# Looking for a puppy in Oregon & general advice



## drew_in_oregon (Jan 29, 2005)

Our family is looking to get a GSD. This will be my third (over the course of my life).

Looking purely for a family companion. Not interested in show and will not be breeding. Planning solid training in obedience (we have a trainer in the family) and possibly agility, just for fun, as we have a family connection there, too. Main things we're looking for are even temperment and healthy. Our last grew up with small children and endured a lot of dress-up, babies pulling hair, etc. and was completely mellow about it...that's the kind of dog we're looking for.

In the early 90s I paid $400 for a GSD. In 2005, about $800. Today they look like they're going for twice that (!). I honestly wasn't expecting to pay $2000 for a puppy but maybe that's reality today. Prefer a male and not a long hair.

I have not looked for a puppy in 15 years. I'm kind of wondering what the best method is...? I can google and find web sites, but anyone can put up a great-looking web site.

The breeder where I got my last GSD is still in operation, but that pup had fibrotic myopathy from age 3.5, and I'm not sure if that's something that the breeder could have/should have prevented. Reviews here are all in PMs apparently. 

One other wrinkle is that we're looking to get a puppy sooner rather than later, as my wife is home from school until September, so we have a nice period where we can really give a dog 24x7 attention to get him up to speed. (Yes, we have our logistics worked out to fall but we'll both be working then). I did check our local vet and she's doing puppy exams/shots during this covid-19 time.

So...

- anyone have recommendations for a breeder in the Oregon/Washington area? We're in Portland but don't mind driving a distance if needed.

- or anyone have some general guidelines on how to begin the search? 

As a bonus for reading this long post, here's a pic of my previous GSD when he was young!


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## sitstay (Jan 20, 2003)

We are still under a stay at home order in Idaho, as I suspect you are as well. That is going to limit your immediate availability. Non-essential travel is keeping us all at home.

I know of a local litter that was just born, but they won't be ready for another 8 weeks. Perhaps by then travel restrictions will be eased. Although, having said that, Boise is a far drive from Portland.

A word of caution: having a fixed window can cause someone to make a decision that is too hasty. I urge you to really, really consider your options and go with the choice that makes the most sense long term, not the one that fits in a window of time. I am a teacher, working remotely from home, and I understand how enticing it is with all this time at home. Shoot, even I want a puppy right now!

Good luck!
Sheilah


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## drew_in_oregon (Jan 29, 2005)

sitstay said:


> A word of caution: having a fixed window can cause someone to make a decision that is too hasty. I urge you to really, really consider your options and go with the choice that makes the most sense long term, not the one that fits in a window of time.


Good advice. In our case, things kind of fell into place and I found an excellent breeder who's well-regarded on this forum who had a client defer their place on a current litter, so we're scheduled now for end of May. As it happens, we have a family connection - a trainer in the family who is familiar with this breeder and also recommends them.

Would have loved to have gotten a puppy sooner - and certainly could have. The local FB group seems to post new litters almost every day from BYBs! In fact, I left that group because it was depressing.

But in this case, I'm more than willing to wait. The breeder spent 2.5 hours on the phone with me and our family talking about suitability, our needs, our qualifications, plans, etc. and has given us a ton of reading and information. She puts a lot of effort into matching the right puppy with the right family, so we've decided to be open to either male or female and work with her to identify which puppy from the litter will be best.

It actually works out well this way because we have some time now to puppy-proof the house and doing a refresher course on puppy rearing...it's been 15 years for me and my wife/child have never raised from puppyhood.


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