dogthink March 30, 2008
Before I had a full-time, outside-the-home job, one of my hobbies was helping with local dog rescue groups. Over about five or six years, I fostered dozens of puppies and dogs until the rescue organizations could find permanent homes for them. During that time, I got to know lots of different breeds of dogs. My two favorite large breeds are Great Pyrenees and German Shepherds.
Fast forward six years. I am now in a large house with - finally - a large fenced yard. For the first time in a long time, the possibility of adding a large dog to our family seems reasonable. Jon and I are looking at maybe getting a young adult German Shepherd. My cousin James’ family has an absolutely gorgeous 10 month old GSD puppy named Wolfric. He’s everything I would want in a large dog of my own. So today, James took me to meet Wolfric’s breeder , and some of her dogs.
Wow. These dogs are like the Mercedes or Ferraris of the canine world. You don’t have to know anything about dogs to realize that these animals are just a whole different level of doggity goodness. They are also a whole different level of doggity spendiness- costing from $800-$6,000.
Yes, I met a $6,000 German Shepherd today - imported from Germany. He was absolutely gorgeous.
But the one I would have taken home in a hearbeat was a mere $3,000. He was so beautiful and sweet and well-mannered that it’s really quite a lucky thing that I didn’t have a loaded credit card in my hand because I might have done something incredibly irresponsible. That’s how impressive this dog was.
I guess we will be looking at German Shepherd rescue dogs. But I’ll continue to dream of that $3,000 dog. I’ll bet he’d fetch a stick way better than Fiat and Mabel.
Send a note to the local Shepherd group (http://www.gsdcet.org/) and tell them you are interested in a young adult pet instead of a breeding dog.
My Mabel (the French Bulldog) is one of those extremely high ticket dogs. Whenever we take her anywhere people just ooh and ahh over her, and they ignore our other dog - the lovely and talented Lulu (Boston Terrier). Lulu cost 1/4 what Mabel did, was much easier to train, and is much better in temperament than Mabel. So, I’m not sure whether spending as much as a used car costs on a dog was a good investment. Wouldn’t trade her for anything but I don’t think she’ll ever get a sister that matches her. Next dog is going to be a rescue I think, since that’s helping a dog that needs help.
There’s a shelter called Noah’s Arc in Morristown. My daugher adopted two hound mixes and recommends them. (My daughter is a good friend of C’s godmother by the way and went to school with Jon)Good luck with the puppy search!
Here’s a sweet smiling girl:
http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=9489453
I had 2 German Shephards in the past and loved them. I know have a 10 week old girl German Shephard and already love her. I lucked out, a friend of a friend had puppies and was not interested in selling, so I got a full-blooded girl for free. No papers, but that doesn’t matter to me. She makes a great addition to our Rotty and Rodesian Ridgeback dogs, plus one cat.
Dog lover here too. The planning and dreaming is a fun process. Thanks for sharing.
The concern I would have getting a really expensive dog is I wouldn’t want it to be a target for getting stolen. Maybe a microchip would help alleviate that.
My dog is a beauty, and friendly, so I worry about it as it is when I have to leave her at home alone. She’s a purebred with no papers, but she draws attention when we’re out because she’s so pretty. (Of course, it’s also fun when people appreciate your dog).
I also have a nice car, and worry about that too more than I anticipated I would before getting it. I am thinking of trading down in cars. I didn’t think it would matter so much to me that there is a benefit to being able to blend in when necessary.
I love animals but hate the shedding. It grosses me out to smell or see evidence of animals when visiting friends. I chose a breed that doesn’t shed and that works for me.
The German sheperd has it all! brains,beauty no other dog breed has served mankind as much or well as the this noble breed.
The German sheperd has it all! brains,beauty no other dog breed has served mankind as much or well as the this noble breed.
Just chiming in to say that our boy Wolfric didn’t cost in the four digit range. I think a good bit of the higher cost for his siblings now is that his trainer (who is crazy good) has invested lots of time in the past few months in training them. Like, she gets them ready to work as police dogs and competition dogs. James and I didn’t realize that she’d been training them so much. I wasn’t going to say anything, but I wanted to point out that our boy isn’t that cah-razy valuable. You know, monetarily. He’s worth a lot to *us*.
I couldn’t sleep at night knowing that i had supported a breeder. shelter or rescue animals is the only way to go!
I know a lot of very expensive dogs.
Central Park is my dog park.
My sweet lab is good friends with a lovey German Shepard that is the $6,000 variety. This German Shepard has a seriously crazy rich family who traveled to Germany to pick him up and wasted all that money to have him in the family, because he is just a dog without a purpose except to be loved by a family. NO reason to spend money if it’s a family dog.
To all of us in the park he is just like our other friends German Shepard (Balto) who was a rescue GS puppy. Both boys have grown into delightful gentle playful dogs who sniff other dogs butts and chew dirty tennis balls for enjoyment, and love their family.
Be smart Save your money and go for a puppy rescue that is fixed!
whoops, double posted somehow :o)
Good luck with the search! I too thought I’d go the rescue route but came up short because all the dogs I was really interested in were far away and everyone wanted to do a home visit. (Which I do think was a good sign.)
So I went to a wonderful breeder who has since gotten out of the breeding side of it and more into showing her dogs. You can find a great dog in any number of places, including breeders. Some people would have you believe that there’s never a reason to go that route and they’re entitled to that belief, but I appreciated getting to know my dog’s mother, father, and grandmother. Because you’re looking for an adult dog that’s less important; he or she will already have developed an energy that you’ll be able to see.
Happy hunting!
Kudos to you for thinking about rescue dogs! My philosophy on getting a dog is to get what you want, because a dog is going to be a member of your family for a long time. If a rescue dog can do that, awesome! If not, one look elsewhere.
I currently am fostering dogs for a local rescue group, and have been trying to get people to see how wonderful rescue dogs can be by starting a blog for them! Best of luck with your search. http://adoptjoker.blogspot.com/