# Importing puppies



## Jwrobinett (Aug 3, 2013)

Does anyone know how the process works when importing a dog? I would need to know how expensive it would be, some good breeders, and if it is even worth the time. Thank you 


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## wolfstraum (May 2, 2003)

What type of puppy do you want? What are your plans and goals for the pup? Depending on these answers, you may be better off finding a breeder in the States to work with.

Import puppies are initially less expensive - but when you add shipping, customs brokers, fees, registration expenses - it can rapidly escalate to as much if not half again as much as a US breeder. Given that without good connections or a track record in the breed in the US, you can easily be taken advantage of by having a less desirable or problematic puppy pawned off on you. It is risky to buy an import without good connections.

Lee


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## Jwrobinett (Aug 3, 2013)

I am looking for WLGS but I do not plan to compete although I do intend to train throughout the dogs life. I just have no idea who trust breeder wise. I have never looked into importing a dog so I had no idea how the process worked. 


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## RubyTuesday (Jan 20, 2008)

> *Given that without good connections or a track record in the breed in the US, you can easily be taken advantage of by having a less desirable or problematic puppy pawned off on you. It is risky to buy an import without good connections.*


There are a plethora of great pups/dogs available in the USA. Imported isn't necessarily better. Buyers who don't know what they're doing can easily wind up with a poor quality pup/dog that's not as good as what is available in the USA. I'd only import if I had a compelling reason to do so, ie what I want can't be found any other way, and I have the help of experienced people who have an extensive history of successfully importing.


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## ODINsFREKI (Jul 30, 2013)

It all depends where you are and where you want your dog to come from. 

The biggest pain in the butt for getting a dog over to the United States of America is the Quarantine period that you must do pre transport from eastern europe to here.

It's hard on the dog and they are isolated. It retards their mental development. So, you want to get an older puppy that has already been socialized.

Lots of Good Slovak K9 dogs are imported to Colorado and have the papers, training and proof. The Eastern dogs were not bred for show like the ones in the USA. They were worked hard and the ones that didn't make the cut were not bred, they were taken out of the gene pool. It's a cruel world over there but the dogs they have are much better because of their harsh method of natural selection.

Do you want a show dog or a working dog? Do you really want a Czech or Slovak GSD with a very VERY very high drive? Have you ever trained a dog with that much energy and demand?


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## pyratemom (Jan 10, 2011)

Raina was flown in from Germany on Luftansa. I hired Gradlyn Kennels to make the arrangements for the trip. We also had them take care of the customs there and we handled it here ourselves. I did have a good connection there who I knew well and had sent many GSD's to be trained K9's over. He knew what I was looking for and was familiar with all the breeders around him. He picked two puppies out for me and I had to choose which one just by the pictures and him telling me about them. They were litter mates and looked different as Raina is a stock long coat with curls and the fluff between her toes and behind her ears and her sister was a flat coat with no fluff. Their personalities are very similar - I got to find out as the sister was also adopted right here on the same island and I knew the girl well. You really need a reliable person on the other side to pick out the pup, make sure you are getting what you want and are paying for and to help the process along to be most confident that you are getting what you are paying for. If you don't have that connection, it may be better to find a breeder here that uses German/or Checz lines and pick from them.


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## ApselBear (Feb 10, 2014)

Jwrobinett said:


> I am looking for WLGS but I do not plan to compete although I do intend to train throughout the dogs life. I just have no idea who trust breeder wise. I have never looked into importing a dog so I had no idea how the process worked.
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


Have you looked into buying from a US breeder who's already imported the WL? I got my pup from a local breeder(out of eastern OK) who had just got the sire from germany, and the mother was from a czech line. 

This way you get the high drive line and have better knowledge of the pup and its breeder without all the hassle of shipping a puppy across the world.


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