Grothaus Puppies
Grothaus puppies come with
AKC Papers
Microchipped
Vaccination Records & 30 days of Trupanion insurance
Food & Training Coupons & Samples
Information Binder
3 Year Health Warranty & Contract
Lifetime Breeder Support
All puppies registered names must end with ‘vom Grothaus‘ and come with limited registration until minimum requirements are met.
Puppy foundations
Socialized with adults, kids, cats, big & little dogs, chickens, goats
Introduction to crates, nail trims, car rides and baths. Getting the puppy used to having its face, ears, feet, tail, etc touched
Luring and recall, we start teaching this early at feeding time
Environmental noises such as tractors, quads, vacuums, firearms
Environmental desensitization of different footing, flooring, obstacles
Here at Grothaus Working German Shepherds, we have a focused and responsible breeding program with a goal… We breed dogs that we would want for ourselves. That’s why we keep dogs back from our breeding program to work/train ourselves, so that we personally know exactly what we are breeding. To be a correct and ethical breeder, a true breeder needs to personally know, train, trial and experience what they are breeding. Our dogs live with us, not at other locations and/or other homes/locations, waiting to be bred.
We take the extra effort ourselves and go above and beyond to train and compete with our own dogs. It is not a question of whether you have the ability or not to know a good dog; it is the consistent hands on experience, training (in multiple venues) and trialing/testing at all levels that completes the process. This is crucial to a successful breeding program.
Every puppy and dog that carries the Grothaus kennel name represents us as a breeder. It’s our job and obligation to breed for temperament and health first; working ability and structure follows.
Pricing & Purchase Information
Grothaus puppies are priced at $1800. Individual litters are priced based upon the titles and accomplishments of the parents and the costs incurred to do the breeding. For pricing on a specific litter, please see the individual litter listing, or contact us.
A non-refundable deposit of $300 is required to reserve a puppy from a litter and will only be accepted from individuals who have already completed our interview and screening process. Fill out our PUPPY QUESTIONNAIRE
Once you have filled out a questionnaire and are approved for a Grothaus puppy, you may either put a deposit down, or be placed on our waiting list. A deposit is to hold the next puppy of the specific type you are looking for (temperament, drives, personality, sex, color). The waiting list is just a list that I can refer to once the puppies are born to call and announce what we have available. If you are on the waiting list and we produced the puppy you are looking for, you can then put a deposit down to hold that puppy until it is ready to go home. Please note, we do keep an active waiting list before each breeding takes place. The best way to ensure your next puppy is from Grothaus, is to place a deposit early.
The deposit is $300 and is accepted with a signed copy of the deposit contract after you have been approved. The deposit is not necessarily for a certain pick in the litter, it more stands for your place in line for which puppy works best for your family and lifestyle. I will evaluate the dogs during their entire lives with a dog training and behavior background as they grow under my close supervision. I’ll watch social interactions, confidence, drives, attitude, and personalities. As I watch over the litter of puppies, I can choose which one suits your needs best as a family, lifestyle, training disciplines, and goals. This means that I could have 7 puppies that are suitable, or one. Unfortunately, sometimes mother nature has other agendas besides attending to ours, and number of puppies, sexes, colors, and personalities can never be predicted. If none is the case, due to a deposit being placed on a planned litter and the litter not providing, the deposit may then be moved to another litter. The puppy pages, Facebook and Instagram will be updated regularly once the pregnancy is farther along, and then on until the puppies are sold. There will be pictures and videos and interested parties can watch the puppies personalities emerge as they grow. And as always, I’m available to answer any questions you may have about our dogs, our program and our puppy.
Our puppies are sent to their new homes between 8 and 9 weeks of age and are permanently identified with microchips before going to their new homes. All Grothaus puppies come with a written 36 month Limited Health Warranty and Lifetime Breeder Support. See CONTRACT All Grothaus puppies are sold with AKC Limited (non-breeding) Registration. We will gladly upgrade registration to Full (breeding) Registration once the dog has reached a minimum of 2 years of age and has passed basic tests of breeding suitability. This includes passing hip/elbow evaluations and working title or certification. The only exceptions to this policy are for conformation showing purposes or for pups sold outside the USA where Full AKC registration is required in order to obtain kennel club registration in the customer’s home country.
Grothaus Kennels claims Right of First Refusal on all pups we breed, for the lifetime of the dog. This means that if for any reason a buyer is unable or unwilling to keep their dog, we must be contacted before any action is taken and given the opportunity to take back the dog.
Preference is given to experienced GSD owners and working/sporting homes.
Worldwide shipping is available.
Environmental Desensitization/Socialization
Our puppies are whelped and raised in our home and they are handled daily from birth. They are extensively socialized to people and other dogs and exposed to car rides, crates, gunshots, stairs, tunnels and a variety of different footing surfaces, sounds, places and things.
For a very detailed and comprehensive description of how our pups are raised and the many socialization opportunities they experience, please read our article on How Grothaus Puppies Are Raised.
Puppy Selection
We do not allow people to select their own puppies because we do not feel that doing so would be in the best interest of our puppies OR our customers. No one, no matter experience level, can visit a litter once or twice and get as complete and thorough an understanding of each pup’s individual personality & traits as we can after living with them for several weeks.
Beginning at birth, we spend a significant amount of time each day handling the pups, and as they grow we carefully observe their behaviors and social interactions to gain an understanding of their individual personalities. As time goes on, tug playing and ball playing and the many additional socialization experiences we provide to our pups also serve as important parts of our evaluation process. We keep careful eye on each pup’s reaction to new environments and situations, as this provides great additional insight into that pup’s inherent personality.
We also do not sell pups on a “first come, first served” basis with regards to the order in which deposits are received. Prior to accepting a deposit we spend a significant amount of time getting to know our buyers and learning about their experience, personality and goals. We then carefully select the pup in the litter that is the most suitable. If there are a few suitable puppies, then we will discuss each puppy and the buyer may choose their preference. If the litter does not contain a pup that we feel is a good match, we will offer the customer his/her choice of either a refund of deposit, or to transfer the deposit to a different litter.
We absolutely will not sell a pup if we are not confident that pup and owner will both be happy with the arrangement. Essentially, each person gets the “pick of the litter” in the sense that each pup is carefully matched to each individual customer. In this way, we ensure that each customer receives the pup most suited to his/her lifestyle and aspirations, and each pup is placed in the home that will best meet its needs and realize its potential.
For a better understanding of how the weeks we spend with the pups serves to allow us to properly evaluate them and place them in the most well suited homes, please read our article on How Grothaus Puppies Are Raised.