# Irish / Uk breeder of long coats



## michelleans (Jul 18, 2006)

Hey guys,

I am looking for a breeder of working line shepherds in Ireland / UK. I am based in Ireland myself and already have a long coated GSD Jake. 

I am particularly interested in a bicolour or dark sable, or dark black and tan. It would have to be a female and long coated also. 

She would be a primarily family pet, but I do sports such as scootering and bikejoring with my current GSD so once old enough she would be introduced to these also. I also hope to do obedience/agility with her.

I am not in any rush and am waiting for the right breeder, and have been researching breeders but have not found one suitable yet.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated









Thanks,


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## ebrannan (Aug 14, 2006)

Nothing to do w/ your search for a breeder, but I LOVE IRELAND!
I was lucky enough to travel there in the summers before we went to France to see my mom's family. 
I even kissed the Blarney Stone as a child. Very cool!


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## Tihannah (Dec 27, 2009)

Hey! I don't know any breeders, but I do know your Jake!! When I first got my pup about 2 months ago, I was looking on youtube for a similar pup so I could see what mine would look like growing up. She is also a long coat black and red. You have a great video on there of Jake growing up and I loved it. Have watched all your videos on Jake and he is just grogeous. As a first time GSD owner, it was amazing watching the change in his growth stages. So, yea, big fan of Jake!







And I hope you find what your looking for!


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## michelleans (Jul 18, 2006)

Thanks guys.









I do love Ireland for the forests and cool weather is great for running Jake









Tihannah, I'm glad you enjoyed Jake's videos







I try to document his life in video and photos as best as I can







He changes so much and gets into so many things. I enjoy his antics so much, I;m glad others can enjoy them yoo


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## Kayos and Havoc (Oct 17, 2002)

I have been wondering where you had gone!!?? I have missed seeing Jake. 

I hope you are well. 

I have no suggestions for breeders over there. Sorry! But I wanted to say hi!!


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## michelleans (Jul 18, 2006)

Hi Kathy









Been so busy!!! It's a mad house here with work and the dog adventure club, Jake and my parrot Jess!

I will post some photos soon


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

Jake's gonna get a girlfriend!


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## mahhi22 (Jul 14, 2009)

I don’t have a suggestion for Ireland/UK but I am strongly considering a dog from this LC breeder in Germany: http://www.house-barrett.com/index1.htm . Color may not be what you’re looking for as it looks like she has mostly black and reds. But this is my experience with the breeder so far: I had been admiring the dogs on her website for some months. I finally decided to email her and asked for references in the US (in addition to what is on the testimonial page). She gave me several and I sent emails to them all. All replies came back raving about the breeder and her dogs. Replies came from companion homes, a professional dog trainer and breeder. One person even met the breeder in Germany and toured her kennel while on a European vacation. Everyone said, “You will not be disappointed.” Coincidentally one of her dogs lives somewhat near me and I will be visiting him tomorrow. I had exchanged a couple of emails with the husband of the couple who owns this dog. When I called their home the other night to schedule a visit, the wife said to me, “you will love this dog.” We'll see.......


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## michelleans (Jul 18, 2006)

> Originally Posted By: Cassidys MomJake's gonna get a girlfriend!


He is almost mature enough at nearly 4 to allow me to take on a second GSD









I can't go for a dog in Europe as the pup would need to wait 6 months to come over for the pet passport. I would like to take a pup of 8 weeks or a little more only, so it narrows my search to Ireland and the UK. Also that kennel seems to be show lines from a quick look and I am hoping for a working line dog


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## michelleans (Jul 18, 2006)

Does anyone have any idea on the quality of these pedigrees?

http://www.laroccagsd.com/lexi_pedigree.html

http://www.laroccagsd.com/johnny_pedigree.html

This is their website. - http://www.laroccagsd.com/

I have been told by a friend they are good breeders but have no idea on pedigree. I am looking for working lines and a long coat.


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## Kayos and Havoc (Oct 17, 2002)

The dogs are lovely. 

I think the females have better pedigrees than the males and they appear to be mainly from german showlines. 

I don't see a lot of health stuff but I don't know how they do that over there.

I know you would be more limited in Ireland than you would be if you purchased a pup and had one shipped and it would have to wait on the pet passport. 

Bottom line, what do you want of the pup? Are you thinking about dog sports? Or are you just looking for a great comapanion to share your home with? If you are looking for a stable dog to incorporate into your active lifestlye I see nothing wrong with this breeder. If you are looking for a dog to do Schutzhund with I would ask tham a lot more questions as I see no titles on dogs they have bred and would question that ability. 

It really comes down to your expectations for the new pup. I think these pups would be fun companions and would also make decent obedience or agility dogs but probaly not SchH dogs.


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## michelleans (Jul 18, 2006)

He did say they were German showlines with working titles. 

She would be mainly a family dog, we might do some obedience with her but not highly competitive. Also, we ;d be doing sports like bikejoring, which I do currently with Jake, also hiking and camping with the dogs so alot of activity. I wouldn;t be doing Schutzhund with her.

I have no bother purchasing from the UK but Adil my husband doesn;t have a UK visa and it might be an ordeal for him to get one, and we plan on meeting the breeders before deciding on a pup. When he is so interested in it, I don;t want to disappoint him and not include him in the decision making. If it came to it I;d encourage him to get the visa though.


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## Kayos and Havoc (Oct 17, 2002)

I have not come back to this but got around to it tonight. 

If hubby wants to help pick puppy than I would buy from them. She would probalby be a wonderful companion for you guys and Jake.


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## michelleans (Jul 18, 2006)

After a lot of research I am flying out to visit these puppies Rushlands German Shepherd Dogs. They have exactly what I am looking for, so I am going to video and take lots of photos for hubby to have a look at and then we will make our decision. I'm in love with the dark sable females!


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## Kayos and Havoc (Oct 17, 2002)

They are very pretty. I see she is doing some health testing and scoring hips. I don't understand the scoring system but that is irrelavant really. I don't see any showing or titles but for a companion for you guys what you need is a sound dog with good temper not necessarily titles. 

If you do decide to do some training and maybe a little obedience competition I think these dogs would do fine. 

You will have to post pictures of Jake's new sister. I see she has a litter ready to go now and I too like the dark sable female puppy.


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## michelleans (Jul 18, 2006)

She doesn;t show her dogs but has done a little obedience with them, though not to title level. They are simply solid steady temperments with enough for a great laid back pet and some easy obedience/agility. Which I am happy with, am flying out to see them anyway this coming Tuesday (16th) so we will see how it goes


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## Kayos and Havoc (Oct 17, 2002)

Will wait for pictures!


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## Lin (Jul 3, 2007)

I'm a bit bothered by the dogs being out of standard on multiple accounts. What are your feelings on this? Myself I wouldn't want to support a breeder that is breeding outside the standard. I have a LC and love them, but purchasing one I would go to a breeder that wasn't specifically breeding LC but had them pop up since its recessive. 

Since the GSD is a working breed, I prefer to support breeders working towards that purpose rather than only breeding for pets. I am glad to see the breeder does health testing. But in addition to out of standard coat, nearly every breeding dog was a blue and oversize.


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## Baby Byron (Aug 20, 2002)

As usual, I will not go into much of a discussion here. Just would like to remind folks that the fact that a phenotype is determined by a recessive gene it doesn't mean that is deleterious. A recessive gene just simply put is a gene that can only be expressed as a homozygous. That's all that is to it. So the mantra that LC is undesirable because it's a recessive gene is purely mythical. Just for example here: the following traits are phenotypes of recessive genes in humans, all good and mostly highly desirable:
Blue or grey eyes 
No freckles 
Narrow nose
Little body hair 
Normal vision
Tall stature 
Normal blood pressure
Normal, five fingers
No migraines
Not bald
Normal tone hearing


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## Lin (Jul 3, 2007)

Baby Byron said:


> So the mantra that LC is undesirable because it's a recessive gene is purely mythical.


No one said LC is undesirable because its a recessive gene. LC is out of breed standard and a disqualification. Therefor the breeders concentrating on breeding only LC are not following the breed standard. If they aren't following the breed standard in this, what else are they not following it in? In this case, height as well. 

I love long coats. I have a long coat. I have no problem purchasing a LC from a responsible breeder. But in my opinion a breeder concentrating on out of standard dogs is not a responsible breeder.


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## Andaka (Jun 29, 2003)

It is not that it is a recessive, it is that for a working dog, a long coat of the type carried by the GSD is not useful. It retains burrs, mud, and the hair matts more than a regular stock coat and is therefore undesirable for the amount of upkeep it requires.


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## michelleans (Jul 18, 2006)

Interesting points. I am considering a LC breeder who only breeds for LC's for the simple reason that if I go for a breeder who doesn't breed for this, it is a small chance I will get the pup I want in an upcoming litter. 

If a breeder is breeding for health and temperment as well as a LC or a specific colour, I don't see an issue. I won;t be showing my dog so the fact that she is a LC will certainly not make any difference.

I think alot of show breeders who breed dogs whose poor rear ends are dragging on the floor, need a good talk about the breed standard instead of those breeding healthy, slightly larger boned dogs.


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## Kayos and Havoc (Oct 17, 2002)

Michelle my LC is 28 inches tall. Way out of standard. He is a rescue. He has beeter hips than my within standard dogs. 

There is not perfect breeder and you are looking for a healthy well tempered family companion. If you like this breeder go for it.


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## michelleans (Jul 18, 2006)

Thanks Kathy, Jake is 27" to the shoulder, also bigger than standard. I didn;t hip score him but he is nearly 4 and has never had issues, he loves running and bikejoring with me and looks and feels really strong behind.

Tomorrow is the day I meet the puppies in person. Am flying to the Uk at 6.30 am and back at midnight into Ireland. I will have loads of photos to post


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

Good luck!


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## Kayos and Havoc (Oct 17, 2002)

Can't wait to see them!!!


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