Buying a GSD puppy – 2

1. Do not buy a puppy from a pet shop unless the quality of the dog does not matter to you and you do not mind health and/or temperament problems. If you ignore this advice you will very likely be helping to support puppy farms and the cruel and inhumane treatment of dogs.

2. Do not rush into buying a puppy. Give the matter some thought and make sure you buy from a reputable breeder.

3. Do not take anything on trust. Ask to see the paperwork for both parents and check it. Check the pedigrees. If either parent has any merit it should be possible to check the pedigree online. If that is not possible then ask yourself why not. Ask what health checks the parents have had and check the paperwork for it. In practice in the UK this means at a bare minimum that both parents should have a satisfactory hip score if you want to reduce the chances of your dog suffering from hip dysplasia. If the hip scores of both parents are not satisfactory and/or there are none then walk away. Obviously you must expect to see at least the mother. If you cannot see the mother then do not consider it any further.

Now, on the previous page you have seen the breeding requirements they insist on in Germany before registering a German Shepherd puppy with a pink paper pedigree there. To summarise the requirements for both parents are:-
1. They must be tattooed and/or microchipped
2. They must be DNA tested
3. They must have satisfactory scores for hips and elbows
4. They must have passed an AD test
5. They must have a schutzhund title (now called IPO)
6. They must have a show result of at least ‘good’
7. They must have a breed survey which recommends them as being suitable for breeding.

The point about listing these requirements is that they are all available in the UK and all of these things can be done here although it does, of course, cost the breeder in time and money and the whole point of testing is to eliminate those dogs which do not pass and which are therefore unsuitable for breeding. The question is how many of these seven requirements can you find in the parents of each litter you look at and what are you prepared to compromise on? You do not have to compromise but if you do you need to understand that each compromise will, to a greater or lesser extent, compromise the health and/or fitness for purpose of the german shepherd puppy you are proposing to buy.

To understand the impact of each of these seven requirements in each parent when you are proposing to buy a German Shepherd puppy in England please continue.