Top German Shepherd Stud in USA - Page 5

Really, you know GSD people who are willing to mentor newbies on the entire breed, not specific lines only?  People who will offer the pros and cons of each working and show line or who will refer a newbie to someone who would know the nuances they don't? 

I'm beginning to think you're right, Keith. We'll know soon enough if the offers of help continues to go ignored.

Blitzen, yes and no.  The world doesn't revolve around the pdb.  Mittlewest and Kenlyn kennels are two easy ones that I know of that do it and they are some of the big boys.  Haus Miller has, Tom Trainor does all the time, almost forgot about Carlos and his wife Robin is on here. There are plenty more.  Don't confuse your part of the GSD scene as being the all encompassing one.  There are many that are out there to help, the problem is finding those that are willing to listen.

I've hardly run into someone NOT willing to share their experiences with others.  Some definitely have better info than others, but it's not as if everything is some super secret.  Everywhere I trained people would talk for hours, after hours of training about the breed and their experience.

I just revised my post, bc. And for you information I know every one of the people you mentioned above except Trainor; my world may not be as small as you assume.  Kent has bred one of his CH's  to one of my female's sons and he handles him at AKC shows. I know Steve Miller from his participating in trials at our local club. Mittlewest is well known to everyone with GSL.  Everyone I know likes Carlos and Robin and they are always willing to mentor but I don't agree that all the others will mentor newbies based on my own experiences.

This is the only breed board I read or post to, so yes, I do base my opinions mostly on what I read here and frankly the way newbies are treated  most of the time is pretty shameful. No such thing as having a polite discussion about the pro and cons of each major "line" either.  The people  you mentioned don't post here often, I doubt Kent or Miller have ever. Robin amd Mittlewest now and then. Some used to but they stopped because of the hostile environment.

I would hope you know them, I chose some of the bigger names for examples.  And yet they don't count???.....Kent has helped out at ASL shows as well as German shows.  He has looked at dogs ah blah... the world is what you make it.  I have no problem getting help from any of them and I've seen them help plenty of others as well. 

Try to get help here then, see where that gets you. I didn't say they don't count, I said some aren't anxious to mentor newbies for whatever reason that might be perfectly valid. It's people like you and me who spend too much time here.

There is no top stud, there are a bunch of excellent dogs, the key is to do the research and decide what is the best match for your female.

I got my first registered GSD in 2007, and had absolutely NO luck finding a mentor, as badly as I needed one! I did find a breeder willing to answer questions online, but she lived over a day and a half's drive away,

I now live 20 minutes away from an ASL breeder, and though I have a pretty good relationship with him,  there is no way he could mentor anyone interested in showing outside those lines. Same for the vast majority of the schutzhund people I know. They have NO interest in anything other than German dogs, and many of them know very little about their dogs' pedigrees. I was stunned to find how many couldn't even tell me the names of their dog's sire and dam!!

There were a few people on the database who were helpful (Xeph and Blitzen especially) and Fred Lanting, whom I'd met through the Shiloh Shepherds, was willing to answer questions by e-mail, but never had time to give much detail. I put up with a lot of hostility and crap from people on this board, and have seen such terrible attacks on newbies I've even reported them to the moderators.

The climate here now is about the best it's ever been, but I wouldn't say it's newbie-friendly. You'd still better have a pretty thick skin to post here!

"this" isn't the center of the universe and you shouldn't be getting your info from the internet.  Esp if you are a newbie to the breed