Breed advice please

oranges81

How would I start to build a relationship with a breeder once I found one? 

It just kinda happens, intuitively.  When I was looking for a dog over a year ago, I contact a few breeders in the area.  One dodged all of my simple yes/no questions and kept telling me to call her husband or would give me a list of puppies and prices.  It just gave me a vibe like they did not want to answer my questions b/c they already knew I would not like the answers. They didn't seem to know anything or care about their dogs.  The other breeder, Kenya's breeder, answered all of my questions, gave me suggestions, etc.  I went to her house just last night.  She has a dog I am sort of interested in getting a puppy from in the future.  At our next meeting she is going to show me the dog's bite work (even let me wear the sleeve, lol) so I can decide for myself.  Last night I asked her a question about training and she took out one of her dogs to show me how to do it.  Then she invited us to Applebees.  Also when I brought my dog in she ran right up to her with her tail wagging and licked all over her "grandma".  She told everyone "this is the dog I tube fed to keep alive".  It is evident she cared for the dog then and still cares for the dog now.  She could disregard my e-mails, or tell me to pay her for a private lesson if I want help.  Money has never, ever come up between us b/c the relationship and the wellness of our dogs is the most important thing. 

Kewl! Thanks! That helps a lot  

Try this breeder. A LOT closer to you and I've heard very good things.

http://www.bullingershepherds.com/

snownose

....I am actually responsible for some of the chewing that took place in the past......up until Rumour I never crated a dog and was not a fan of crates.....

LOL! If I didn't have a crate for Eko, I don't think I'd have all four walls of my house standing. He's not a GSD, of course. And he's far from hyper. But he's a chewer. He'll casually start gnawing at the door jams or stairs if you aren't on top of him. Chairs. Tables. Anything, really. And this is not for a lack of appropriate chew items!

I've seen what he does in 30 seconds, I shudder to think what he could do in 30 minutes.  

Wow! That is a lot closer. I may have to drop them an email.. *ponders*

Thanks for the link! I am seriously considering getting a GSD now and BF agrees so now it's just the hunting and waiting game.  

Dog_ma

I've seen what he does in 30 seconds, I shudder to think what he could do in 30 minutes.  

Lol! In the time I turned my back(so 2 minutes to deal with the cat) Maze at the corner of my couch, destuffed a large plush chair and proceeded to eat her bed which was IN her crate! Lol. Serves me right for not paying attention. Lol. Then again she was also 3 months old when she did that.

Have you ever thought of a Dachshund? They don't know they're small. They adapt to most any situation. They make great agility dogs and with the three coats to choose from your in control of how much grooming you want. Then there's the 2 sizes as well. And don't even get me started on colors!

Of course I'm just a tad biased on this subject.

My mom has one. Lol! He's a neat little dog. But I'd be worried about back problems later on. And I'd be worried about stepping on them. Which is also why I don't own a Chi yet. Lol! Thank you thou! 

Maybe I can borrow my Mom's Dachshund for awhile Lol.