I've long been doubting whether I should make this post or not, but today I said to myself: what the heck, maybe this post will save someone a lot of heartache.
For people wondering what LGD breed is this exactly, I made a topic about them not too long ago here:
In short, they are a livestock/property guardian breed that is rapidly becoming popular.
Which wouldn't be such a bad thing if there were good Caucasian shepherd breeders in U.S. But aside from 1, maybe 2, none of them are.
We paid good money for our female, only to end up with a dog that has been battling allergies. The symptoms of her allergies are severe hot spots (also known as moist dermatitis).
She has had 5 separate cases of hot spots in 1 year.
As some of you may know, there is a genetic component to allergies.
The breeder of our female (who we named Phoebe) did not care. And from what I understand our Phoebe is not the only Caucasian shepherd from that kennel with this problem.
I tried to nicely sort this out with the breeder, but it didn't work. The breeder simply did not want to admit that any of her breeding stock have health issues and she was not even remotely interested to get to the bottom of whatever was bothering Phoebe.
But here comes the saddest part: very few of the CO breeders in U.S. & Canada raise their CO's with livestock.
And just as few health test. They do not screen their breeding stock for hip/elbow dysplasia, thyroid, heart or eyes problems. Nothing what so ever.
Sure they all claim their dogs are healthy, but where is the proof? Where are the health test results?
And they charge an obscene amount of money for their puppies.
Money that pretty much goes straight back into their pockets.
They'll try to come up with an excuse and tell you how much it costs them to import a CO puppy of breeding quality, but don't fall for it.
This is not the only rare breed in U.S. and a good breeder will still do all the necessary health and temperament testing. Because they are not in it to make money.
On top of that, you won't believe the drama that goes amongst those breeders. The bad-mouthing, the rumors they start against one another, harassment, name calling, arguments etc..
And who ends up suffering?
That's right, the dogs and the owners who have to pay the huge vet bills or end up with a dog that has poor temperament.
I think the only way this horrible mess will ever stop is if people educate themselves and stop buying puppies from these unethical breeders.
The money of the buyers is what keeps these irresponsible, greedy, power hungry so called breeders going.
None of them (except the few I mentioned earlier in my post) care about preserving or improving the breed.
So: BUYER BEWARE
You have been warned.
And keep in mind that while in Europe there are bad breeders as well, plenty of CO breeders over there do care about the correct temperament and do health test.
You might even end up spending a little less money importing one or flying over to Europe to get the puppy yourself than you would if you'd get one from most CO breeders right here in U.S.
My last tip: always, always visit the breeder in person first, at least once. Check the living conditions of their dogs and check to see if they really raise them with livestock/poultry.
And check the breeder's knowledge. But above all, make them show you all the results from health tests. Put everything in writing, these are very expensive dogs.
I hope you will learn from my mistakes.
For people wondering what LGD breed is this exactly, I made a topic about them not too long ago here:
In short, they are a livestock/property guardian breed that is rapidly becoming popular.
Which wouldn't be such a bad thing if there were good Caucasian shepherd breeders in U.S. But aside from 1, maybe 2, none of them are.
We paid good money for our female, only to end up with a dog that has been battling allergies. The symptoms of her allergies are severe hot spots (also known as moist dermatitis).
She has had 5 separate cases of hot spots in 1 year.
As some of you may know, there is a genetic component to allergies.
The breeder of our female (who we named Phoebe) did not care. And from what I understand our Phoebe is not the only Caucasian shepherd from that kennel with this problem.
I tried to nicely sort this out with the breeder, but it didn't work. The breeder simply did not want to admit that any of her breeding stock have health issues and she was not even remotely interested to get to the bottom of whatever was bothering Phoebe.
But here comes the saddest part: very few of the CO breeders in U.S. & Canada raise their CO's with livestock.
And just as few health test. They do not screen their breeding stock for hip/elbow dysplasia, thyroid, heart or eyes problems. Nothing what so ever.
Sure they all claim their dogs are healthy, but where is the proof? Where are the health test results?
And they charge an obscene amount of money for their puppies.
Money that pretty much goes straight back into their pockets.
They'll try to come up with an excuse and tell you how much it costs them to import a CO puppy of breeding quality, but don't fall for it.
This is not the only rare breed in U.S. and a good breeder will still do all the necessary health and temperament testing. Because they are not in it to make money.
On top of that, you won't believe the drama that goes amongst those breeders. The bad-mouthing, the rumors they start against one another, harassment, name calling, arguments etc..
And who ends up suffering?
That's right, the dogs and the owners who have to pay the huge vet bills or end up with a dog that has poor temperament.
I think the only way this horrible mess will ever stop is if people educate themselves and stop buying puppies from these unethical breeders.
The money of the buyers is what keeps these irresponsible, greedy, power hungry so called breeders going.
None of them (except the few I mentioned earlier in my post) care about preserving or improving the breed.
So: BUYER BEWARE
You have been warned.
And keep in mind that while in Europe there are bad breeders as well, plenty of CO breeders over there do care about the correct temperament and do health test.
You might even end up spending a little less money importing one or flying over to Europe to get the puppy yourself than you would if you'd get one from most CO breeders right here in U.S.
My last tip: always, always visit the breeder in person first, at least once. Check the living conditions of their dogs and check to see if they really raise them with livestock/poultry.
And check the breeder's knowledge. But above all, make them show you all the results from health tests. Put everything in writing, these are very expensive dogs.
I hope you will learn from my mistakes.
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I believe shock may have been used on her. SO SAD! She has natural/instinctual herding ability and tracking... so we will work with that and she will be awesome! 
