once we had the pup, for 6 weeks in a row, now THATS a good breeder

[wildmoor]

As Sue says, the sire and dam should have a minimum of 5 generations hip scored of low scores and fairly even no more than 4 points difference between left and right and at least one/two generations elbow scored this should be a 0 score, Hip scoring in one form or another as been around for 40+ years elbow scoring as been around for 12 years, the sire should be haemophilia tested clear. No common ancestor in the last 5 generations and check for bottle necks further back.
These should be min.

HI

I am in a bit of a dilemma with this issue, i have had two shepherds in my life time with HD and epilepsy both dogs bloodlines and health history was investigated thoroughly (being a vet nurse i probably went over the top)
None of the lines showed signs of either and Hip scores were tremendously low and even 0:0 2:2 etc.
BUT i still had dogs with the problems - yes i think you can help prevent buying a puppy with health issues by doing what others have recommended but you are not going to eliminate it.

Infact the best healthiest GSD i ever had was bought from a dogs home in Birmingham for £65 !!! (many years ago , he was the one eating the xmas choccies mentioned in my last posting)

I personally think you should be concentrating on what you are going to do with your puppy when you get it , I have always believed a GSD (like many working dogs) in the wrong hands is a time bomb waiting to go off and if this is your first dog , you really need to squat up on your training /socialisation methods first.

Sorry to waffle on, but thats my take on it

Good luck with your decision , there are many good breeders to choose from

Nicola

[GSDOWNER]

Originally Posted by Shaan

Hi Marcus,

We got our pup from a hobby breeder in Wilthsire, here is the website you can take a look at: www.Belgran-gsds.co.uk...I think they have 2 dogs and 3 bitches left from the litter. Great Hip/elbow scores - when you visit you can see both the mother and father who both have fantastic temperaments.

Best of luck with your search.

JMHO I would personally would not buy a pup from these breeders

[Tanya]

Originally Posted by GSDOWNER

JMHO I would personally would not buy a pup from these breeders

I have to agree with Jo , sorry
Another thing i would say to have done is to get your puppies pedigree checked by a researcher for hereditory health problems
Good luck in your search

Better to not even get me started on that particular breeder

[GSDOWNER]

Originally Posted by Otto's mum

Better to not even get me started on that particular breeder

Ties otto's mum hands together ...............just read my comment I think I am learning to say less

good girl Jo luv lol xxx
Its ok im thinking of disabling my keyboard at the present time LMAO !!

[GSDOWNER]

Originally Posted by Otto's mum

good girl Jo luv lol xxx
Its ok im thinking of disabling my keyboard at the present time LMAO !!

pmsl I cannot disable mine, mine is attached to my lappie........<<see its lappies fault ............

[talknerdytome]

Have you thought about a rescue? In some ways they are less risky than a pup, as any health problems will probably have already come out by the time you get the dog, and you sort of know what their temperament will be. Plus, you normally only pay around £100.

We have absolutely no idea about Murphy's medical history, and apart from his proneness to sebaceous cysts he seems to be very healthy. As others have said, although you should do health checks on parents this is not a guarantee that you will get a healthy pup.