German Sheperd?

[Regina]

Oh, yes....good advice. I am glad you mentioned that to me.

We tend to go to this show every year because it is right around the corner. Every year that we go, there are a lot of snickering and pointing at how many kids we have. All that I can think of at the time they are snickering is,"You are blow drying your dog's hair and putting curlers in the dog's hair, but you think I am the odd one?"

Oh-well!

This is, definitely, the best way to find a good breeder. However, just a tip, don't try and talk to any of the handlers just outside of the ring as they're waiting to go in and "show." They will be too busy to talk at that point, and will probably be snotty to you.
Try and see what time the German Shepherds will be shown. Talk to handlers after they're done showing. A lot of owners hire professional handlers, and so, some of the people will not actually own the dog that they are holding on a leash. They can point you to people that DO own/breed, however.
If you come across some snotty people, just ignore them. Dog shows are a weird, weird place. My parents came to visit us this summer, and brought 3 of their St. Bernards to show in a dog show that was going on during the time of their visit. My dad has a heart condition, and so I was helping him with handling. A "professional handler" came up to me to "offer me some advice." I knew what she was going to say, so I just told her, "No, thank you." in a polite manner. I KNEW she was going to question my choice of shoes (which, like all of my shoes, were heels.) She walked away from me and started shouting at the TOP of her lungs, "I hope you break your ankle! I hope you break your ankle!"

Just telling you that story so you're prepared for some weirdos. I'm not saying everyone there is like that... but you will definitely find some at all shows. Don't get discouraged if you come across one!

[Regina]

Again Regina, I have a friend here that breeds and trains German Sheps. Do you want her info?

We are going to a breeders house up the street tomorrow. I think we are going to hold off and find a litter after my son's surgery, but I want to be well prepared before we buy one (with both mind-set, a fence, and information).

I might pm you later on when we get closer, if you don't mind.

[Joanna]

Although I have mutts, our family is a family of german shephards. My mom's just died, and is looking for another. My aunt has two, my sister has two, and my grandparents had one way back when.

In my experience, German Shephards are great dogs and are great with kids. Now, of the bunch there are two that we have to watch around the kids but I fully believe that is from their upbringing (rescued and now totally spoiled). The others are great with kids...to the point where kids will crawl over them and they won't budge.

As for the invisible fence, we installed ours. We get the pet safe brand at Home Depot. We buried the line in the yard with a shovel...if you have a large property you can use a wire burier. Our dogs will have "jail break" once in a blue moon, but otherwise it is great!

[Joanna]

Regina - one suggestion: our mutt had a dual ACL replacement that wasn't cheap. WHen talking to the vet he mentioned that there was a rotti breeder in the area and ALL the dogs eventually need an ACL surgery. If I were to buy a pure bread, I would call around to local vets and ask if they know anything about breeders (good or bad) in the area.