We have been overwhelmed by the number
of individuals contacting us in an effort to purchase one of our rottweiler
puppies. While
we feel honored that our efforts in breeding are now widely appreciated and in
great demand, we must stress that much of the success and quality of our litters
is due not only to superior genetics, but also to strict attention toward the
proper and complete care of our brood bitches and their litters. It is our
belief, however, that this level of care is impossible to maintain at such high
standards if we were to try to have more than two or three litters a year. The
only drawback to this philosophy is that after breeding rottweilers for well
over 20 years, we have gotten to the point where we simply do not have enough
rottweiler puppies to fill the demand of what we believe could be many excellent rottweiler
owners. Therefore, after a great deal of thought and consideration, we have
decided to offer those who are interested an opportunity to import directly from
Europe the same top quality German rottweiler puppies that have helped to make our kennel
what it is today.
Before I go any further, let me explain why it
took us several years and a lot of disappointed would-be rottweiler puppy buyers
before we came to this decision. Some of you may already be aware that there are
a good many individuals out there who are importing German rottweiler puppies on a
regular basis. In fact, almost anyone who is willing to do the research and has
access to a German speaking interpreter can locate and contact German rottweiler
breeders
to make arrangements to purchase a rottweiler pup. While all of this seems easy
enough so far, let me explain a couple of major reasons why we feel that most
people have no business trying to import German rottweilers.
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The first reason is simple, the
people are charging far too much money for their rottweiler puppies! From our
experience in the breed, we have seen that the average price that a German
rottweiler import
puppy sells for is maybe three times what the importer pays the breeder. And
although we certainly understand that the amount of time and phone calls it
takes to import a puppy can be expensive and should be compensated for, to
import a rottweiler puppy and sell it for three times what it costs is just too much to
justify. We have even known of a couple of different German rottweiler importers who have charged
almost five times what they paid for the pup! And believe it or not, these
people are still out there doing the same thing. I know this sounds crazy, but believe
me...if you call around enough, you'll see for yourself.
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Another reason we feel that many people are
not qualified to import is that they do not personally know the individuals in
Germany with whom they are dealing. In many cases importers will search for
rottweiler puppies strictly on the basis of cost, not quality, and often times the importer
will really only know one particular individual in Germany. Oftentimes, that
individual is a dog broker, and his job is to seek out an inexpensive (at least
initially!) rottweiler puppy, and in turn sell it to the importer after already making a
commission for himself. Now you can begin to see how this two thousand dollar
rottweiler puppy ends up costing the unfortunate American three to five thousand dollars.
And what is really sad is that in most cases these are not even top quality
German rottweiler puppies.
Now there are several elements that should be
present in order to increase the chances of importing a truly world class German
rottweiler puppy.
First, the importer should personally know the rottweiler breeder in Germany. Ideally this
means a friendship and lasting trust that is usually only possible when the
importer has actually visited the breeder's home. Only then can the importer be
sure that the breeder's rottweilers are raised with the utmost attention towards
nutrition, cleanliness, exercise, and socialization.
This means that an importer
should never buy a dog through a dog broker. Although we have seen this done
successfully a few times (very few), this practice is normally foolish due to
high cost and a terrible ratio of poor to good rottweilers.
Another important
characteristic that is a MUST in a person who imports German rottweilers is a working,
in-depth knowledge of different bloodlines and individual older dogs.
When we say working knowledge we mean that the importer should be a rottweiler breeder
himself, and more importantly should have a reputation for honesty and success
in their own breeding program. They should also have had success in importing
German rottweilers before, so that they are familiar with the many potential problems that they
might be faced with before those problems occur. And if the importer deals only
with German rottweiler breeders who are considered to be average to pretty good at best,
then there is certainly not much attraction in going through all of this time,
money, and trouble to buy a German rottweiler puppy with only mediocre potential. Shipping
arrangements, registration transfer procedures, international health papers,
customs laws...these are all topics and areas that an importer should be well
versed in. It certainly doesn't hurt to be able to speak the German language
either.
One last point: In Germany,
rottweiler puppies are always
sold on an as-is basis, with absolutely no guarantees. This is because the
Germans believe that the idea of putting a guarantee on a rottweiler puppy is ridiculous,
since we are dealing with live animals and genetics. Who besides God himself can
predict with 100% reliability what the combination of two completely different
gene pools will produce. With each breeding the potential chromosomal
combination possibilities are astronomical, and even the most knowledgeable,
experienced, and well intended rottweiler breeder cannot be responsible for that.
So in a
sense, when you buy a puppy you are playing with the odds. This is why it is so
important for the importer to know his bloodlines.
The importer must have researched the
bloodlines that he is importing from in the areas of health (diseases and inoculations),
structural soundness (hips, elbows, bites, eyes), and working temperament
(typical rottweiler drives and instincts). Only then can you be assured that the
odds are stacked in your favor. After all, I would much rather buy a rottweiler puppy
without a guarantee that has a solid, world class pedigree; than I would a
rottweiler puppy
with a guarantee that possesses a mediocre pedigree and may later end up with
crippling hips, look like a doberman, or worse yet, have a temperament that is
either cowardly or viciously unpredictable. And keep in mind that a guarantee is
only as good as the breeder who gives it, and trying to get some rottweiler breeders to
back their guarantees is a whole other story in itself.
If we haven't completely scared you away from the idea of
importing a German rottweiler puppy, there is still hope for those of you that
will not be satisfied with anything less than the very best. We are constantly
monitoring the breedings in Germany, and usually know when an extraordinary
mating is taking place. Getting on the reservation list is normally not a
problem, providing we can assure the breeder that their rottweiler puppy will be going to a
first class home.
German Rottweiler Breeders
The people with whom we work with have reputations in the
rottweiler world that clearly speak for themselves. We are fortunate to have as
friends in Germany people that not only are famous rottweiler breeders, but also several
rottweiler judges for show and/or schutzhund. These are clearly the top kennels
in Germany, and in fact are well known all over the world among serious
rottweiler people. Our friends in Germany put a great deal of trust in us to
find their pups the same kind of conscientious buyer that we would be willing to
sell one of our own rottweiler puppies to.
And if you want one of the very best
rottweiler puppies, an honest desire to show and work the rott would certainly help as well.
In fact, all candidates interested in an import rottweiler puppy must first fill out the same
questionnaire that is required from all of our puppy buyers who would buy from
one of our own litters. In this way we not only know more about the buyer, but
also know more about their goals for their dog. That way the rottweiler breeder is better
able to pick the puppy that is best suited for each individual family or
kennel.
