Nine new additions to our house out of Nessie (the sea monster); sired by Sherman (the tank). Born today.

Congratulations! What a beautiful family.

Thank you - Number 10 born just now, 9.5 hours after her first!

Update, now at 11 after 10 hours. and we are not sure that she is done...

Update 2: Now an even dozen! Mom and pups all seem healthy!

Update 3: A baker's dozen, 11 hours after the 1st!

Gee, she is an over achiever, isn't she? I can't wait to see some snaps of the young'uns playing in the pond.

I will be picking up puppy formula and a bottle tomorrow. My wife has been rotating the fattest ones out every couple hours during the midwifing process. We bred her this one time to give a pup to a good friend (hope they take 2), but I may not be able resist keeping a sable male myself (even have a name: Mauser). Just what we need - a 4th German shepherd in our small house, but we do have a very big yard. We sleep well at night with all those teeth on the watch:) We will have Nessie spayed after this, but I find letting a female GS have one litter seems to make for a better adjusted dog. Its hard to let pups go when you are unsure of how someone will treat the dog. Our dogs have always been part off our family. After a few weeks, it will be fun to watch them play. What fun!

Congratulations! I'm trying to wrap my mind around having 16 shepherds. I think yer gonna need a bigger couch!

When you put it that way, its a bit scary. Fortunately, my wife treats all our dogs like only children. And they know who their mommy is. The real work will be in finding good, loving, and capable homes for 10 or 11 pups.

Looks like lucky 13 is the final number!

That mom is going to need a serious amount of feed to keep all those pups fed. Wow, what a litter!

She is very healthy and fit, which is probably why she carried so many pups (gets a bit of venison every day as do our other 2 dogs). Over 25 years ago, our first girl had a 14-puppy litter which my wife helped feed with puppy formula. This girl is bigger and stronger. We did not breed our dogs since then, but these two dogs are tremendous shepherds both physically and personality-wise. That is why I am considering keeping a 4th dog (or maybe I am a quarter-bubble off). All the pups seem to have strong voices, and mom seems to be a natural doting mother.

Oo, we were thinking about getting a German Shepherd as a companion to our pup and a little security in the house. Our current pup is a lousy guard dog but a great companion. My wife would feel a lot better with a dog that can look down on visitors.

Keep us posted on progress.

RAH,

Congratulations, very fine looking bunch. My daughter has been researching different German Shepard lines, she was curious about the lineage of yours. Thanks.

Bryan

Beauties!!! I raised GSD for several years for a living. This was my last one, as a pet...135 pounder...

We are looking for homes that will treat the pups as family and have a full time at-home caretaker (no crating). GS dogs need a knowledgeable caretaker to raise and train them. These are working dogs and very very smart companions, not show dogs. I was raised with GS dogs and my wife and I have had GS dogs for our 34 years of marriage. These will be superior dogs (the best we have come across), but not to be trifled with. Dogs like these often die within a short time if their masters die. They are loyal to a fault to masters that are loyal to them. Add 15 year to your age and determine if you can dedicate this amount of time to them. If you can, then please contact us. These dogs will likely be shy of 100 pounds (ripped) as that is the maximum size for this breed without health issues.

Rah, I really like your adoption criteria.

My wife is retiring next year, and we're getting dogs again, so we're currently looking for Rhodesian Ridgeback breeders that are pickier than we are. Most of the RR breeders require an application before you can even get on a puppy list, and I'm very ok with that. We miss our Ridgebacks Zeke and Zippy, and our farm would be a perfect home for a couple of new family members.

I have always been interested in that breed, but have stuck with what I know. Each breed has its own character which also varies within a breed among individuals. Our 3 have the classic GSD personality, but each is a bit different too. Our younger male is fearless.

All very true.

Congrats on the pups, and I hope you find great owners and homes for those babies.

The only problem we have is my wife is small (4'8") and would have a tough time being boss. We may have a tough time keeping a dominant dog in line, and had this problem with a Aussie. A laid back softy would be an great fit if one shows up. My wife is home all but 3 days a week.

We will have to think about it, and see how personalities develop. We have lots of running room, and no crating in our house except for travelling purposes. Our dog goes everywhere with us! No intention of slowing down in 15 years, and the dog will need to help us with that as much as we help them. Our little Shortstop was raised with GSH and she thinks she is one except for absolutely no guard dog skills whatsoever.

Size and strength has nothing to do with dominance IMO. Its about attitude. The dominant dog in my best friend's house is a rat terrier. We already have a waiting list on the pups via word of mouth. Now comes vetting each home. Its not about intentions, but rather execution when it comes to caring for and training dogs. Mom is getting stronger every day. Pups are fat and happy. Looks like I have 2 sable males to choose from. Got most of the stone spread around the new barn this past last weekend. Finally got some good weather!

Almost 2 weeks and Mom is still keeping up with her 13 little ones.

Gone mobile! And starting to eat solid food. Mom is eating a dozen had boiled eggs per day along with liver, venison, and cottage cheese, but is still skinny as a rail.

6 weeks tomorrow and too active to get a shot with all 13 pups.





And Dad is so proud

Great looking dogs all the way around. I have had 2 all white German Shepard dogs (along with others). We will get one again but you are correct they do take time but with that comes great loyalty to the family. Good luck.
Dave

Pups just got back from the first vet appointment and the vet could not believe that none had worms. They had to be taught to use the dog house when it rained today as well. Now that they had first shots, we'll let the ones go if some folks want them home early. I like to wait until at least 8 weeks, but we have taken home pups at 5 weeks before. Sledge, the big grey, will be staying with us... To connect this back to ponds, the other male shepherd (he is neutered) was a lab born in the body of a German shepherd. He is stick driven and leaps off the dock into the water to retrieve anything thrown in the pond. He also has the nose of a bloodhound. We all notice the differences in our "children", but when they set up a perimeter, evenly spaced across the yard to set up guard when something goes bump in the night, their true nature is revealed. They are soldiers. Love this breed!

OOOHHH, what adorable pups. May you find them perfect homes, as they so deserve.

Huge litter! Cute pups! I would keep the litter together till 8 weeks and in fact it is against the law in some states to sell them earlier. Those last couple of weeks of litter socialization help them learn bite inhibition. Good luck!

Early ones will be given to friends if they really want them early (now that they have first shots). I have heard the recommendation on keeping them longer with the litter, but my lifetime experience with German shepherds does not support this, perhaps because our pups were never isolated from other dogs or people when we took them home. We will keep most of the litter past 8 weeks because I feel more comfortable that the pups are more robust after that time. We have warned prospective owners that they need to train this breed to avoid problems. We demonstrate what the breed is capable of to folks so they understand why control is required. Our big boys are well trained, but can be frightening to those unaccustomed to their natural guard behavior. The key is to have dogs that take their queues from their owners. Otherwise, they are a liability. GSDs are easy to train, but they do not train themselves. There are few bad dogs, but many bad owners. Mom will get fixed when she is fully recovered. She is the sentinel at our home. One of our friends is taking the smallest sable female with the hopes it will behave like mom. She is quite the athlete.

As I get older, it is nice to have 3 sets of eyes and ears keeping watch 24-7. We'll be adding a 4th set from the current litter and then spaying Mom. Pups will start to go this coming weekend first-come first-served.

My wife has decided to add 2 members to our existing pack of 3. Her argument is: what is the difference between 4 or 5 German Shepherds in the house? How can I argue with that. We are officially crazy dog people... Still have one black and tan to sell, but Dad's picture (shown above) resulted in a bonus stud fee. Mom is scheduled for spaying and the female pup my wife added to the pack will be spayed when old enough. Homes for pups had to be right.

Dang RAH,
If we didn't already have a Bull/Neo Mastiff, a Lab (both over 110#), and a Char Pei, I'd be finding out where you live. It'd have a nice big yard to patrol during the day and a soft bed inside at night. Good looking bunch you got there. Welcome to the "dog crazy" crowd.

What a mess of dog! Well, it makes my wife happy:)

And if the wife aint happy....aint nobody happy!!