How it began
Since I was a child I have had a fondness for the German Shepherd Dog. It wasn't until 1997 when I was working at a top dog training facility in Northern IL did I get my first German Shepherd, Etu. He was a wash out from their police program. He proved to them later, after I had him for a while, that he could have made it in the program and they shouldn't have washed him out. I am glad they did though because he was the best German Shepherd I have had. He was loyal to the core and the epitome of what a German Shepherd should be. Having him initiated my research of his bloodlines. I started going to Schutzhund Clubs to watch and later train with those that knew the dogs in Etu's pedigree and educated me about the qualities of each dog, mainly his sire DDR Addi von den Tonteichen SCHH3 FH1 .They knew his sire was a very strong dog and saw alot of him in Etu.
It was then that I started to really look into the bloodlines and research the dogs I liked. Certain looks caught my attention but the dog also had to be of sound mind, good health and biddable. Training dogs and having to train many poorly bred German Shepherds made me appreciate that I had a well bred, stable temperament, and healthy working German Shepherd. I wanted to produce that. I had a breeding plan in mind, but as some plans go...well, it didn't go the way I wanted. I wasn't able to breed Etu to the female I had acquired, sadly he had passed away before she was old enough to breed. I did breed a dog I had acquired that Etu helped to raise. Etu was such a stable male around young pups. He helped raise the new pup out of a Czech border patrol dog Congo Vikar. Etu was a great influence on Dar and along with the good bloodlines Dar came from, Etu helped to shape him in to an outstanding representation of the German Shepherd breed.
The female was out of good solid West German Working lines. Dar and her produced some pups with good confidence and balanced drives, that helped when working on their focus and training. The plan was to breed this WG female to Etu, hold back a female and later breed her to Dar when she was old enough (and of course cleared of all health issues) but since that didn't work out I bred her to Dar. During the time of the litter being born I made a big life changing decision that went horribly wrong and stopped me from proceeding all together in my breeding program endeavors.
Fast forward, all is much better and I am in a place where I can once again proceed with my plans. I have lost my beloved Dar and for a while was without a well bred German Shepherd. Things just didn't seem right. So I imported a female. She has just about all the dogs in her pedigree I ever researched and had interest in since 1998. So I will once again continue my breeding program.
Fast forward, all is much better and I am in a place where I can once again proceed with my plans. I have lost my beloved Dar and for a while was without a well bred German Shepherd. Things just didn't seem right. So I imported a female. She has just about all the dogs in her pedigree I ever researched and had interest in since 1998. So I will once again continue my breeding program.
"The breeder on a small scale, one who works with one or two bitches, is the most suitable breeder for working dogs because he can care for his breeding animals and their progeny… and can produce sound strong animals that can be trained." Max v Stephanitz