# Has anybody else ever noticed. . .



## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

. . . that there are some serious crackbaby looking GSD puppies for sale on Craigslist? (I apologize if anyone is offended by my use of the term crackbaby. I couldn't think of another word that conveyed what I meant so eloquently). 

I mean, you come on here and you see puppy pics from Huertahof, from Wildhaus, from Boeselager, Kleinenhein, Selzer, and others and their puppies look awesome! And then you go see the ones for sale on Craigslist and they kinda look cracked out. It's sad.


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## Rerun (Feb 27, 2006)

It's sad that those are what the public considers the "GSD"

I just had a response on an old video of Kodi, our czech GSD, on youtube. Dark sable (not black, but dark). Totally 100% purebred. Someone asked if I was sure he was a full german shepherd.


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## sharkey19 (Sep 25, 2011)

We have had people flat out tell us that there is no way our dog is a purebred GSD because black ones do not exist.


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## DanielleOttoMom (May 11, 2010)

Yes I have to agree with you on that one Emily. It truly is sad..... Most don't even look like true GSD. Just runt mix mutts too me. I some times want to Email them and tell them off. It's a shame..... (face palm)!


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

I don't even mean so much that they do or don't look purebred. They just like kinda sick. And sad. And not well taken care of.


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## BlackGSD (Jan 4, 2005)

I've seen puppies that looked like that on websites posted on this board too. I'm not talking about forum members puppies but sites posted asking "what do you think of the breeder?".


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## Jessiewessie99 (Mar 6, 2009)

It is sad. I try not to go on there and look at the pets section.


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## BR870 (May 15, 2011)

Jessiewessie99 said:


> It is sad. I try not to go on there and look at the pets section.


This is the truth... I saw snowleopard cubs for sale on CL a few months back. Heck, many pet owners can't handle a young GSD... And a snow leopard?


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## DanielleOttoMom (May 11, 2010)

Yeah most do look sickly and malnourished. I see some AD's on CL were they claim PB GSD puppies and they look clearly mixed. However thats just my opinion.


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

I noticed it too. Glad you made a general thread about it. I never wanted to say anything about any particular pup, because it could just be a bad picture, and you don't want to be insulting the breeder or the potential/new puppy owner.

You see puppy pics from the good breeders here, and the pups are alert, bright-eyed, head up, smiling, _engaged_ with their person, their owner, the world. 

They you see pics of pups from ads and some websites that are sad looking, sorta looking shut off, shut down, withdrawn. Eyes look gunky, coat looks sticky, puppy somehow looks absent. I'm rather of the school that I want to give people the benefit of the doubt, and like I said, maybe it is just a bad picture (then why use that one to post?), but when you see a whole page of puppies for sale, and all the pups have the same look, you gotta wonder . . . 

And that would be for pups about four-five weeks and older. Younger than that, normal for the pups to not be developed enough to show the kind of engagement I'm talking about, but not normal for an 8 week old pup to be so depressed looking.


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## DorothyM (Aug 29, 2011)

I have a craigslist puppy =/

Im hoping he doesnt look like the ones you've mentioned. Sickly and poorly taken care of.


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

Naaahh, he looks awesome with his ears trying to stand but not quite there. Glad he got a good home, all pups deserve a great home. It is just sad to see some of the puppies from BYB - the pups deserve better care than what they seem to be getting.


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## Germanshepherdlova (Apr 16, 2011)

Emoore said:


> I don't even mean so much that they do or don't look purebred. They just like kinda sick. And sad. And not well taken care of.


They are on Craigslist, so it is very possible that they aren't well cared for. Some love, care, and good food would probably make them look like a whole new puppy!


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## Dooney's Mom (May 10, 2011)

I never saw so many quality GSD's in my life as I have seen on this website and is my search for my pup. It was an eye opening experience to say the least. Unfortuneatly all I knew of GSDs was the BYB crackbaby types. It is so sad that so many people breed to anything and everything just to make a quick buck and then don't socialize the pups with people as they are growing up and just throw them in the back yard for 8 weeks IF they even wait the 8 weeks to sell them, and if they even bother to take them to the vet. The quality breeders truly love the breed and do their research on what to breed to who and when. 

Our friends that have one of Dooney's littermate brothers joke that we have become "German Shepherd snobs" now


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## SitUbuSit (Aug 1, 2011)

Dooney's Mom said:


> I never saw so many quality GSD's in my life as I have seen on this website and is my search for my pup.


Me too. I now see that there's a world of difference between a BYB puppy and a well-bred, well-nourished puppy of strong bloodlines. I think they're all cute, but the BYB puppies often lack an internal spark or fire. It's hard to explain, but even excusing the bad photography, you can see a huge difference between the pup in the attached photo and this one: 
jrm_3692 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

DorothyM said:


> I have a craigslist puppy =/
> 
> Im hoping he doesnt look like the ones you've mentioned. Sickly and poorly taken care of.


My first GSD was a newspaper puppy (no Craigslist then). Looking back, I think he probably did look sick and sad and poorly taken care of when I got him. I didn't really notice I loved him so much. 9 1/2 years later he's still my best friend and constant companion, but you can bet when I got my 2nd GSD puppy I went to a better source. We live and learn.


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## MicheleMarie (Mar 29, 2011)

crackbabies come from crackbreeders 

to the person that got a puppy off craigslist: it's possible there could have been unhealthy genetics passes along..however keeping your puppy healthy from the beginning is the most important part-if you do that i am sure he will turn out fine. he looks very nice in his picture


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## 4TheDawgies (Apr 2, 2011)

I thought the same thing. they DO look cracked out. They have huge eyeballs popping out, skinny collie heads, really long snouts, the most faded colors and pigment ever. and they look like someone stole all their toys and money and threatoned to kill their mother. (REALLY sad and REALLY scared looking)


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## x0emiroxy0x (Nov 29, 2010)

My little backyard breeder puppy with my boyfriend. He had 3 different types of worms and an upper respiratory infection when we picked him up, but look at him play despite being sick! 









His ears were disgusting when we picked him up!


Yes, his coat was dirty and his color wasn't shiny.
Yes, his nose might have been long and skinny like a collies
But I don't think he looked sad/cracked out/ or scared.

However, when I compare him to this puppy on Camspack's webpage, yes, I do think that the other puppy looks like much higher quality then mine was.










However, I love him to death, I have learned from my mistakes, and my next puppy will be from a breeder like Cam!

Rocky doesn't look too bad to me at 1 year old. Certainly not as high drive as many german shepherds, but he is a great dog and makes me very happy.










This was taken about two months ago when he was 10 months.


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## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

Wow, look at those arms...I mean ears! Rocky looks great


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

Yeah, that's a great looking, erm. . . . dog!


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## Daisy&Lucky's Mom (Apr 24, 2011)

Rocky is a handsome lad thanks to you and as a young pup w. satellite ears very cute

Maggi , Daisy and Lucky's Mom ,Both are BYB's amd Daisy who could sometimes act like she was on crack as a puppy.


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## CelticGlory (Jan 19, 2006)

Emoore said:


> Yeah, that's a great looking, erm. . . . dog!


:rofl:, you and Stosh are too funny!!

Rocky is such a cutie! Love the ears!


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## KlausvonCrump (Jul 5, 2011)

Our C/L pup. He was pretty bad off when we got him. WAAAAY to young, fleas (YES, they brought me a pup that had FLEAS on it!), flea damage (note the bald tail), round worms, hook worms, and tape worms. The tape worms were so bad they actually came out on the ride home! He only weighed 4.5lbs when we took him to the vet the next day. 

Our family has been using this vet since the early 80's. He looked at Klaus, looked at me, and looked at Klaus again. He said "Darn nice looking cat." 

1st day home.










Compaired to a 9 lbs cat.










2 weeks later. You can see the bald tail wagging away.










Random picture ~2 weeks ago.










Picture from this weekend. Currently 4 months old and 34 lbs.










I dont think I will ever use Craigslist for a pet again. That being said I wouldnt change what I did. Klaus ended up in a great home with us and will always be well looked after. For the $200 we paid he could have ended up anywhere..............


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## PaddyD (Jul 22, 2010)

Wow, he looks Great!


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## KlausvonCrump (Jul 5, 2011)

PaddyD said:


> Wow, he looks Great!


 Thank you! We've worked hard to make sure he got heathly and has all his needs met. He is pretty much the best dog I've ever had. There isnt a mean bone in his body. Every time we go the local Petsmart their trainer compliments on his personallity.


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## billsharp (May 3, 2011)

Don't forget the role of photography. Most CL pix are taken with a small camera or phone which have a little bit of a "fisheye" type lens, making the nose and eyes long and bulgy. 

I agree with the OP about how many "Pet Cemetary"-looking animals are available on CL, but on the other hand, how often have you seen some rescue pic of a poor GSD missing its fur, tail tucked, sad expression on its face--and then the pic 2 month later is Rin Tin Tin?! As long as we don't perpetuate the questionable breeding by allowing these CL dogs to procreate, I hope we continue to salvage and provide them loving and crack-free homes!


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## SitUbuSit (Aug 1, 2011)

Stosh said:


> Wow, look at those arms...I mean ears! Rocky looks great


LOL! You read my mind, Stosh.


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## x0emiroxy0x (Nov 29, 2010)

Thanks guys! I'm so glad my boyfriend never gets on this forum, despite me reading post after post to him...you better believe I won't read him that and get his head all fat! 

He had surgery on his shoulder 7 months before the pic, and had gained about 25 pounds in 5months... then in the 2 months before this picture when he was released to work out, he ran his butt off and worked out like 2 hours a day. Hence the cut off shirt. I hate those shirts...he bought like 6 of them as a congratulations to himself haha


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## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

oh now you guys went and made Shasta all sad! She's a craigslist puppy!

but she and the rest of her litter were very well taken care of as were her parents.

but Shasta is still sad. Calling her a crackbaby puppy. sheesh!

i do get what you're saying though...


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## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

Stosh said:


> Wow, look at those arms...I mean ears! Rocky looks great


 
haha glad i wasnt the only one thinking it! Those are some awesome arms!! 

Rocky looks good too lol.


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## robinhuerta (Apr 21, 2007)

Shasta isn't a "crack baby puppy"......she's more like a "Woodstock Whelp"....right?! LOL!
I owned a "pot puppy"...not quite "crack"....but not quite "drug free" either......I LOVED THAT MISSFIT!!!


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## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

LOL Robin! I'm beginning to think Shasta is a new version of the GSD. Called CGSD. Confused German Shepherd Dog. 

Very easy puppy. No fear. Learns quickly. Suddenly forget she's not a little puppy anymore and i'm thinking aliens came down and stole her brain....


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## Konotashi (Jan 11, 2010)

I think it's sad. I like to see hearty puppies with thick legs (I know, sounds kinda weird), and I've noticed that even the faces on 'well bred' pups are more regal looking. The ones I see on CL look like their bones are brittle and thin, and they have long, skinny faces. Not to mention, the parents look more like mixes than GSDs.


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## Kittilicious (Sep 25, 2011)

This thread makes me sad  Knuckles isn't a CL puppy, but he could have been I suppose. The rest of the litter was sold in the local paper (and I did find out that the guy was dropping the price and basically giving the puppies away because he was sick of them).
I don't know that Knuckles looked sick, but I wasn't excited about how his first 5 weeks in the world went - outside, kenneled, concrete floor, no human contact. Makes me glad I did get him at 5 weeks. 
But regardless of where he came from, I couldn't love him more


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

Kittilicious said:


> This thread makes me sad


The whole  business makes me sad. Undernourished, parasite-ridden puppies being sold on Craigslist and in the newspaper, pups being given away or dumped at the shelter when they're 7 or 9 months old because the  humans can't be bothered to work with them, adult dogs being given away because they're inconvenient, dogs sitting in back yards being ignored for years, seniors "free to good home" because the people don't want to deal with their medical issues. . .. the whole thing makes me so angry I can barely see straight.

There's a 7-year old female with arthritis and heart worms in my area right now being given away because she was the son's dog and the son grew up, got married, and moved into an apartment. Nobody can be bothered to take care of the dog.


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## Kittilicious (Sep 25, 2011)

Emoore said:


> The whole  business makes me sad. Undernourished, parasite-ridden puppies being sold on Craigslist and in the newspaper, pups being given away or dumped at the shelter when they're 7 or 9 months old because the  humans can't be bothered to work with them, adult dogs being given away because they're inconvenient, dogs sitting in back yards being ignored for years, seniors "free to good home" because the people don't want to deal with their medical issues. . .. the whole thing makes me so angry I can barely see straight.


I can't argue with that one bit.


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## KlausvonCrump (Jul 5, 2011)

Emoore said:


> The whole  business makes me sad. Undernourished, parasite-ridden puppies being sold on Craigslist and in the newspaper, pups being given away or dumped at the shelter when they're 7 or 9 months old because the  humans can't be bothered to work with them, adult dogs being given away because they're inconvenient, dogs sitting in back yards being ignored for years, seniors "free to good home" because the people don't want to deal with their medical issues. . .. the whole thing makes me so angry I can barely see straight.
> 
> There's a 7-year old female with arthritis and heart worms in my area right now being given away because she was the son's dog and the son grew up, got married, and moved into an apartment. Nobody can be bothered to take care of the dog.


Agreed! 

I'd empty out my bank account for Klaus or any other animal thats owned me. People look at me like I am crazy when I say Klaus is my son. He IS part of the family. He IS a family member. There is just no good excuse for entering the relationship and than discarding the poor thing when the going gets rough. That is when they need your love the most.


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## GSDkid (Apr 19, 2011)

This is my C/L girl the day we picked her up. Definitely sad because she misses her litter mates and mother.









The very next day:









Just reading from your posts, I'm glad she didn't have anything you mentioned. She was clean. No worms, very healthy. Found out later that the BYB gave up their dogs to the shelter because no one else took them. *Sad* Atleast, they took care of the litter's health up until that point. 

At 5 months (Focus):









And photo taken yesterday (9 Months):









She definitely does not have much of a drive for anything other than wrestling with me but it gets a little too rough. I'm definitely buying from a rep. breeder next time though.


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## cowgirlup_22 (May 11, 2011)

My almost 8 month old female Kiva is a craigslist puppy and the pictures that the lady had sent to me via text/picture message were to be honest crappy pics.When we got there and got out of the car the lady was just bringing the pups outside and when I got out Kiva ran full blast right towards me little tail justa wagging..My heart melted right then and there.She was happy and friendly but was in need of a bath,food(her big ol' tanks of brothers would push her away from the food)and a nail trim..oh and a de-worming.Her and her brothers looked a heck of a lot better than quite a few of the other dogs that I have seen advertised on CL. I almost fell over when the lady told me how her husband was going to kill what pups didn't get sold Thankfully a week or two later I think it was she had called me and said that the rest of the pups found homes.. I plan on getting another GSD and will be getting a pup from a good breeder.With Kiva I got lucky,only health issue that I have encountered with her is she has a yeast infection in her left ear.As far as training she learns so quickly and is smart..Temperament wise she is playful but yet respectful(has never mouthed on anyone),laid back and takes things in stride. I don't regret getting her because I saved her life,but would rather go a different route next time because I don't want to push my luck so to speak. 

Its sad to look at the dogs and puppies on CL  Everyone that I see I pray that they are able to find a good home...Here are a couple pics of Kiva from when we first brought her home:




























and now pics of her now  


















(this one is a month old)









and this is one of her with my male Kenai









she is amazing with kids









pics from her first night home


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## southernfiction (Oct 5, 2011)

Emoore said:


> . . . that there are some serious crackbaby looking GSD puppies for sale on Craigslist? (I apologize if anyone is offended by my use of the term crackbaby. I couldn't think of another word that conveyed what I meant so eloquently).
> 
> I mean, you come on here and you see puppy pics from Huertahof, from Wildhaus, from Boeselager, Kleinenhein, Selzer, and others and their puppies look awesome! And then you go see the ones for sale on Craigslist and they kinda look cracked out. It's sad.


 

And then some of us find out we can't afford a GSD puppy and call the vet who keeps extra animals in the back of his clinic at all times and say, "If you get a young male in there that looks like a German shepherd, call me," and the next morning at 8 a.m. the assistant calls and says, "Got a German shepherd in here for you." And the he turns out to be female and a crossbred GSD/Doberman, but you go see anyway and can't leave without her. And that's how you get some mighty fine friends whose ears and tail are wrong but whose everything else is pretty much right.


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

southernfiction said:


> And the he turns out to be female


You know what, I get this a lot. More often than any reasonable person would expect. How hard is it to tell?


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## KlausvonCrump (Jul 5, 2011)

Uhg...........just found this on my local c/l. :-L


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