# Anyone heard of Grunenfeld?



## Jakk (Jul 7, 2012)

Grunenfeld German Shepherds home page

Looking for a puppy and found here...Anyone heard good/bad?


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## Scarlettsmom (Jul 12, 2011)

Nope...but I am sure other forum posters will have a better feel for them. I am slightly put off by the big push for a GSD for family protection, but I suppose maybe that is their niche. It wasn't the reason we got our dog, although, I will admit, she does make an imposing figure to anyone approaching our front door. (Really, it's the extra floofies around her ears that make her appear so large.  )

The pups look beautiful, as do the adults. I do know there is significantly more to the purchase than that. 

You will get great advice from members on here. Welcome aboard!!


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## Jakk (Jul 7, 2012)

Scarlettsmom said:


> Nope...but I am sure other forum posters will have a better feel for them. I am slightly put off by the big push for a GSD for family protection, but I suppose maybe that is their niche. It wasn't the reason we got our dog, although, I will admit, she does make an imposing figure to anyone approaching our front door. (Really, it's the extra floofies around her ears that make her appear so large.  )
> 
> The pups look beautiful, as do the adults. I do know there is significantly more to the purchase than that.
> 
> You will get great advice from members on here. Welcome aboard!!


Thanks  Yeah, first post and all, haha. Looks are important, but I'm also going to visit them and find the one that fits my personality. And yeah, I suppose that's their thing, even if I don't train for schutzhund.


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## Danielle609 (Jun 18, 2011)

One thing that is really bothering me is the fact that they sell their pups at 2 different prices. One with health guarantee and one without.


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## Jakk (Jul 7, 2012)

Danielle609 said:


> One thing that is really bothering me is the fact that they sell their pups at 2 different prices. One with health guarantee and one without.


I think its just an option if you *really* want a dog but aren't man enough to fork up the extra 200$


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## Danielle609 (Jun 18, 2011)

I just think that a breeder should be backing their dogs, no matter how much you pay for them


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## Jakk (Jul 7, 2012)

True that


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

It looks like they have some really nice dogs. If I were interested, I'd go check them out.

Some of their claims are kind of funny though. "USA #1 Solid Black German Shepherds since 1976"...what does that mean and who gives out that award, lol!

"Grunenfeld has been recognized both Nationally and Internationally for having the finest in Solid Blacks."

FWIW I have no experience with the kennel. I thought there was a member here with two dogs from there and did herding?


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

Liesje said:


> FWIW I have no experience with the kennel. I thought there was a member here with two dogs from there and did herding?


Yes, mspiker with Levi & Leyna. I've met them many times and they are very nice dogs!


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## Jakk (Jul 7, 2012)

Well, hopefully a visit will do a world of good


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## mspiker03 (Dec 7, 2006)

Yup, I have two dogs from Jackie. My friend owns another dog from her and another friend owns a couple of dogs (and has had dogs from her in the past). I don't check this board often, but you can always pm me.


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## [email protected] (Apr 24, 2011)

*Grunenfeld*



Jakk said:


> Grunenfeld German Shepherds home page
> 
> Looking for a puppy and found here...Anyone heard good/bad?


 3 yrs ago, I had an appt to go to Grunenfeld to look at an all black 9 month old. I called to say we were on the way, the answer I got was 'I sold the puppy. Went to Lundborg land and my appt was honored and I bought a gorgeous puppy complete with a healh guarantee.


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## The Stig (Oct 11, 2007)

I know this thread is old, but as a caregiver to a wonderful Grunenfeld dog and a customer of Grunenfeld, I want to share my joy and happiness at owning one of Jackie's dogs. 

I have been very impressed with the quality of dogs that Jackie produces. I am close friends w/ two Grunenfeld owners, including MSpiker03 who posts here, and another who has had 4 Grunenfeld dogs spanning over 2 decades, one of them being a litter-mate to my Janka Pie. I also met fellow Grunenfeld owners at the beach and through Flickr who have very well-bred and well-raised dogs. I am also very touched by the obvious love and passion she has for this breed and the GSDs she cares for & raises.

There will always be opinions based on surface impressions, and a website is no different than the cover of a book. She has been doing this for a long time, and I know she has reasons for the contents of her website, which to me, isn't as important as the time and effort she showed me before I committed to one of her puppies. 

Before going with Grunenfeld, I was contacting GSD breeders from NorCal to SoCal, and even in AZ & NV. I didn't mind driving if it meant purchasing the right dog from an ethical breeder. I sent off questionnaires abt the sires/dams, diet of sires/dams/puppies, vaccination schedule of breeding adults/puppies as well as intrinsic questions such as why they breed, what they look for in owners, etc. 

Jackie Athon was the ONLY person out of 11 candidates that fit the criteria on my list, right down to the diet (which was a BIGGIE for me) and the only one who answered ALL my questions earnestly w/o making me feel like I was a hassle. I was invited to her home to meet with her and her dogs before committing, and I stayed for over 4 hours. 

Janka is an AMAZING dog. She was house-trained within a WEEK after we brought her home. She is fantastic with children of ALL ages, and instinctively know how to be gentle around the little ones even though my husband and I do not have children. I have parrots, cats and even at one point a 3-day old chick and I trust her implicitly. She is very trainable, healthy (apart from a chicken/seasonal allergy), extremely intelligent and has a very quirky sense of humour. She is everything I wanted in *MY* German Shepherd. 

Whether you go with a Grunenfeld Dog or not, I wish you all the best in your search for the right dog. I have had no complaints, and I respect Jackie as a person, breeder and dog lover. 

Good luck,
Rei


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## Carriesue (Aug 13, 2012)

I have a Grunenfeld dog.  He is amazing but I may be biased since I'm absolutely in love with him! He house broke the first day and he's sooo good with people, granted he's met A LOT of them. He greets them the same way my golden does, he's also very gentle with children even though he's only 4 months old. So far he's been a wonderful dog with the exception of teaching him that cats and small dogs are not toys. 

The only thing I'd have to say is that Jackie is not always super easy to deal with personality wise but her dogs speak for themselves!


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## LoveGSD's (Aug 22, 2009)

Hi Jakk, by now you have probably made your decisions. We bought our first dog from Gruenenfeld in 1989 and she lived to age 12. When she was around 10 (1999) we bought two shepherds from Jackie. They were a male and female and sired by Obelix vom Arkanum and Catrin from Gunenfeld. The female is still alive and will be 14 in May. Jackie was always ready to answer any questions that we had.

Our next dog will be a Grunenfeld Puppy! 

Good luck with whatever choice you made!


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## MarkMulder (Feb 13, 2013)

Didn't want to start my own thread, so I'll just post here. 

We just decided to go with Grunenfeld breeders for my next GSD, Jackie has been extremely helpful in answering all our questions and addressed all our concerns. We're very happy with our decision so far and we're awaiting our new puppy in May


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## Carriesue (Aug 13, 2012)

MarkMulder said:


> Didn't want to start my own thread, so I'll just post here.
> 
> We just decided to go with Grunenfeld breeders for my next GSD, Jackie has been extremely helpful in answering all our questions and addressed all our concerns. We're very happy with our decision so far and we're awaiting our new puppy in May



Oh great! She was the breeder I was recommending to you but then I went and totally forgot to give you her info. :crazy:

I just talked to her today actually about my pup and getting him into herding. She can sometimes not be the easiest person to deal with but she's extremely dedicated and her dogs speak for themselves... I couldn't be happier with my pup. 

My pups sire is Ford, dunno if he has any current or upcoming litters or not. Though if you were looking for WL only then you probably wouldn't want Ford since he's west German showline. Good luck!


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## MarkMulder (Feb 13, 2013)

Carriesue said:


> Oh great! She was the breeder I was recommending to you but then I went and totally forgot to give you her info. :crazy:
> 
> I just talked to her today actually about my pup and getting him into herding. She can sometimes not be the easiest person to deal with but she's extremely dedicated and her dogs speak for themselves... I couldn't be happier with my pup.
> 
> My pups sire is Ford, dunno if he has any current or upcoming litters or not. Though if you were looking for WL only then you probably wouldn't want Ford since he's west German showline. Good luck!


Oh not at all, you said breeder in El Cajon and I googled "GSD breeder el cajon" and found her because of you  So far she seems really nice and dedicated. 

Just curious, what makes her not so easy to deal with? So I know what to be prepared for


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## Carriesue (Aug 13, 2012)

MarkMulder said:


> Oh not at all, you said breeder in El Cajon and I googled "GSD breeder el cajon" and found her because of you  So far she seems really nice and dedicated.
> 
> Just curious, what makes her not so easy to deal with? So I know what to be prepared for


Oh she is very old school when it comes to training methods(think Koehler) but she has been doing this since the late 70's, she is very blunt and doesn't sugar coat things which some people might like and others might take offense to. She's not mean at all, she's just not the warm bubbly type. And we had some email communication issues. That's all.  I visited her multiple times though before my pup was born and again when he was 5 weeks old and she was nothing but welcoming and answered every question and went into great details about her lines and the different types of dogs.

And she's there for the dogs life with any questions you might have... I've talked to her several times since bringing my pup home 4 months ago and she always gets back to me super quick.


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## MarkMulder (Feb 13, 2013)

Carriesue said:


> Oh she is very old school when it comes to training methods(think Koehler) but she has been doing this since the late 70's, she is very blunt and doesn't sugar coat things which some people might like and others might take offense to. She's not mean at all, she's just not the warm bubbly type. And we had some email communication issues. That's all.  I visited her multiple times though before my pup was born and again when he was 5 weeks old and she was nothing but welcoming and answered every question and went into great details about her lines and the different types of dogs.
> 
> And she's there for the dogs life with any questions you might have... I've talked to her several times since bringing my pup home 4 months ago and she always gets back to me super quick.


Ah yup, I can see what you mean with the bluntness. But I prefer blunt, straight facts, rather than a used car salesmen sugarcoating act.

That's great, I'm confident we made the right choice, we can't wait.


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## fremkiewicz (Mar 6, 2013)

By now this is an older post but I did want to add about two cents worth. We owned a GSD from Jackie and raised it from pup to grand old man. He was the most loving and caring family dog you could possibly want. I have two grandchildren here and he just loved them to pieces. (grandchildren can be tough on a dog sometimes). Leader was just great. We lost leader about a year ago and my granddaughter still asks about where Leader is. Anyway, we are in the process of purchasing a trained adult from Jackie and she has been nothing but kind and responsive. Shipping is available to 49 states and that process, from our one experience, was smooth and efficient.


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## omnivorous (Jan 31, 2014)

I thought I would add my experience. I had a German Shepherd Female named 'Cindy' that I got from Grunenfeld many years ago. This was around 25+ years ago when Grunenfeld was more east near Alpine. I was young back then so legaly the dog belonged to my parents but I took care of it and it was my dog.

I got a top quality dog from Grunenfeld. I was there to pick out the puppy and got to see some of how the place was run as well as some of the dogs that were there. 'Cindy' was very intelligent and an obedient dog. She was protective of the house and the family members but she was not agressive and listened to what she was told to do. The dogs from Grunenfeld are quality and the place was well run and clean. They know what they are doing there. I would not hesitate in recomending them to anyone in the San Diego area, although my experience is from a very long time ago and not recent.

I have contacted the lady that operates the Kenals and I believe they split the operation so one focuses on pure blacks and the other deals with the black & tans but they both are operated by the same people. I forget what the link is for the other company.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

this thread is from 2012.


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## KSB (May 29, 2016)

*Jackie Athlon is awesome; the kind of breeder you should seek!*

I have owned, bred, trained, and loved GSDs over the course of 48 years. I met Jackie a few weeks ago and found her charming. The interview she gives is part of her VERY careful and responsible vetting process; she wants to make sure the breed, the individual dog, and the interested party are a solid match. I enjoyed every minute of my 3-hour visit and found her to be forthright, knowledgeable, and completely aboveboard. Her dogs are delightful. I will have a dog from her in September and look forward to an ongoing friendship.


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## Karey (Nov 19, 2012)

My experience with Jackie Athon has been stunningly awful, and I don’t wish it on anyone. Here is the experience in a nutshell:

I got two Grunenfeld Shepherds from Jackie Athon, a male as a pup in March 2008 , and then a 2 1/2 year old female about 18 months later in August 2009, who was a half sibling to my male. I have had a TERRIBLE experience with Jackie. I even flew out from VA to the San Diego area to meet her when I picked out my male as a 5 week old ahead of his subsequent shipping at 8 weeks old.
The adult female I got from Jackie that I named "Greta" was advertised as a "house-trained, house-mannered, well-socialized, with sensible protection instincts, and hip dysplasia free per preliminary x-ray (available upon request)". She was advertised at 2 1/2 years old, and said to be pick of her litter. Initially she said she intended to get a litter from her before selling her, but changed her mind and sold her to me a couple months later.
Greta was NOTHING that she described. She was NOT house-trained or any of the other description. She screamed bloody murder in a crate, refused to eat any dog food, ground meats, or anything other than raw chicken pieces for the first month I had her. She was afraid of a television, a toilet flush, a drink in your hand, stairs, and would submissively pee if you just looked at her sometimes. People constantly asked me if she had been rescued because of her behaviors. When she arrived, she looked like she'd never been bathed and her ears were beyond cruddy inside. This dog paced anxiously like she'd lived in an outdoor kennel run her whole life so far...
In addition, her rabies certificate had the wrong birthdate for Greta and her health certificate for travel stated she was a 4 year old dog (she was 2 years and 8 months at that time of shipping). I have a holding contract and never received a buyer’s contract.
I emailed Jackie approximately a half dozen times in the first two weeks I got her, and Jackie responded once after those two weeks with a short rude comment, and nothing helpful in her feedback. After I never received her original AKC registration (Greta was sold with a full registration even though I spayed her immediately), nor access to those x-rays she promised. Greta always sat with a sloppy puppy sit on her right hip....confirming 18 months later that she in fact, DID have bi-lateral hip dysplasia, left hip being moderate-severe and the right one mild.
One year after purchasing Greta, I sent Jackie a 7 page email that took me hours to write, detailing Greta’s fearful/anxious behaviors and very specific things I had issues and concerns about that Jackie misrepresented and failed to follow through. I also included any positives about the dog’s general nature and included several photos of her. I again asked for her AKC registration as well, and welcomed her feedback to this detailed email with an open mind. Jackie never responded to that email or content later.
For several more years, I sent NUMEROUS emails requesting those baseline x-rays and her AKC registration, and entered that title in her subject of the emails (that she claims to check daily). Jackie NEVER responded to those requests that I had a right to by the holding contract for SIX YEARS until I entered as the subject "Respond immediately or I go to social media and review sites"... I finally heard from her in OCTOBER 2015 and then her response was again rude and inaccurate. She frankly invented false reasons to have not sent me her registration, and conveniently waited more than the 5 years that her vet holds records. So I could never confirm that Greta was EVER x-rayed at all. The reason I am particularly suspicious that it never happened is that Jackie claimed Greta was x-rayed at 23 months----who does that when those x-rays could be submitted for OFA certification at 24 months?? Unless the dog was injured? 
And when I replied to the email she finally wrote to correct her inaccuracies, I asked her why she waiting SIX YEARS to respond when she advertises "we are happy to answer questions for the life of your Grunenfeld dog." Once again, she refuses to respond.

Buyer beware. Unless you too want to spend $2500 for a neurotic, dysplastic GSD that you could never get her AKC registration or access to alleged x-rays, or potentially any other communication. Greta indeed WAS rescued---from Jackie Athon of Grunenfeld Shepherds who never cared one iota for this poor dog, before or after she sold her to me.

If anyone needs validation of anything I have shared, I am happy to provide it. Just feel free to ask, or call/text me at 757-753-4744.


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