Have you decided that an English Shepherd will be just the right dog for you? If so, the English Shepherd Club wants to help you find a puppy that will fulfill your expectations of the breed. Read through this guide and please contact the English Shepherd Club if you have additional questions.
The English Shepherd breed is a general purpose farm dog and as such, will contain more variation than is usual in many other breeds. Farmers have different needs based on the type of farming they do, so it is appropriate and necessary that variation occurs and is maintained in this breed. There are local differences due to regional agricultural bases. In addition, there are variations in family lines due to the individual requirements of the breeder. Some farmers have a need for dogs that are more inclined to grip livestock, perhaps for controlling cattle or hogs. Others need more gentle workers, less inclined to grip but perhaps showing some eye for herding sheep. While the English Shepherd remains a general purpose stock dog, individual dogs and family lines may be more specialized and better suited for one type of stock or another.
Primarily a stock dog, the English Shepherd has also traditionally been used for hunting and as a watch dog in addition to being the family pet. Recently there has been a growing interest in the ES as an athlete for competitive events such as agility, flyball and frisbee. Some individuals may excel in all of these activities, but most will have strengths and weaknesses for one or another purpose. Therefore it makes sense to choose a dog that will most likely be suited to the purposes you have in mind.
Size is a consideration for every purpose, but especially for dog sports. The English Shepherd standard states that males are from 19 to 23 inches and 45 to 60 pounds, females 18 to 22 inches and 40 to 50 pounds. Family lines can be toward the smaller or larger end of this range and some are even larger than the standard. With this variation in the breed it is important to keep in mind your goals and expectations when looking for an English Shepherd puppy.
Agility dog tip: The physical demands of agility, including jumping, weaving, and rapid turns, are better handled by English Shepherds in the small to medium-sized range. This is also true of other activities that are similarly stressful, such as frisbee and flyball.
Typically, English Shepherds have been quick to meet the challenges of a new function or sport, but if you have plans for participating in a specialized activity with your English Shepherd, it may be helpful to select a breeder whose pups have a proven record in that activity.
If you want your English Shepherd for stock work, try to see the parent dogs or their offspring work the type of stock you have. Some variation in working style is learned and some is hereditary. The most versatile working dogs have the ability to change the amount of force they use as necessary for the job at hand. The dogs should use the least force necessary to accomplish the job and should be much more gentle with young stock.
In many areas of the country there are no English Shepherd breeders within a day's drive. Because of this, many English Shepherd breeders have learned how to ship puppies safely via air. If you will be getting your puppy shipped to you, be sure to talk to the breeder about all the same concerns you would discuss in person, if you were able to visit. It may also be helpful to see photos or a video tape of both the parent dogs and puppies. Many breeders will offer this to you as a way to help your decision.
Warning: Pet shops and puppy mills are the worst possible places to acquire a puppy. Without access to reliable information about the parents, you have no way of knowing what the puppy's genetic heritage is. Careless puppy millers and irresponsible breeders do not evaluate their breeding stock for the proper physical characteristics, inherited diseases, appropriate temperament, or working instinct, and may produce pups defective in one or all of these areas. They may be English Shepherds in name only.
If you can visit breeders, you can see for yourself if there is anything obviously wrong with their dogs. Look for signs of abnormal aggression and extreme shyness, as well as signs of physical problems. Even if the dogs appear to be healthy, ask about the vaccination and vet records on the parent dogs as well as the puppies. Puppies should be vaccinated for distemper, hepatitis, and parvovirus, and should be treated for worms before they are taken home.
While some mental and physical problems will be apparent to even the casual observer, there are some serious problems which usually aren't detectable by observing the dog under normal circumstances. Hip and elbow dysplasia have been found in the English Shepherd breed as well as almost every other breed. For this reason, it is in your best interest to choose a puppy from parents that have been evaluated at 2 years of age or older and certified by OFA or GDC to be free of hip dysplasia and elbow dysplasia. Due to the complex genetics of the disease, there is still a possibility that some puppies from parents with excellent hips will have the genetic potential to develop hip dysplasia. If you select a puppy from parents with hips certified free of hip dysplasia, you have a better chance that your puppy will also be free of hip dysplasia. [See "Hip Dysplasia in the English Shepherd" for more information]
In addition, the English Shepherd Club recommends that breeders have their breeding stock certified by the Canine Eye Registration Foundation to be free of genetic eye diseases. No eye problems are known in the English Shepherd at this time, but since certain inherited eye diseases are found in other closely related herding breeds, some eye problems are possible in the English Shepherd breed as well. Currently there is a small but growing number of breeders who have their breeding stock certified by OFA and CERF to be free of dysplasia and eye defects.
This is a time of transition for English Shepherd breeders. Until recently almost everyone believed that hip dysplasia did not exist in this breed, or was limited to one or two lines. The English Shepherd Club is now making a concerted effort to inform all breeders and puppy buyers about the need for certification on breeding stock. It will take some time for this information to be disseminated and understood. In the meantime, some otherwise very conscientious breeders may not yet have had their breeding stock certified. At this time lack of certification is not a sign that the breeder is careless or irresponsible, as it is in some other breeds.
For years English Shepherds have been sold for use on the farm. Many are family lines maintained primarily for the breeder's own use, and puppies were sold only when there were extras. Someone breeding stock dogs for their own use has every incentive to continue to produce dogs that can perform the farm duties required. Seeing the parents work or hearing of grandparents that worked until their dying day was all the guarantee that most people received when purchasing their English Shepherd. For many of the breeders who have been selling puppies for years, with many repeat buyers, satisfied customers have been their best advertising. Times are changing, with new knowledge of genetic diseases coming to light, and now the English Shepherd Club recommends that breeding stock be certified free of dysplasia and eye problems. It is very hard for long-time breeders to be told that their dogs may not be as good as they thought because they haven't had an xray taken.
This transitional period will be difficult for English Shepherd breeders, and it will also pose problems for you, the puppy buyer. While there are many very good quality English Shepherds that have not yet been certified free of dysplasia and eye defects, the English Shepherd Club can only recommend purchasing a puppy whose parents have been certified. Breeders with certified dogs are so noted on the English Shepherd Club breeder list. If there are no breeders with certified parent dogs in your area, you may wish to consider having a puppy shipped from a reputable breeder who does have the certifications done. Another good alternative is to try to work with your local breeders to encourage them to have their breeding stock evaluated for dysplasia and eye defects. It is important for breeders to hear directly from potential puppy purchasers that not only do they find certification important, but that they are also willing to pay more to cover the costs of certification. As a person looking to buy an English Shepherd puppy, you must carefully consider what is best for your situation.
Stock dog tip: Many breeders of working stock dogs are confident that their dogs can't possibly have dysplasia because their dogs work hard and well. The problem with this reasoning is that a dog that loves its job will often not show signs of pain, especially while working. The more keen the dog is to work, the less likely the owner is to see signs of mild to moderate hip dysplasia until after the dog has developed arthritis.
Agility dog tip: It is especially important to choose a puppy from certified parents. In addition, there are articles and books about dog athletics you should read, and you should talk to your veterinarian about ages to start training for specific events. Jumping is very hard on a dog's joints and, generally speaking, physically immature dogs should not be permitted to do much--if any--jumping.
For some genetic defects, it is impossible to predict with certainty whether an individual will develop the defect, even if the parents were tested and found to be free of the disease. It is important for you to understand that even if your puppy comes from parents certified free of hip dysplasia, and the breeder guarantees the hips of your puppy, this does not mean that your puppy is certain to be free of hip dysplasia. Coming from parents certified free of hip dysplasia means your puppy has the best possible chance of being free of hip dysplasia, but certified parent dogs still may produce some pups with hip dysplasia. If the breeder guarantees hips, that usually means that if your puppy is evaluated when it is old enough, and OFA or GDC finds it to have hip dysplasia, the breeder will make some sort of compensation.
Warning: Pet shop puppies are at risk of being very poorly socialized to humans and other dogs. They are often removed from their littermates as young as 4 to 5 weeks. Then they spend time alone in a cage with minimal human handling. To make matters worse, long-term confinement in a cage can cause the puppy's natural instincts for cleanliness to be overcome, making housebreaking extremely difficult. If you see an English Shepherd puppy at a pet store, don't assume that it will be a good representative of the breed. Even if it has the right genetics, it has had a very poor start in life and its behavior and temperament may be permanently affected. If you decide to buy a pet shop puppy because you feel sorry for it, think of it as a very expensive rescue. Expect physical and behavioral problems, and plan to take special care in training in order to attempt to counteract the puppy's bad start in life.
Warning: Higher price alone is no indication of quality. Pet shop puppies are often far more expensive in initial purchase price (in addition to future veterinary costs) than puppies from a reputable and conscientious breeder.
Even the best quality puppy can be permanently damaged by inadequate nutrition or improper exercise. Overfeeding can also be damaging. Generally speaking, faster growing puppies and those subjected to excessive joint stress are more likely to develop hip dysplasia (if they have the genes for it). Talk to your veterinarian about nutritional recommendations to help prevent the development of hip dysplasia. Be sure to ask your vet what types of activities the puppy should and shouldn't do before he is mature, and when it is safe to add more strenuous activities.
The breeder lays the foundation for your puppy's relationship with you and other humans, first by making sure the parent dogs have good temperament, then by handling and socializing the puppies long before they are old enough to leave home. Once the puppy is in your hands, you must continue to build on this foundation by continuing his education. Even a puppy that is well bred to have good temperament, and comes from the breeder well-socialized, still has the potential to develop temperament and behavior problems. You must continue your puppy's temperament training so he grows up to be comfortable with people in various social situations, unafraid of new noises and novel environments, and most importantly, unlikely to bite. According to Ian Dunbar, an expert on dog behavior, "All dogs are potential biters and all dogs have to be trained never to bite people." Most dog behaviors that are considered "behavioral problems" are actually normal dog behavior but done in an inappropriate place or time. Please help your puppy grow up to be an appreciated member of society, by socializing your puppy, training your puppy not to bite, and teaching your puppy basic good manners. Basic obedience training, such as Canine Good Citizen training, will help your English Shepherd be a wonderful companion for you, for the rest of his life.
Please consider having your puppy evaluated for hip and eye defects, when he is old enough, even if you do not plan to breed the puppy, and even if your puppy came from certified parents. By contributing your dog's data to the CERF and OFA databases, you will be helping to create a more accurate understanding of the overall risk of defects in the English Shepherd breed. The benefit to your puppy will be that if you discover he has a problem, you will be better able to care for him.
How to Raise a Puppy You Can Live With, by Rutherford and Neil
Sirius Puppy Training (video), by Ian Dunbar
"OFA and CERF Report", Karen Clanin's regular column in English Shepherd Club News
English Shepherd information packet, available from Donna D'Amico
OFA-Orthopedic Foundation For Animals
GDC-Institute for Genetic Disease Control
PennHip-Method for evaluating hips, developed at University of Pennsylvania
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