How to Find the Best German Shepherd Puppies for Sale?

Are you looking for a quality German Shepherd puppy— something exceptional? With so many GSD breeders, how do you go about choosing a truly great German Shepherd puppy, but something phenomenal? In order to answer this question, we have to consider the different kinds of German Shepherd breeders. In this article I will give reasons why at a minimum, you will want to limit your search to those breeders with 100%, purebred working line GSDs. Let’s jump into the reasons on why someone interested in getting something truly great should only consider a true, working line German Shepherd.

First, let’s admit there are a ton of German Shepherds around the country. These come in a variety of shapes and sizes. There are backyard breeders who are just having a litter from their pet. There are those just producing to produce for the sake of volume. There are breeders whose focus in on non-standard dogs, selecting for giant dogs or non-standard colors (white, blue, or liver color dogs). And then there are show breeders. And this is where the most push back occurs. For our purposes at Czech Working Lines, we never use show lines in our breeding. In a minute, we’ll get to why. But let’s first start with health. Because arguably, without a focus on health, we have nothing. Then we’ll get into why we don’t use show lines, and why if you want something great, you probably should not either.

First things first, go for exceptional health— great health. What does it matter what kind of ability a dog has to work, whether protection or tracking, if the dog has joint problems or DM. Too many German Shepherd Dogs are known for issues with dysphasia, both hops and elbows. Many bloodlines also carry genetic disease known as Degenerative Myelopathy (DM). Be sure to choose a German Shepherd Dog breeder that is testing for sound hips and elbows. And be sure you are choosing a puppy that does not have DM. Genetic testing has advanced to the point that it is both quick and easy to run genetic testing for DM. Don’t settle for a mystery. Choosing a puppy that you KNOW is not DM affected only makes sense. DM will cause your German Shepherd puppies hind end to drag and stop working properly. This is easy to avoid. The disease is heartbreaking when the dog you love just can’t walk. What’s worse, is that can be easily avoided. And the same goes for good hips and elbows. Choosing a puppy from parents with sound hips, likewise, just makes sense.

Secondly, consider going with a working line German Shepherd puppy over a show line dog. Over the thirty years, show breeders have bred towards what can arguably be described as an exaggerated topline with the roach back leading to all manner of joint problems. Many show breeders will argue against this perspective. We can debate this. But let me propose this question. Go to a structural engineer and ask about how the angulation of the hind end with the severe roach back would affect a building if this were a structure and not a dog. That should be the end of the conversation right there. If that is not enough, call us in person. There is a reason that we at Czech Working Line stay away from show bloodlines. It’s not because we are cheap! Arguably our stud dogs are far more expensive, often ten times as costly as a typical AKC champion. Our IGP titled dogs, especially our IGP 3 titled dogs undergo rigorous testing and training. Training that far exceeds anything you would typically see in a show line. And this is part of what makes these dogs special. This rigorous training process excludes, excludes and excludes more dogs. It eliminates dogs that just don’t make the great, even if their pedigree is great. But for a minute, back to show lines…

Even if we had the opportunity to breed at no cost, without spending a penny, to a Westminster Show winner— we would decline. Our dogs come from the highest quality, imported working line. Going back generations, our dogs come from exclusive, Schutzhund titled dogs. Most of our dogs have 90% or more of their parents and grandparents and great grandparents titled going back generations. Nearly every one of these dogs are IGP 1 to IGP 3 titled. All our stud dogs are DM clear. It is impossible for them to produce a DM affected offspring! By making these choices, we are actively eliminating unproven genetics from our lines.

We call show dogs “do I look pretty show dogs.” And there are good reasons to not go with a show line dog. We are so convinced of this truth that we do not use show lines, not ever! While these dogs might be nice, with a great temperament, and while they might even have good conformation, many of these dogs have lost the ability to do the work that German Shepherds were bred to perform. Without a testing and without constantly checking to see how dogs perform in obedience, tracking and protection work, like any breed, German Shepherds will quickly lose the ability to excel in this kind of work. These dogs were, in the beginning, bred to be working dogs. As working dogs, these dogs were expected work for a living. It was expected they would excel in an ability to track (search and rescue work) as well as demonstrate a biddable character (biddable meaning easy to train). German Shepherd dogs were bred to work. They were bred as tracking dogs to work in search and rescue. They were bred to protect. In the beginning, they were bred to work in the fields with Shepherds who were guarding animals. Not only did these dogs guard the live out with the Shepherds in the fields protecting the animals, but these dogs were guardians of their human counterparts. They guarded the human shepherds from dangerous wild animals. They were bred as protectors. When any breeders stop selecting for these traits, what you will discover is that not all German Shepherds have the same capacity, and in time, the breed loses these traits. Or at least they greatly diminish. This is the reason why we don’t ever use show lines in our breeding. And this is why we go so far as to say we would turn down free access to a stud dog even if the dog won the Westminster show, arguably one of the most prestigious AKC dogs shows in the USA.  In time, the focus on this breed changed to a primary focus on guarding people over animals. This innate ability for protection means well-bred German Shepherd puppies will come from pedigrees where not only are the adults in a given bloodlines are sound, but they will be GSDs that consistently demonstrate a proven capacity for to protect the humans in their life. When appropriately trained, they will attack on command. They will release on command. Great dogs will have a great off switch. By this when we mean when it is no longer time to do protection work, they love their humans. Whether out for a walk or hanging out with their people (for the more serious working line German Shepherd), these dogs demonstrate love and loyalty like few other breeds of dogs.

And this last point sums up this article: look for German Shepherd puppies that come from a bloodline where the dogs will work and do the things that you are looking for. Find a bloodline with proven capacity to work. Find a dog with a great off switch in that will protect in a heartbeat, but come with this great off switch. Well-bred dogs will not be human aggressive. Even though they can be trained protect, the kind of working dog you want in great German Shepherd puppies are those that are health, trainable and with a great off switch. You want a dog with a genetic history that proves this bloodline excels in the working areas that are important to you as a new puppy owner. Arguably, great genetics are those dogs that love their people and are safe around strangers. While looking for trustworthy German shepherd Puppies for Sale, take all the above points into consideration. Great breeders will be those who take all these matters into consideration. They breed for more than “do I look pretty dogs.” Great dogs are dogs that are healthy. They are dogs that come from lines with a proven capacity to work. They are highly biddable. They possess a great off switch. They love their humans and they are emminently loyal. Find a dog like this and you truly will find man’s (or woman’s) best friend. For more articles like this, go to our articles page here on https://czechworkingline.com/.