# Great Breeders in New Jersey!



## Caroline

Hi!
I live in New Jersey and have had two GSDs in my life. I've been burned by a "reputable" breeder in the past, and thought I'd have my best shot of finding the perfect GSD for my family by asking people who knew what they were talking about.

I heard Alkarah kennel is reputable, can anyone verify? Please lead me in the right direction and lead me to a reputable breeder.

Any help or advice would be very appreciated!
Caroline


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## angelaw

never heard of them. what type of lines are you looking for? american lines, german showlines, german working lines? The type will better able us to help you


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## Lauri & The Gang

I believe Alkarah kennel breeds American Show lines.


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## sprzybyl

I live in Jersey! Welcome! 

Depending on what type of dog you are looking for, here are a couple that were recommended to me:

Mercer German Shepherds http://www.mercergsd.com/
Karizma http://www.karizmashepherds.com/
and Alkarah was recommended as well. 

The Garden State German Shepherd Rescue is also very active and has some awesome rescues: http://www.gsgsr.org/

When I was looking, I specifically wanted an older puppy so I didn't end up going to look at them, but I found all them to be responsive to my questions and worthy of looking into









PS I ended up driving up to Niagra Falls region to get my Riley! So keep an open mind too! 

Edit: I remembered this breeder, too, whom I wondered about. From a very brief look their program looks legit, but I wonder if anyone has any experience with this breeder or comments on their web site at least?
http://www.jagermeistershepherds.com/


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## BlackGSD

> Originally Posted By: Lauri & The GangI believe Alkarah kennel breeds American Show lines.


That is correct.


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## littledmc17

I know a good one In Mass if you want to take a day trip


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## lilysmom

Alkarah has lovely American Line German Shepherds. I would say they are very reputable and they were delightful to deal with. I don't think you could go wrong with them if you are looking for American lines.


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## angelaw

> Originally Posted By: Lauri & The GangI believe Alkarah kennel breeds American Show lines.


explains why I haven't heard of them, lol.


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## Caroline

Thank you for your help!


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## kt67

My heart dog hails from Alkarah, and Karen helped the rescue through our first whelping about 4 years ago. I'm very happy with both my dog, and the support they offer. In general, their dogs are gorgeous and make wonderful companions. They do tend to line breed more than I personally like, so I'd take a good look at the pedigree.


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## Caroline

After doing some research, we didn't really know the difference between American and German lines, my family and I are leaning more towards the structure of a German Line GSD. Am I correct to assume that German Lines have a bigger structure than American lines?


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## Emoore

Some German lines have a heavier bone structure than American lines, but they're not necessarily bigger dogs.


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## SunCzarina

Yes german lines have a more solid build than american lines. There are also temperament differences - americans tend to be more easy going. (but not always)


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## Caroline

Thank you.

Basically we want a dog like our first GSD, Thor. This is a picture of him.









Thor died last February, and we finally feel ready to get a puppy.

We currently have a female, named Abby. Here is her picture.









We love Abby to death, but she's so small she doesn't even seem like she's a GSD. (Abby is supposed to be half American and half German)

Unfortunately we got Thor from the paper's classified (I know, stupid stupid stupid, be we were lucky and got, in our humble opinion, the best dog in the world), and don't know much about his breeding, other than we saw his mom and dad, though he was AKC registered. Does he look more German or American?


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## SunCzarina

Thor was very handsome, he does NOT look american to me. If a dog of german lines was born in america, he would be registered through AKC so that doesn't matter in determining the dog's line.

If you know his parents names, you could see if they exist in the pedigree database 

http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/dogs/google_search.html

If they do, someone can help you figure it out from the pedigree information what lines he was.


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## Caroline

I have Thor's AKC papers in front of me, and I tried everything, their names and their numbers. None of them seem to work. I remember being told that Thor had some championship blood in a few generations back. Is there any way I can go on the AKC's site and type in the numbers and find anything?


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## Liesje

I believe the German show lines are really favoring a moderate size right now. The last two WDA (Sieger style) shows I've been at (a regional and the North American Sieger Show) the judges commented on keeping size correct and there were some snickers in the crowd about some of the larger dogs.

So "small" doesn't necessarily mean bad. 

On this board people are always telling me Nikon looks huge. Today he was up against an American Line dog the same age as him and he was considerably smaller than this dog (in height and length....as far as bone they are about the same, this is a heavier boned American dog). So a dog that has a massive head and heavy bone like Nikon appears larger and heavier than he really is.


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## EastGSD

Woah....weird. I just saw this very old thread and the bitch Abby the OP owns was of my breeding..... I met their dog Thor, very nice dog and as far as Abby being small? All the females in this breeding were very correct in secondary sex characteristic...I was actually very happy about that. None of them are over standard for height and are in proper weight. Abby is from a breeding of my Ambred bitch Emma with some German in her background, very outcrossed pedigree to a wonderful German import of WG lines named V- Enzo Brebe Am See ScHh3. This was a wonderful breeding and turned out so very nicely. Our Tobe is Abby's litter brother as well as my Aimee. Photos of them can be seen in my gallery at Cherri Pursell's Photos | SmugMug

Was just a bit set back to see this thread.....as I was told the family was extremely happy with Abby  Hope they were not inferring I in some way took advantage of them.

Cherri


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## GSDBESTK9

Hello and Welcome to the board. Sorry to hear about Thor, Abby is very pretty. Good luck with your search. 

And I agree, BIG GSDs is not a good thing.


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## MaggieRoseLee

EastGSD said:


> Woah....weird. I just saw this very old thread and the bitch Abby the OP owns was of my breeding.....
> 
> Was just a bit set back to see this thread.....as I was told the family was extremely happy with Abby  Hope they were not inferring I in some way took advantage of them.
> 
> Cherri


They admitted they didn't even know the difference between American and German lines. But they loved their huge male (and didn't know his lines). To me, they were in the 'bigger is better' point of view that many GSD people get into when they start off in the breed and have no idea what the standard says for our dogs.

I wouldn't worry about it at all. Sounds like they loved your pup, just she was too small for what they expected....


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## EastGSD

Yeah Maggie I know, its just hard when you try so hard on something and have people saying all these wonderful things to then see something that may imply they had some issues or possibly question the validity of a dog being purebred  I sent her off a note to reconnect, hopefully I am not the breeder being referred to as "burning" them  That would upset me very much.

Cherri


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## MaggieRoseLee

EastGSD said:


> Yeah Maggie I know, its just hard when you try so hard on something and have people saying all these wonderful things to then see something that may imply they had some issues or possibly question the validity of a dog being purebred  I sent her off a note to reconnect, hopefully I am not the breeder being referred to as "burning" them  That would upset me very much.
> 
> Cherri


I really think you just ran into the 'people THINK they know about the breed...............but really..............not so much' 



> *We love Abby to death,* but she's so small she doesn't even seem like she's a GSD. (Abby is supposed to be half American and half German)


Abby sounds like a wonderful dog and exactly what I would have wanted for an agility GSD!!!!!

The size thing is nuts with our breed. BOTH my GSD bitches are at the top of the scale at 24+" and people tell me all the time they are SO SMALL! WHAT :wild: !!!!!!! I have made it my 'job' to tell them all my girls actually a bit too large but would be lovely looking males! (sizewise I mean  )


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## EastGSD

Yeah I hear ya lol Aimee, Abby's litter sister is sooo perfect in my eyes. Problem was CHD  Crap happens in this breed as we all know but, as far as conformation, movement, temperment and drives WOW I love her! Due to my current disability I rehomed Aimee with a very close friend and she just adores her. She has no indication of CHD at all other than on x-ray and she is now 8 years of age. I no longer breed of course since my previous job was 12 hour shifts, caring for a Grandparent with Alz, a very stressful and quick forced move and now my back being bad  I miss it of course but this litter was something I always dreamed of and I am very proud and satisfied with the result. My Emma produced 2 litters with a total of 16 puppies and only one was returned due to the family simply not being prepared for a GSD and that puppy was successfully placed. Emma threw a Futurity placer and a male that was in herding with Ulf Kinzel in NJ as well as just plain solid, pleasant dogs that have made their families very happy. I guess this just bothered me because it was probably one of my happiest placements. Great family!  I just hope they are not questioning their dog's parentage or breeding  I really thought it was a very positive exchange....


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## EastGSD

Have always loved Wildhaus dog BTW Maggie  Very beautiful girls you have there.


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## Freestep

MaggieRoseLee said:


> The size thing is nuts with our breed. BOTH my GSD bitches are at the top of the scale at 24+" and people tell me all the time they are SO SMALL!


I actually prefer my GSDs on the small end of the standard. Right now Vinca is about 55 pounds (haven't measured her to the shoulder) and she is a perfect size. She's only 7 months old so she will probably grow some more, but I wish she'd just stay at the size she is now. Fits in a smaller crate and can be picked up in a pinch. I really don't see the point of wanting a BIGGER dog, it's just more space, more food, more real estate to go over when grooming. JMO of course, and I have a 130 lb. Akbash dog which I adore, but his size can be cumbersome when I have to take him somewhere, put him in a crate, or give him a bath.


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## pattidimassa

Caroline said:


> Hi!
> I live in New Jersey and have had two GSDs in my life. I've been burned by a "reputable" breeder in the past, and thought I'd have my best shot of finding the perfect GSD for my family by asking people who knew what they were talking about.
> 
> I heard Alkarah kennel is reputable, can anyone verify? Please lead me in the right direction and lead me to a reputable breeder.
> 
> Any help or advice would be very appreciated!
> Caroline


Hello

I purchased my girl Hunter from Alkarah in Hunterdon County NJ and she's wonderful. She's stunning in my opinion. Karen was a pleasure to purchase from and I highly recommend her.


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