I often hear people say a dog isn’t purebred if it’s ears don’t go up. I’m not sure where this started but it couldn’t be further from the truth. I’ve seen many high pedigreed dogs who’s ears didn’t go up on their own.

I know your dilemma. You want to find a purebred pup from an experienced breeder to (hopefully) avoid health or temperament issues. Maybe because you love a certain breed, maybe you're in need of certain traits that breed possesses, maybe you’ve had a bad experience with rescues in the past, or maybe you just want to know the parents, where your pup comes from, its genetic background and how it was socialized early on.

More often then I’d like to, I see confusion over what a health guarantee means. This causes frustration between the breeder and the owner. This could happen for a couple different reasons. Perhaps the breeder didn’t put their guarantee in writing, or didn’t explain it well enough to the owner. Or perhaps the owner didn’t take the time to read the guarantee they signed.

There are so many people stuck in a bad situation with a breeder due to a non-existing or poor contract. When you’re there to pick up your pup the excitement is overwhelming and often the last thing you think of is a contract. This is why it’s so important to ask for the contract in advance. It gives you time to read it without emotional involvement and decide if it’s right for you before falling in love with that pup.

I hear this more often than I care to say and it pains me every time. A person visits a breeder and finds abhorrent conditions. They purchase the pup in order to ‘rescue’ it from those conditions. Sometimes there are lasting issues with the pup, and thankfully sometimes it’s healthy and unphased by its rough beginning in life.

You can weed out a large portion of uneducated and unscrupulous breeders by looking at their contract. A contract that is written with legal jargon protects you as much as it protects the breeder. An abundance of the less desirable breeders either use a contract they’ve typed up on their own that doesn’t actually contain any legal jargon or they don’t use one at all.

Anyone who’s purchased a pup from me in recent years has signed a contract saying their pup can’t be surrendered to a rescue or shelter under any circumstances. Instead, if they can’t keep their pup for any reason they’re required to bring him or her back to me so I can find a suitable home. I firmly believe that is the duty of a breeder. Your pup is always your responsibility if a person is unable to care for it any longer.

The temperaments of German Shepherds can vary drastically. Two things come into play here - drive and socialization. They’re both components of a pup’s personality and the following paragraphs will dive further into how they come into play.

German Shepherd abbreviations and titles explained.

Let’s face it, puppies are adorable. However, finding a pup who will turn out to be the type of adult dog you’re looking for means choosing carefully. A well bred adult dog is made up of several different qualities that come from generations of good breeding.

Show line dogs can be quite striking in appearance as they’ve been bred with conformation in mind. Although their drive to work is not as high as the Working Lines, they do still possess the urge and ability to work and protect. That being said, their temperaments are much more calm resulting in a dog that is highly trainable making it a good family companion and protector.