# Breeder in West Texas



## KoriNoel (Feb 23, 2014)

Hey everyone. This is my first post on this forum, but have been lurking for a month or so. 

I would like to get a GSD for our family of four, but we have extremely limited options in and around where we live. My husband is in the USAF, and we are stationed in Eastern New Mexico. I am looking for a low drive, family dog. A dog that can grow up with my kids. I have a 15 month old son, and a 3 year old daughter. 

I have been looking for a while, and the only actual breeder I can find within 2 hours of me, is AlphaTex Kennels/West Texas K9. Everyone else are BYB (i.e. a craigslist post selling puppies for $100 and letting them go at 5 weeks old). 

I searched the forums, and was only able to find old information regarding the breeder. I have thoroughly searched her site, looking for the "signs of a reputable breeder". Things seem fine to me, other than the amount of puppies they have at once, and the fact that they don't have a spay/neuter contract. Now, this is coming from someone who is incredibly new to the GSD breed. I grew up with small dogs, with the exception of our Sheltie. As far dogs I have owned myself, I have only had a Pomeranian, and he passed away last summer.

I have been emailing back and forth with Sandra (one of the owners) and she seems very informative and helpful. I asked her if I could bring my kids out to see how they are with her "fur family", and she was more than willing to have us come out. The litter I am looking at will be born in Mid-March, but we will be going out there before then just to have a look around and see how my kids do. I told her what I wanted and which parents I was looking at, and she immediately told me which parents would be the best fit for me, which seemed like a good thing.

I am looking at Missy's RePlay and Cinch's litter, which is at the bottom of the puppies for sale page.

Puppies for Sale

I just want to make sure I am getting the right puppy for my family, as my kids are priority number one. If anyone could give me some insight, I would greatly appreciate it. If this isn't what I should go for, any recommendations for in/around my area would be welcome and appreciated!


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

Welcome to the forum...

MENTALLY and physically, as well as timewise.... could you add another human baby to your house right now? You getting that much sleep and have that much free time?

Because adding a german shepherd puppy can be exactly as 'hard'' as that. And why SO MANY OF them end up in shelters and rescues because we just can't deal with them. I know my GSD pups have ALL been much more time consuming (and expensive because I had to not only make the time for dog classes but also pay for them).

Were you able to read ---> http://www.germanshepherds.com/foru...-german-shepherd-best-breed-me-my-family.html

On top of that, there are many poor breeders out there. Meaning you can end up with a fear aggressive pup that bites, or one with health issues that can be a nightmare (at over $1000 a hip for surgery from Dysplasia.... puts the initial cost of finding a great breeder into perspective).

Other two sites that you need to spend hours going thru are http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/welcome-gsd-faqs-first-time-owner/162231-how-find-puppy.html and http://www.germanshepherds.com/foru...nk-how-tell-good-breeder-website-bad-one.html

BTW, there are some great dogs in shelters and rescues that their original owners paid a fortune for as purebred puppies! An older dog can be much less work


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## KoriNoel (Feb 23, 2014)

Thank you for the quick response.

I have read the links you provided previously, and found some very good information, a lot of things I did not know. I have gone back and forth quite a bit on the time commitment, etc. I am a stay at home mom, so I would be around majority of the time. I haven't gotten a full, uninterrupted nights sleep in about 3 years, so I'm used to it  So mentally, I think I will be prepared for the most part, hopefully. Physically, my kids are very active, so I am very active. I run about 5 days/week, and lift about 5 days/week, so I think the puppy's activity level will be fine. Plus, I take the kids to the park, on walks, outside, etc. when the weather permits.

When it comes down to it, we don't have to get a puppy right away. Even with the litter we are looking at, we wouldn't actually be getting the puppy until the end of May/beginning of June (and that's if we even go with this breeder). If it takes longer, so be it.

Thank you for all of the information, and believe me, it is still all things that are being discussed/considered my myself and my husband


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## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

It's wise of you to do your research first. If you're anywhere near Amarillo, check out Vom Vollkommen kennel. I've seen some nice dogs from there


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## KoriNoel (Feb 23, 2014)

The kennel in Amarillo didn't pop up in my search. We are less than 2 hours away from there. Thank you, I will take a look at them. 

As far as research goes, I have been doing some reading just about every day for the last month, but because I am brand new, their is a lot of information to sort through. I'm hopefully getting there. I had been looking at the breeder for a couple of weeks, but just wasn't sure, that's why I brought it to you guys. Like I said, this will be my first large breed dog, and we will only be having one dog in the house. So because of that, I want to make sure we are getting what we want.

I really appreciate the info, and help!


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## LeoRose (Jan 10, 2013)

Isn't Alpha -Tex the kennel that made the news a couple of years ago, with something like 100+ dogs that were seized?

ETA: Just looked at their website. Twenty-nine bitches, thirteen dogs, and breed for family pets only? I'd pass.


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## KoriNoel (Feb 23, 2014)

LeoRose~yeah, I was reading that is was in September 2011 I believe. 300+ dogs were seized, but as far as I know, they got them back. I didn't know anything about it until yesterday. I still only know really minimal info. That's one of the things that prompted me to post here. I agree that there are a lot of dogs still, and a lot of litters. That made me leery. I am going to have an interesting time with one puppy!

It doesn't look like I will be getting one from there now anyway. I am looking into Vom Vollkemmen Kennel now. Hoping to hear back from the owners soon. It didn't show up during my search for kennels around me, so I'm glad I know about them now.

Thank you for your response


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