# Failure To Thrive & North Dakota!



## JessWelsch (Oct 2, 2010)

The pup my husband and I had a deposit on has what the vet is calling "failure to thrive". It's been made pretty clear she most likely won't make it  We were given our deposit back and told we could wait for the next litter or choose to do something else. 

We decided we would look at the other breeders we had bookmarked before we had settled on the one we did. We called a few but their litters were sold with no planned litters until mid-spring 2011. Then we called up another breeder we had been looking at and she has a 12 week old female pup available - only issue is she is in North Dakota (that's a 25 hour drive!) 

Husband got off the phone, we looked at eachother, he shrugged and said to pack the bags... and the fur kiddos.... apparently we are going to North Dakota to meet the breeder, the puppy, and the parents. 

I personally think we are insane (as does our roommate!) :wild: But I won't deny I am excited for a road trip and to potentially bring home a ball of fur. 

I wasn't sure where to post this; feel free to move it if it belongs elsewhere. 


-Jess


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## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

i envy you. my husband would NEVER do anything like that. His favorite thing to tell me is when we get another dog, if we have to drive more than 4 hours away, it wont happen. I had to beg him to let me drive the 3 hours to get Shasta. He loves me and would do anything for me, but he doesnt feel an animal if worth that kind of effort. I feel if the dog would fit and is what i'm looking for, what we're looking for, its worth it. The only reason we have the PB dogs we have, is because I wanted them. He's perfectly fine going to a shelter and playing eeny meeny miney moe but leaving me to do all the training. If i'm gonna have the dog and do all the training (i cant stand living with an illbehaved and unruly animal) its going to be an animal i like and can work with. Dumb dogs.... not for me.


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## elisabeth_00117 (May 17, 2009)

So exciting!

Nice to have someone on the same page! 

Good luck with the drive and the bringing home of your new fur baby!


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## JessWelsch (Oct 2, 2010)

@KZoppa I wasn't expecting him to go for this breeder - if anything I thought he'd say "lets have her shipped" but... he likes to drive and i've explained it is super important we meet the parents so that we know what to exppect as the pup ages! I don't think under normal circumstances he'd drive 25 hours but we had 1 puppy die this year and then the one we had a deposit on isnt doing well at all... and he has to deal with me after I get attached and then it doesn't work out. We consider this like adopting a baby... we dont have any 2 legged children yet (unless you count the birds) so these are my babies and he knows that. : ) 

@elisabeth Thank you! We will post photos when we get home on Sunday assuming she comes home with us! : ) 


-Jess


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## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

JessWelsch said:


> @KZoppa I wasn't expecting him to go for this breeder - if anything I thought he'd say "lets have her shipped" but... he likes to drive and i've explained it is super important we meet the parents so that we know what to exppect as the pup ages! I don't think under normal circumstances he'd drive 25 hours but we had 1 puppy die this year and then the one we had a deposit on isnt doing well at all... and he has to deal with me after I get attached and then it doesn't work out. We consider this like adopting a baby... we dont have any 2 legged children yet (unless you count the birds) so these are my babies and he knows that. : )
> 
> @elisabeth Thank you! We will post photos when we get home on Sunday assuming she comes home with us! : )
> 
> ...


 
i totally understand the furry babies thing. We had Riley and Zena and our cats before i got pregnant with my daughter. My husband knows that if i cant have my kids AND the dogs and cats with us, i'm not going. I've never been without an animal in the house except for a couple weeks here and there. I mentally cant handle not having a dog and/or a cat in the house. I get depressed. During all the hard times i've ever dealt with, i always had my cat there to talk to. No judgements. No name calling. no fighting. My kids love having the animals in the house. I feel safer with the dogs with us. When i lost my cat princess when i was 14 i was 200% devastated. When my husband and i first moved in together and we didnt have any pets. Things were good for a couple months until i apparently started talking in my sleep and then later freaking out because i couldnt find my cat. When we brought Lucky home, i slept better. Its one of the reasons my husband is at least willing to travel a couple hours to find the perfect dog for us. I too want to meet the breeders and the parents of the next pup i get. I would LOVE to have a solid black male or a black sable male but as long as i get my male with the personality i'm looking for from the lines i'm looking into, i'll drive anywhere. Its very cool your husband is willing to bend for you that way. I'll be lucky if my husband is willing to spend more than $200 on a dog. The dog i want from the breeder i want will cost a minimum of $1500. I have a few years to convince him lol. 

Cant wait to see pics if you bring your furry critter home!


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## Elaine (Sep 10, 2006)

I'm sorry the last puppy didn't work out. Who are you getting the next one from?


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## JessWelsch (Oct 2, 2010)

This is her site:
German Shepherd puppies for sale in North Dakota, Breeder, Gaardog kennel

She does everything our other breeder does... the reason she was our 2nd choice was because of the distance and the dogs are "European" vs "German". I'm not sure (now) why that mattered to me... I think I had reasons before...but now it is 4am and we have driving ahead of us lol.... and my focus is on the ball of fuzz that awaits us (hopefully) tomorrow!


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## BlackPuppy (Mar 29, 2007)

You know what I like about that web page? (BTW, I'm far from being an expert.) All the dogs have big smiles on their faces, even the mother feeding her pups. 

Have a good trip. As long as you're heading in that direction, are you going to stop at some of the wonderful natural attractions this beautiful country has to offer?


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## Courtney (Feb 12, 2010)

Enjoy your roadtrip. What a wonderful time of year for one-I LOVE fall.

I hope everything works out and you bring home a fur baby!


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## HayesEquineArt (Oct 5, 2010)

Wow, i'd never drive that far....best wishes! Let us know how it turns out for sure.


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## kidkhmer (Jul 14, 2010)

That's rad !!

_*roadtrip !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*_


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## vat (Jul 23, 2010)

What fun! I looked at her picture on the website and what a cutie she is. Good luck!


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

things didn't work out with the first breeder
we selected. several breeders wouldn't sell us a pup.
after shopping around i found a breeder i felt
comfortable with. i placed a deposit on a pup before it was born.
we never saw the parents except on line. we had our pup shipped to us
and everything was and is fine.

enjoy the road trip and the new pup.


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## GSDElsa (Jul 22, 2009)

Congrats on the new puppy. But I'm curious as to what made you decide to go with this breeder. They don't do titling with their dogs. They are not just breeding one line or type (not sure I've seen any other breeder thow showlines from Germany and US, working lines, and WHITE GSD's into one kennel). Just seems like an interesting choice for a 25 hour drive and that the breeder has way too many eggs in one basket.


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## horsegirl (Aug 11, 2010)

GSDElsa said:


> Congrats on the new puppy. But I'm curious as to what made you decide to go with this breeder. They don't do titling with their dogs. They are not just breeding one line or type (not sure I've seen any other breeder thow showlines from Germany and US, working lines, and WHITE GSD's into one kennel). Just seems like an interesting choice for a 25 hour drive and that the breeder has way too many eggs in one basket.


my thoughts exactly


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## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

What a great guy you have- he's going to be a great dad to 2 and 4 legged kids. I have to say my husband would drive to the ends of the earth to get any puppy I wanted, luckily for him it was only an hour and a half away, but he did drive every time I needed a puppy fix. Can't wait to see your new pup, so sorry the other one didn't work out- such a disappointment. Have a good road trip, nothing like that windshield time


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## spiritsmom (Mar 1, 2003)

That is one cute puppy! Congrats on your new girl - at least the trip home with her will be more fun!


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## JessWelsch (Oct 2, 2010)

Thanks for all the comments! 
We just got home with her! 

I honestly dont know why I chose this breeder, she (the pup) just seemed like the right dog... Hubby and I were ready to make the road trip last another few days if the pup didnt work out but alas... we didn't need to 

I am exhuasted but I will post photos in the photo thread tomorrow evening  


-Jess


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## schroedes (Sep 10, 2010)

i live in north dakota, they are good breeders, good luck! that is a nice area to drive through as well


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