Our Breeding Philosophy –
The
Haven Kennels primary breeding goal is to produce German Shepherds with
sound and healthy confirmation; calm and stable temperaments; and high
trainability for use as service dogs. The German Shepherd breed is
highly suited for this work and German Shepherd puppies from Haven
Kennels breeding excel in this type of training.
We
believe that a well-bred German Shepherd is the best canine companion a
person can have. There are different types of German Shepherds, and
these types are very much divided by their country of origin and the
work that they were bred for.
At
Haven Kennels, we have taken what we consider “the best of both worlds”
approach to breeding by combining AKC and West German Showlines. I
feel that the AKC/GSDCA breeding practices have “Americanized” the dogs
too much. It is my opinion that the AKC dogs are slighter in stature
and more feminine looking but I also feel that the West German Showlines
have carried the rear angulation too far producing a severely roached
top line and over-angulated rear in some lines. Line breeding and
occasional in-breeding in the AKC Show Line dogs has caused a number of
health issues in the American dogs.
Brienne of Tarth von Haven
Taking
all these things into consideration we have chosen to breed the best
AKC lines, by thorough health, genetic and temperament testing, with
specifically chosen West German Showline dogs exhibiting sound
structure, excellent temperament and working capabilities. In the spring
of 2016 we whelped an amazing litter of 10 puppies of outstanding
quality proving that our breeding theories had merit. Our goal to
produce a German Shepherd Dog with strength and beauty, coupled with a
sound healthy body, stable temperament and high trainability has been
achieved and now we will work to maintain this breeding standard. We
feel we are producing the best German Shepherd for the average American
family to own.
