# Deciding on the breeder and WL or SL



## Carolina12 (Nov 19, 2017)

Well I live in Mexico, but not near the capital, so, there are only four breeders in my state (two of them quite small), I have been thinking about this decision for a while now. I already had a breeder chosen, but he does not have much dogs and the litter only resulted in one puppy (only a female) and I am completely sure I want to get a male puppy. 

The puppy is for me and my sister, 25 and 22. We planned to take him this december so that we could both have lots of time through his first month at home. We know he will need a lot of attention, training and time, a lot of time. We had german shepherds when we where young, and they are the best dogs one can imagine, so now with a good income and a nice schedule it is possible for both of us to have him. 

We are always around of a lot of people.

We need a puppy that can handle the idea of being around my 8 year old sister (and my small cousins who are often around), she is tall and a little rough, but the idea of a young dog will help her understand he will grow and be huge, but he will remain as her dog, that way she wont be scare.

So, there no many breeders, and the two that produced puppies this season have only females to be handed in December. So I am considering a couple of breeders from Mexico City and Guadalajara (quite far) so the puppy will come in an airplane, I wont meet him till he is here, and I will take the word of a person I have never seen before (but with good reviews and comments from other people). The third option is another local breeder who has many male puppies but they are all working line, and I had never considered a working line before. The breeder I had already chosen was SL, and so are the others I considered abroad. 


So, would it be better if I get a puppy from the local breeder but Working line? Or should I better get one from a different city (getting lots of information)? I meant I probably should wait, but then again we were desperate for december to come so that we could have this little puppy, and also the timing for us was perfect. 

Do not judge my grammar, please:grin2:


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## Steve Strom (Oct 26, 2013)

The things that you want, don't really come down to which line, working or show. Are you able to go see the local breeder's dogs in person?


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

Why don't you go visit the local breeder and see their dogs, get a feel for them. Ask for references, contact previous puppy owners, talk to them. See if a working line would be a good fit for you.


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## cloudpump (Oct 20, 2015)

Are you opposed to having a puppy shipped from the U.S.?


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## Carolina12 (Nov 19, 2017)

Castlemaid said:


> Why don't you go visit the local breeder and see their dogs, get a feel for them. Ask for references, contact previous puppy owners, talk to them. See is a working line would be a good fit for you.


I have been to their place is like 45 min from my house. Outside of town. They looked pretty nice, my sister fell for one of them haha. Most of them are males. They had two litters, different ages. One of the mothers looked quite scary but beautiful, the other was really calm. The dad was not there at the moment but they showed me videos and photos, he looked great even when he was a working line. They had like 6 male puppies, one of them really lovely, and another one already paid. 

Talking about looks I do prefer show lines. My dad had a couple of show lines when I was younger one yellow/black and the other dark sable. Both beautiful and obedient. My dad is great with dogs, more than awesome. I will ask his help and advice for everything. 

I will try to send some pictures today, I still dont fully get these forums.


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## Carolina12 (Nov 19, 2017)

cloudpump said:


> Are you opposed to having a puppy shipped from the U.S.?


A little. I think the idea at the beginning was to have a breeder close, close enough for me to see the parents of the puppies and the place they have them at. I am already hesitating on having him shipped from a different state in Mexico. But the idea of a different country would be harder, it would be more difficult to find a relationship of thrust with a person that does not even speak my native language. There are always little details and stuff.


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## Robin.Medellin (Oct 30, 2016)

Whatever you do decide, please, do not get a working line puppy (If, of course, you aren't cut out for one.) Simply because the timing is right. While timeliness is important, if you aren't ready for the energy and demands a working line has, you and the dog will be miserable for the duration of its life. It is important that you chose a dog that will fit well into your life. It is more important than when you will get the dog. 
However, don't mistake this for me trying to dissuade you from looking into it - that is not the case. I'm trying to dissuade you from impulsively buying a very serious commitment. I suggest you look into all that a working line entails, and perhaps maybe it will fit well into your life. However, show lines are different from working lines for a reason. 

Are there any other times where a puppy might do well? Is this opened free time an annual thing? Seasonal? If you think that there will be another "right" time, maybe consider waiting for that, and in the mean time you can solidly decide on what "type" you want, and strengthen breeder bonds. The right puppy is worth waiting for. 

Best of luck!

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk


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## Carolina12 (Nov 19, 2017)

Robin.Medellin said:


> Whatever you do decide, please, do not get a working line puppy (If, of course, you aren't cut out for one.) Simply because the timing is right. While timeliness is important, if you aren't ready for the energy and demands a working line has, you and the dog will be miserable for the duration of its life. It is important that you chose a dog that will fit well into your life. It is more important than when you will get the dog.
> However, don't mistake this for me trying to dissuade you from looking into it - that is not the case. I'm trying to dissuade you from impulsively buying a very serious commitment. I suggest you look into all that a working line entails, and perhaps maybe it will fit well into your life. However, show lines are different from working lines for a reason.
> 
> Are there any other times where a puppy might do well? Is this opened free time an annual thing? Seasonal? If you think that there will be another "right" time, maybe consider waiting for that, and in the mean time you can solidly decide on what "type" you want, and strengthen breeder bonds. The right puppy is worth waiting for.
> ...


I am finishing the semester, I am a grad student but I have a good stable income, and I will probably have around a month and a half of break after it (will only work on my house)... and my sister is also finishing her semester, she will also have around a month and a half. Indeed we could probably wait for my ideal breeder to have male puppies, but since he does not have many dogs, it is uncertain if it will be soon or not. He is in the show line breeding, he has good imported dogs with german lines and good dogs from Mexico. And he lives near, and knows the german shepherds. 

But, what if it's true what I have been reading that dogs that are working lines or have at least a working line parent in the mix are healthier when it comes to dysplasia?


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## egwinjr (Oct 30, 2017)

my advice would be to wait to get a puppy till you are out on your own. I'm assuming you both live at your parents being still in school, who takes the dog when you go separate ways? how long do you plan to stay at your parents? do you have a solid job lined up for after school? also what time will you have once you settle into a job? 

these have nothing to do with the line of dog but more so to be honest with yourself and where you are at in your life. As someone who got a puppy with a girl when I was your age and living in a roommates house it wasn't fair to the puppy one bit. thankfully she turned out great but it was hard, the girl and I split, i got a promotion at work, and moved to a different are so for months i was working long long hours and that puppy was stuck by its self. 

not to discourage anyone from getting a dog as its truly the best thing i did when i was younger but it surely doesn't hurt to honestly make sure you are ready for this type of addition to the family and that the dog gets a solid upbringing


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## carmspack (Feb 2, 2011)

Robin.Medellin said:


> Whatever you do decide, please, do not get a working line puppy (If, of course, you aren't cut out for one.) Simply because the timing is right. While timeliness is important, if you aren't ready for the energy and demands a working line has, you and the dog will be miserable for the duration of its life. It is important that you chose a dog that will fit well into your life. It is more important than when you will get the dog.
> However, don't mistake this for me trying to dissuade you from looking into it - that is not the case. I'm trying to dissuade you from impulsively buying a very serious commitment. I suggest you look into all that a working line entails, and perhaps maybe it will fit well into your life. However, show lines are different from working lines for a reason.
> 
> Are there any other times where a puppy might do well? Is this opened free time an annual thing? Seasonal? If you think that there will be another "right" time, maybe consider waiting for that, and in the mean time you can solidly decide on what "type" you want, and strengthen breeder bonds. The right puppy is worth waiting for.
> ...



bah - your opening sentence -- 

if it is that clear cut then the advice should be do not get a GSD . Period.

I have seen some super active , focus lacking wgsl's and I have experienced many calm working lines that are hard and dedicated work-fiends when needed .

it is about the particular breeding -- the lines - the understanding and priorities of the breeder


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## Carolina12 (Nov 19, 2017)

egwinjr said:


> my advice would be to wait to get a puppy till you are out on your own. I'm assuming you both live at your parents being still in school, who takes the dog when you go separate ways? how long do you plan to stay at your parents? do you have a solid job lined up for after school? also what time will you have once you settle into a job?
> 
> these have nothing to do with the line of dog but more so to be honest with yourself and where you are at in your life. As someone who got a puppy with a girl when I was your age and living in a roommates house it wasn't fair to the puppy one bit. thankfully she turned out great but it was hard, the girl and I split, i got a promotion at work, and moved to a different are so for months i was working long long hours and that puppy was stuck by its self.
> 
> not to discourage anyone from getting a dog as its truly the best thing i did when i was younger but it surely doesn't hurt to honestly make sure you are ready for this type of addition to the family and that the dog gets a solid upbringing



Well, in Mexico is common to live with parents for a while longer than in the US. I still have to finish my grad program, my sister has a job assured at a School nearby (for as long as she wants), she also has a good income on her paintings. We are moving together when we move (we have already made some decisions regarding that, but I would prefer to keep that out), and I am going for a PhD after the master, I am a researcher (even at the worst I have an already assured position at the University I am right now and at a research center 40 min out of town).... 

But unfortunately the dog is not coming with us. My dad has already made the statement that this dog will stay with him till he dies (like our other dogs before him), yes it sounded dramatic and selfish when he said it, but then again he is a mexican father, he sounds dramatic whenever he wants. So, at the point we move, we are probably going to adopt an older dog to take with us. 

As an extra point, considering sharing life details is a must in this forum apparently. We do have a big backyard, and we also own a huge field outside of town (for crops, plants and having a good time on the weekend sometimes).


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## Sunsilver (Apr 8, 2014)

Agree with Carmen. A good breeder can pick the right pup for your situation regardless of whether it's working line or show. 

I can't say my working line pup was any more difficult to raise than my showline. Both got into typical puppy mischief when left unsupervised! (MY fault!)


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## egwinjr (Oct 30, 2017)

Carolina12 said:


> Well, in Mexico is common to live with parents for a while longer than in the US. I still have to finish my grad program, my sister has a job assured at a School nearby (for as long as she wants), she also has a good income on her paintings. We are moving together when we move (we have already made some decisions regarding that, but I would prefer to keep that out), and I am going for a PhD after the master, I am a researcher (even at the worst I have an already assured position at the University I am right now and at a research center 40 min out of town)....
> 
> But unfortunately the dog is not coming with us. My dad has already made the statement that this dog will stay with him till he dies (like our other dogs before him), yes it sounded dramatic and selfish when he said it, but then again he is a mexican father, he sounds dramatic whenever he wants. So, at the point we move, we are probably going to adopt an older dog to take with us.
> 
> As an extra point, considering sharing life details is a must in this forum apparently. We do have a big backyard, and we also own a huge field outside of town (for crops, plants and having a good time on the weekend sometimes).



sharing life details isn't a must, but if you are to ask for advisement it really helps. I guess what I'm confused with is why you would want to get a puppy, raise it just to leave it behind. yes obviously your parents will be there but are they going to be as active for the dog as you and your sister would be? it would make more sense to get an older dog now then leave that and get a puppy once you have a place of your own. 

again this is just all my opinion and I just hope you do what is best for your family as well as any potential dog that enters your life.


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## Carolina12 (Nov 19, 2017)

egwinjr said:


> sharing life details isn't a must, but if you are to ask for advisement it really helps. I guess what I'm confused with is why you would want to get a puppy, raise it just to leave it behind. yes obviously your parents will be there but are they going to be as active for the dog as you and your sister would be? it would make more sense to get an older dog now then leave that and get a puppy once you have a place of your own.
> 
> again this is just all my opinion and I just hope you do what is best for your family as well as any potential dog that enters your life.


I wanted to get an older dog when my search begun, both me and my sister, but my family believes that when it comes to larger breeds, it is better to raise them the way you want since they are young, besides with German shepherds lots of problems can come from terrible breeding, so, if you do not know how was the dog treated before or if his parents had issues, problems will eventually appear on such dog as well. Also, the youngest sister is 8, and we want her to feel comfortable with him from the beginning. Not afraid. And I agree with all of these arguments.

My idea is to eventually convince my dad to let us take him. If not, I will see what happens then. 

I believe nobody has actually a perfect moment in their lives, some people have children, some others end up loosing their jobs, they move too much, they are a one person team, people dies, or an hurricane hits their home... I just know things are not always in the base of a huge stable 20 year plan.
In my defense I am not taking a dog with some random people from college, I am taking him with my family. No matter what happens, there will be a lot of people taking care of him.


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## Jenny720 (Nov 21, 2014)

Yes with the right breeder they will match you with the right pup wl or sl. To leave a dog behind is heartbreaking I?m not sure why you would want to put yourself through that.


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## Carolina12 (Nov 19, 2017)

Sunsilver said:


> Agree with Carmen. A good breeder can pick the right pup for your situation regardless of whether it's working line or show.
> 
> I can't say my working line pup was any more difficult to raise than my showline. Both got into typical puppy mischief when left unsupervised! (MY fault!)



Thanks. 
I am already scheduling a second appointment with the local breeder. I really want to meet the father of the puppies. There were two moms there, because there are two litters, one of the moms was really mad and noisy when we were there last time, so I hope this time is different.

The breeder and his wife told us that a couple of puppies might meet our needs, but is still soon. I guess we will go there again before making the decision.


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## Carolina12 (Nov 19, 2017)

Jenny720 said:


> Yes with the right breeder they will match you with the right pup wl or sl. To leave a dog behind is heartbreaking I?m not sure why you would want to put yourself through that.


Thanks, 
Yes, I dont want to leave him behind. I will try to convince my dad to let me take him with us, since I will pay for him haha. But then again he is also quite excited for a new dog (My mom has always said that he has love our dogs more than us as a joke hahaha)...


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