Frequently Asked Questions
To answer this question properly, would take several pages. So with respect for your time I will give you a very condensed answer. This is really a two part answer.
1. My dogs come from the original lines that were developed in Europe. To this day, European dogs must follow VERY strict guidelines in relation to breeding. They must not only be conformationally correct, but they must also have a working title as well (and many have 2,3,4 or more titles!). They have to prove themselves worthy of breeding, consecutively for many years before being allowed to reproduce. In North America, Joe Blow can take any dog "A" and breed it to any dog "B" and have puppies. That is why you see the huge difference in European lines compared to American lines. Please see my Work Vs Show page for more details.
2. Dogs are my life and always have been. I have spent the last 45 years of my life in the dog industry and have successfully competed with dogs for the last 40 years. My experience in training dogs covers the last 45 years! I must have learned something by now! I own my own Obedience Club and have trained everything from Hearing Ear Dogs to Karelian Bear Dogs and just about everything in between. I KNOW dogs. With my past experience, coupled with the Service Dog Puppy Program, I can develop your dog into EXACTLY the kind of dog you want. Check out the Service Dog Puppy Program to see how many hundreds of hours I spend with each litter and individual pup. A large breeder or a person who breeds on a part time basis could never put in the time and effort I do with mine. Which is one of the reasons I will rarely have more than one litter at a time. I don't have quantity but I sure do have QUALITY! It's worth the wait!
Why do you breed German Shepherds?
For most ethical breeders, the usual answer to that question is "I want to improve the breed." My feelings are"leave the breed alone!" The original German Shepherd has everything you could ever want in a dog. Nobility,self confidence, loyalty, courage, sound temperament and sound body.
I breed German Shepherds because I want to create partners for people. It doesn't matter whether it is a bombdetection dog, a family protector or a Search & Rescue dog. I want to re-create the bond that I have had, and stillhave, with my own dogs. And although you may think that having more than one or two dogs, it is impossible tohave that same bond with all of them, you are mistaken. Just like when you have more than one or two children,you love the sixth child just as much as you love your first. The love does not get divided, it gets multiplied!
How much do your puppies cost and why?
My puppies are $3500. That may seem like a lot to some, and cheap to others. I have paid in excess of $15,000 several different times for a dog, (and just recently!) so, it is relative. I know people who have paid $230,000 for a dog. By my standards, that's an expensive dog!
I spend hundreds of hours with the pups raising them with the guidelines of the Service Dog Puppy Program. This is the same program used to raise Seeing Eye Dogs and a variety of Therapy and Service Dogs. Ask the other breeders if they do sound sensitivity testing and desensitization. Ask if they take the litter out for excursions into the woods. Ask if they bath the puppies after the first fear period. Ask if they know when the fear periods are! Ask if they've taken the pups for a swim or multiple car rides as part of their early conditioning. Ask if they've mildly stressed the puppies at 3-10 days old so they develop more pathways for neurons to better handle stress throughout the rest of their lives. These are all things I do and a lot more. To my knowledge, I am the only breeder of PURE European working line German Shepherds that raise the pups to be K9 Partners in the truest sense of the word. I am not breeding for competition (aggression) and I am the only one who puts that much time, effort and love into each litter. Very few breeders are a professional dog trainer with their own obedience club. What that means is you get all the knowledge that I have accumulated for the past 45+ years. For the lifetime of the dog.
All the dogs at my kennel were either born from dogs imported from Europe or ARE dogs imported from Europe. I have NO American show lines in my breeding lines which means there is almost no problems with hip or elbow dysplasia. I have had only 3 dogs in 25+ years of breeding that have had genetic health problems and I am continuing to work on a daily basis to create dogs that are as healthy as possible. The last dog that was DNA tested was CLEAR on over 180 possible genetic problems.
If you want a partner for life, come to Guardian Angel Shepherds. If you want a healthy, strong and brave pup, with no issues, come to Guardian Angel Shepherds. Don't take my word for it, please check out my References page.
Why can't I just go to a pet store for my puppy?
Oh my goodness! Don't get me started! Here's just a few points. No ethical breeder will sell any of their dogs to a pet store where anyone with a charge card can buy one. (BS to the pet stores that say they buy from local breeders! More like local money grubbers!) Most of those puppies are sick. They do not appear sick because if they do, they are put to death. Usually the illness arrives a few months to a few years after you get the dog and are fond of it. You will most likely spend thousands of dollars trying to keep it alive. The dogs are not purebred which means their lineage is VERY questionable. Have you noticed that the sign says "Pomeranian TYPE"! If the dogs come with "papers" it's from some unknown organization that made itself up so they could "register" the dog. The guarantees you get are filled with loopholes and clauses. The dogs have had no socializing. The dogs are kept in "hamster cages". You are NOT, I repeat NOT, saving a puppy by buying it from a pet store!! All you've done is open up one more space to bring in the next cute, little puppy. As long as there is demand to fill that hole, money grubbing "breeders" will continue to breed dogs, every heat, until the dog is no longer capable of reproducing. And just guess what happens to that dog when it stops producing! The very best way to help "the doggie in the window" is to not create a hole to fill. Do not buy that puppy so that puppy's mother will never be bred again. And better yet, BOYCOTT all the pet stores that sell dogs! I do! And so do all the ethical breeders! And I could go on but I'll get off my soapbox now...
What is the procedure for getting a puppy from Guardian Angel Shepherds?
On my "Extras" page, you will find two links. One is my contract, they other my questionnaire. Please read the contract. If you agree with everything on it, then download my questionnaire and fill in the answers. Email it back to me whereupon I will go over the answers and call you with details. A $500 non-refundable deposit is required to get your name on the waiting list. And just because you filled in the answers does not mean you will get a puppy. They go to "Approved Homes Only". Do not send money with your questionnaire.
What does "approved homes only" mean?
Some of the things I'm looking for are, a fenced yard, supervision, quality time spent with the dog, obedience training, etc. Please fill out the questions truthfully. Do not fill it out how you think I want them answered. You'd be surprised at the answers I want to see. eg. Where will your dog sleep at night? Answers 1. On my bed, 2. In a crate, 3. On the back porch, 4. In the garage. Which is the best answer?? It depends on how you have answered the other questions. So, I won't give you any more hints <grin>, fill it in to the best of your knowledge.
Do you have a waiting list, and if so, how long do I have to wait?
It is common to have a short waiting list. I have only a few house dogs so therefore I have only a few litters. I try to have my litters in the spring and fall, so if you're inquiring in the winter, you may have to wait until the spring. If you are inquiring in the summer, you may have to wait until fall. As for how long exactly? It depends. Best thing is to contact me and see if we're expecting puppies and when. One of the benefits of being on a waiting list is you get to be part of the puppy raising procedure! You wait in anticipation of the upcoming litter, you see the pups via pictures the day they are born, you follow the individuals and their antics on a weekly basis, until you finally get to bring that cute little fur ball home!
What if you have six puppies and I'm the sixth person to pay a deposit on a puppy? Does that mean I get the worst puppy?
Absolutely not!! There really is no "last" person on the list. Each puppy is carefully chosen for each individual or family by their innate characteristics. Each person will get the puppy that suits his or her situation the best. So it doesn't matter if you are the first name that comes up or the last, you will get the dog of your dreams!
Why do you pick the puppy for me? I've had several German Shepherds and know what I'm looking for!
​I absolutely agree that you know what you're looking for! However, being a professional trainer, dog psychologist and behaviourist, and spending hundreds of hours with the puppies, I know the puppies better than you do.
Mass media says you should pick the pup that runs up to you and not the one who hangs back. Maybe yes, maybe no. Maybe the one who ran up to you is the Alpha puppy. If that's the case, do you really want the puppy that is suited for police work and needs 4 hours of exercise a day to prevent him from becoming destructive?
Maybe you want the one who hangs back because he's a "thinker". "I'll check out these guys from afar and if all seems safe, I'll go say hi then". Is that a bad thing for a brand new puppy? Of course not. Personally I love dogs that think. It keeps me on my toes! And that thinker can still guard your family as good as the one who charges in!
What if the two times you come to visit, Mr. Green is laid back and cuddly. You're looking for an average pet with a more couch potato attitude because you work physically hard all day and you don't have the energy to exercise a dog for hours when you get home. Mr Green should work out perfectly. HOWEVER, what you don't know is that Mr. Green is the Beta (2nd from the top) and both times you were here, he had just finished have a tousle over who's Alpha. He's exhausted and just wants to sleep and be cuddled. So you see where I'm going here...
I could see that in a different breed, if you picked an Alpha Pug, it wouldn't be a problem. But these dogs are working line German Shepherds.
I've heard Working Line German Shepherds have too much "drive". What does that mean? And is that true?
"Drive" is the desire, by instinct, to do a particular behaviour. Most dogs have high drives in some areas and not in others. They are deliberately bred that way. For example, a Labrador or Golden Retriever have a high prey drive. Prey drive is the desire to chase after things. They have been bred for hunting purposes to want to run out, retrieve that duck, and do it a hundred times if necessary. Goldens and Labs are happiest when chasing a ball. So those breeds of dogs have high prey drive.
Working line German Shepherds also have high prey drive. They were developed that way because they are herding dogs. Shepherds... German Shepherds. Most people don't really think of them that way anymore. But their original purpose was to herd the stock to market and then protect the stockman as he made his way home with a pocketful of money.
So when someone says a working line German Shepherd won't make a good pet because they have too much drive, they really don't even know what they are saying.
What I think they are trying to say is that a working line German Shepherd can become an awesome police dog which therefore means he is very aggressive and wouldn't make a good family pet. Again, WRONG! Agreed, some of the working line dogs would not make a good pet and should be placed in police or security jobs. But the police and security dogs live with the families of their handlers. Do you think they'd put their children at risk by having an unsafe dog? Highly doubtful. The difference is, those types of dogs need a lot of exercise (physically and mentally) and they need strict rules and training on a daily basis. The dogs that are used for those jobs have impeccable temperaments. In fact, dogs that are used for those purposes "get the bad guy" because they have been taught this fantastic game of "chase and tug". That's all it is. Chase and tug.
Now, when you are talking about my dogs specifically, I breed for a large range of temperaments and energy levels. I'll have couch potatoes and high energy dogs. Therapy dogs and police dogs. Will I give I give a family a police dog? Never. A therapy dog? Possibly. The important thing is I will give you the dog of your dreams and you will not be disappointed.
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The deposit is $500. Please do not send money until you have been approved via the questionnaire. It is a non-refundable deposit. This is to make sure that I know I can count on you to not change your mind at the last minute and that I also know, that the puppy I bring into this world, has a wonderful place to go and will be cared for for the rest of their life. At the age of 2 weeks, $1000 is due. By this time, I know that the pups are healthy and growing and this helps me offset their expenses as they grow. (costs incurred by the new puppy building, 25 lbs of puppy food/week, cost of puppy sitters when I can't be around, new blankets, laundry detergent, extra electricity for heaters, lights, washing machine & dryer etc., paper & printer ink, internet, telephone, advertising costs, etc. The remaining amount is due when you pick up the puppy.
I see on your website that you are a lifetime member of the Canadian Kennel Club. What does that mean?
I'm so glad you asked! I'm very proud of that! It means I have been a member in good standing of the Canadian Kennel Club for FORTY YEARS! And I didn't even become a member when I started seriously getting into dogs. By the time I was 23 years old, I had already earned a Canadian Championship and put many obedience titles on my dogs. It was then I finally got around to becoming a member of the CKC. I was very disappointed when the CKC changed the rules from 30 years to 40 years. And it just so happened to be the 30th year of my membership! 8-( But I've now reached 40 and they can never take away that honour now!
I've read the FAQs page, do I need to read the rest of your website?
Absolutely. If you are serious about getting a Guardian Angel Shepherd, you need to know as much about the people and dogs as possible. There are pages and pages of information that will help you make an informed decision on how to receive the best partner suitable for you and your family.
So go grab youself a cup of coffee, sit down, peruse the pages and enjoy some quality time.
If you have any questions that you would like to see on this page, please email me at k9trainer@dogwhisperer.ca with your suggestions!