At Vom Zeder Haus we are very modest people and we are thankful for all that we have. We live the lifestyle as did rural Europeans many years ago. We begin at daylight with a pot of strong black coffee, and we watch the sunset over a mug of strong German beer. In between.... its all hard work. We beleive the best things in life are German Shepherds, a stack of firewood,and Thoroughbred Racehorses...........
Our website is to serve four purposes.........
To assist us in finding appropriate placements for our German Shepherd Dogs and German Shepherd puppies.....To give people in the U.S. the opportunity to acquire a West German Shepherd of true German lineage....To serve as an educational tool for people in the U.S. about the German Shepherd breed....And our #1 goal....To protect the heritage and integrity of the magnificent German Shepherd breed.........
At Vom Zeder Haus, we breed with the same philosophy and approach as was done in Germany from about the early 1930's thru the mid 1990's.Or that is done in the Czech republic and Slovakia today. This to produce a very well rounded German Shepherd,not just a dog of beauty,not just a dog with working ability,but a physically well structured dog which also possesses incredible instincts and intelligence. Such a dog should also possess outstanding bone volume,good color and pigmentation.The dogs we produce at Vom Zeder Haus,fulfill such roles as police tactical work,search and rescue,as well as narcotics detection. However 95% of our dogs are placed as companions to individuals and families.While these are tough rigorous working dogs, they also make the best companions and are very affectionate toward their owners.They,like most other mammals also need love and emotional support. Thats why we primary seek families and individuals as placements for our dogs....
Regarding our 100% buyback policy, when we place a German Shepherd,we don't want you to be 75% or 99% satisfied with your dog.We want our owners to be 100% satisfied,and if not, we would want you to bring your dog back. This policy is actually more for our dogs than our owners,if someone wasn't completely satisfied,or couldn't take care of their dog for some reason,the buyback policy protects our dogs.
We at Vom Zeder Haus are passionately against the exploitation and commercialization of the German Shepherd breed. That is....doing anything to make money from this breed which typically involves breeding inferior dogs that do not possess the qualities to contribute to the breed, and producing too many puppies.
Because of the stance that we have taken at Vom zeder Haus regarding the exploitation of this breed,and because we do have an extremely successful breeding program,we receive allot of backlash and criticism not only from other breeders,but from people that we turn away as potential placements.We however are not complaining as we know it goes with the territory of being successful and setting ones self apart.
Regarding potential placements for our dogs......while we do some times take deposits for puppies through the mail from good placements who live too far away to visit,we prefer for prospective placements to visit our kennel in person.Not only do we want to meet you,but we want you to see what we are truly about,not just what you read on this site or on the Internet anywhere. If at all possible,always visit a kennel so you can meet the breeder,meet the dogs and see their facilities.
Regarding the price of our dogs, we only seek to cover our operating expense.The price of our dogs and training is dictated by our overhead.The fact that we don't have to do this and really don't need your money, is one reason that our breeding program is so successful.
Our dogs are not economic entities that we have acquired to breed and make money.While our dogs are some of the top in the world, and have been hand picked to be a part of our kennel,they are also beloved family companions and will never leave Vom Zeder Haus.We are very flatterd by the incredible amounts sometimes offered for our adults and young dogs,however they just simply aren't for sale.
We breed under the strict guidelines of the German Standard.The basic premise of the standard is that you only breed to improve the breed as a whole.Therefore we only breed Confirmation-Schutzhund quality dogs and only produce a maximum of 5 litters a year.In these Elite West German lines,5 litters equals 25-28 puppies.Its said that there are only SIX German Shepherd breeders in the U.S. truly breeding under the German Standard, thus producing German quality dogs.
We do not tube feed puppies.Your better kennels in Germany don't do this,and we don't do it at Vom Zeder Haus.Many puppies from birth to two weeks of age become weak and stop nursing.Medically its called ''Fading puppy syndrome''.Most breeders tube feed these puppies to keep them alive because they need your money.This creates inferior dogs that were not strong enough to make it on their own.When animals or mammals are the result of decades of select breeding,survival of the fittest is very prevalent.Again,tube feeding is not popular in Germany and its not done at Vom Zeder Haus.Our puppies survive because they are genetically strong.
It doesn't matter whether you seek a German Shepherd from us, whats important is that you acquire a quality dog and not allow some one to con or scam you into buying an inferior dog. Its also important that you don't support the puppy mills and the exploitation of German Shepherds in the U.S.
There is the furniture maker who has been doing so by hand, using the finest materials, taking his time and putting his heart, soul and pride into each piece.Then there are furniture makers who are mass producing their products out of laminated wood and particle boards. The passionate furniture maker however keeps going because it is his passion,and because there are those who possess the intelligence to recognize the quality of his work. Some times we feel like the passionate furniture maker.Some times we feel like a sparrow in a hurricane filled with puppy mills and the exploitation of the German Shepherd breed.We keep going because this is our passion and purpose in life.We do get discouraged by those who continue to support the exploitation of this breed.We do some times get discouraged by those who want to belittle our kennel for their own agenda.But to be a German Shepherd breeder in America who takes the stance that we have taken,it is to be expected and we have to be tough skinned. It is up to prospective placements to do their research,visit multiple kennels and then make up their own mind. It is those select few, who do their research,and ultimately possess the intelligence and character to make the right decision to pursue a dog from a quality breeding program,thats what keeps the German Shepherd of true German lineage and origin going!!....and thats what keeps us going!!!!
Breeding quality German Shepherds is expensive, time consuming, and allot of work.Thats why almost ALL breeders in the U.S. are not producing quality or real German Shepherds,they are only in it for the money.
You will never find true German Shepherds for sale in a newspaper, nor will you find true German Shepherds being produced in some ones house or backyard. Websites are easy to build and words are cheap. When you visit a kennel be observant to their facilities, and ask to see the dogs move around outside of their kennel and OFF A LEASH.Each dog should be under complete control of the owner/handler. People who are breeding for the right reasons will naturally have older puppies or adults at their kennel that they have kept for themselves.Ask to see these dogs, then you will see first hand what is being produced there.When older dogs become infertile they become nothing more than liabilities to the puppy mills and exploiters of this breed. Unfortunately, one way or another,such dogs leave the kennel. Breeders who are breeding for the right reasons love their dogs and nurture them in their old age.Tell a breeder that you want to see their retired dogs that they no longer breed!
One reason that Americanized German Shepherds are so plentiful compared to true German dogs is that high quality genetics that are a result of decades of select breeding are very hard to reproduce. The same applies with the Thoroughbred horse. An Americanized German Shepherd, just like a mixed breed dog has a high fertility rate.They have big litters and most will live.
Contact any of the 6 or so breeders in the U.S. who are breeding German quality West German Shepherds or contact any of the hundreds of kennels in Europe and you will find that acquiring a true West German Shepherd is a process. First and foremost you have to be selected as a placement, then put on a waiting list for a short while. If you need a dog or puppy today or within the next few weeks, don't support the puppy mills and the exploitation of the German Shepherds breed, go to your local animal shelter. You will be much better off and will have saved a dogs life in the process! A good friend who breeds and trains in Germany once told me this....''A person who does not have the patience to wait on a good dog, the ability to understand that this is a process, and the intelligence to recognize the difference would not make a good placement anyway! These dogs deserve better than that''!! Our friend has been a highly successful breeder and trainer in the Bavarian Alps for over 50 years.
Beware of the large commercial kennels who spend thousands in advertising,there nothing more than puppy mills and they had rather you not visit. They just want your money and they will ship a dog to you.
Beware of people and breeders who state that they raise and socialize their dogs in a house and speak of this as if it is a good thing.True German Shepherds are tough rigorous working dogs that evolved from the mountains of Germany. While many of our dogs spend much of their time in the homes of their owners, a German Shepherd puppy needs to spend allot of time outdoors. A puppy who spends most of their time indoors is at a great disadvantage and will never develop the keen instincts and intelligence that he or she would have developed otherwise. Have you ever saw a German Shepherd that acted more like a Cocker Spaniel, that dog has spent too much time inside, especially during their puppy hood. A so called breeder who states that their dogs and puppies are socialized inside is clueless and knows nothing about the German Shepherd breed!!
Beware of so called breeders who boast about breeding over sized or large dogs! This is where all of the Hip Dysplasia, joint and cartridge problems came from. The Europeans breed for correct structure, color and pigmentation, intelligence, instinct, working ability and temperament.
Be careful when pursuing an older puppy or young adult in the U.S. True German Shepherds are extremely intelligent and affectionate to their owners. Why would anyone want to sell such an animal? Maybe a physical or temperament issue? Maybe the product of a puppymill? When puppies are placed from a quality breeding program, there is usually much discretion regarding the placement, and some type of buyback policy if something goes wrong. Be cautious when offered an older puppy or young adult!
Be cautious regarding what you read in books and publications about German Shepherds. They were written by writers trying to make a dollar, not hands on German Shepherd people. I would love to publish a book, I don't have time!!
Obviously, we are adamantly against the exploitation of these magnificent animals in the United States. Vom Zeder Haus could breed our females every time they have an Estrus Cycle or we could acquire more females. For everyone of the 4000-5000 request we get annually for dogs we could have one available and make allot of money! We could also open a used car lot selling cheap troubled cars to those whom we could get to buy them.Were not going to do either of these things!! My Maternal Grandfather, a German, told me when I was a child...''Always take the high road and the hard way,the low road and the easy way will get you there faster, but you will have nothing when you reach your destination''.We will repeat something that we stated earlier on this page....If you do not have the patience to wait on a quality dog from one of the kennels in Europe, or the handful of kennels in the U.S. producing true German Shepherds,do not support the exploitation of this breed!! Go to your local animal shelter!! They have many good dogs that need adoption,and we promise you that any of these dogs there will make a better companion than an Inferior and Americanized German Shepherd. In addition, you will not have to deal with the unstable temperament,Hip Dysplasia,joint problems,or Cancer.
We want to make it clear that we are not the only breeder in the U.S. breeding true German quality dogs and breeding under the German standard. We are proud however to be one of the approximate 6 in the U.S. to fall into this category. We also want to thank these other breeders who like us, are doing this to take this breed forward and improve the breed as a whole.
Vom Zeder Haus is selective with whom we place our puppies, so we would like to say ''Thank you'' to our many owners for giving ''us'' the opportunity to place a puppy with you.
We also appreciate the American Kennel Club for all of their assistance and professionalism.
We do much of our own Vet work, however The ''Harrogate Hospital for Animals'' in Harrogate Tennessee helps us keep our dogs healthy and functioning at the highest level. We appreciate Dr. Kim Carney and her staff for their assistance and good work!!
We very much appreciate Josef and Taunya Mravik of Zlate Morave Slovakia for what they are also doing for the German Shepherd breed. Josef speaks six languages and is one of the top Schutzhund trial Judges in the world.He is the best Schutzhund/SVV Trainer in the world. Josef and Taunya have assisted Vom Zeder Haus in aquiring elite German Shepherds from Europe. Josefs biggest language barrier may be trying to understand our Tennessee accent....................
At Vom Zeder Haus, we do not employ a kennel manager, secretary,maintenance personnel or grooms. We also do most of our own Vet work. There is no mortgage involved with our facilities or property as we own it all. This is how Vom Zeder Haus can place West German, Confirmation-Schutzhund quality puppies at 1/3 to 1/2 of the price of almost any other kennel in the world with these sames lines and quality.
Regarding the German Shepherd breed in the U.S.,we tell it the way it is.......We do not want to offend any person,nor do we want to make enemies,however our purpose is to promote and protect the German Shepherd breed.We will only breed German quality dogs,and we will only place our dogs with quality people. We don't do this for money because we don't need your money!! You will not find Vom Zeder Haus advertised in ANY magazine or publication. We don't pay to have our website placed at the top of internet search engines.We however are the only kennel in the U.S. to still consistently maintain a waiting list for dogs!!!!
Professional breeders with quality dogs do not produce puppies and then try to find buyers, They produce puppies to improve the breed and their clients reap the benefits!! West German Shepherds are a must in life!! Yes,we are extremely selective with our placements, and yes we receive thousands of request annually for dogs, but don't let that intimidate you!! All were looking for is intelligent, responsible, quality people to place these dogs with.If you feel you fall into that category, we want to hear from you!!
Vom Zeder Haus
German Shepherds
423-912-6888