Eventually, I gave up my search and went on with my normal life. After some time, I decided to try again, searching through many websites of rescues, humane society groups in my area, animal shelters. I always felt that saving a dog from one of these places was better than buy from a breeder. I felt that with so many animals in these shelters and rescues, needing homes, there was no need to bring more animals into this world. It didn’t take long for me to realize that I was partially wrong. While there are many out there that are just producing puppies to make money, there are many responsible breeders out there that are devoted to producing dogs with sound mind, health and temperament. Dogs that aren’t so easily found in rescues, shelters, and humane societies. Yes, it’s true, there are many pure bred dogs in these places and if you just want a pet that looks good, go try to find one there! I still strongly support rescuing these helpless animals. They need good homes! However, if, like me, you need a dog that will be stable in both health and temperament with few surprises, a good responsible breeder is the way to go.

That’s when I started searching for breeders. I was on the right track, or so I thought. I started emailing different breeders I found, asking if they had any available dogs. I wanted a male and preferred that he be old enough to start training for his job (about 1 year) but young enough to work for more than a few years (less than 3 years). I thought, this should be easy. Um, wrong again. I did find a few older males but there were two problems. 1: How was I gonna pay the $2000 purchase price that was on these dogs? I know they put alot of time, work, and money into this and understand they need to make at least some of the money back but there was NO WAY I could come up with that much all at once! One breeder agreed she was willing to let her boy go for $1000 but warned me that most good breeders were not likely to sell any dog for less than $2000. I might have actually gone through with the purchase, if I’d had the money at the time but I didn’t even have $5 so I backed out and decided to wait a while longer. 2: My second problem was that I could only find a few older males and only one of them had been lowered in price. All the others were $2000 and UP. I got more answers from breeders telling me I was better off going with a puppy. I didn’t like hearing this and went back to my search on rescues, hoping I might get lucky and find a hidden jewel that someone else overlooked. No luck.

I am very stubborn, though, and I do NOT like to give up easy. So, I threw myself into another search for breeders. This time, just trying to figure out how to tell the difference between “puppy producers” and real breeders that care. Somehow, I stumbled on a site that talked about different types of GSDs. I was shocked. There’s more than one type?! I thought they were all the same dog! Oops! Guess I still have some learning to do. Well, I found out that at the very least, there are American bred GSDs and then there are German Imports. How do I know which are which? I searched for information on each one and found out the differences in each one’s temperament. Sites indicated that American bred dogs are supposedly too submissive. One site labeled them as being aloof, whatever they meant by that. Then I read that German Imports are thought to be too dominant or aggressive. Are these facts true? I’m not the expert! But I do know that I can’t afford to take any chances. I don’t want a dog that would be skittish or anxious in public (something that was suggested of American bred dogs). I also don’t want a dog that is too difficult for me to handle or that is likely to bite (this was suggested a risk for German imports). Since I know very little about either side, I had know idea what was true or which would be the best choice for what I wanted. Then again, why was I even considering the idea of an import since when I checked the sites, most were priced around $4000 and higher? Of course, puppies would be lower for some, but I still wanted an older dog at that point.

So, I began my research to find out everything I could about both sides. I wanted to make sure I made the best choice, not only in which type of GSD I got, but also which breeder I purchased my dog from. That’s when I came across a site that mentioned other names for german shepherds, or rather other types of shepherd dogs. Among those names were King Shepherd and Shiloh Shepherd. Both were names I’d never even heard of before. I had no idea there was other kinds of these dogs! What in the world was a King Shepherd? Well, I did a google search for the different names I saw on that page. Then I read what I found. I believe, I may have started with Wikipedia and then went to google. Either way, I don’t remember finding much, if anything, about King Shepherds except that someone had decided to breed different kind of shepherd. When I tried to find more about Shiloh Shepherds, somehow, and I honestly don’t remember how, I came across the Shiloh Shepherd Friends forum. I knew nothing about the breed or how it started but wanted to find out so I submitted a request to join the forum. Once I was approved for membership, I started reading posts and talking with other members. I found out about how the breed was a breed in development and it had all been started by Tina Barber. I also learned that there are other “shilohs” out there but they are not the original Shiloh Shepherds and the breeders are not working under Tina’s authority. It was then, that I learned about the King Shepherds that I had come across before. Now, I know that those dogs are just another sliver group that started with Tina’s original Shilohs and since they legally can’t use the Shiloh name, they now call their dogs King Shepherds.

So anyway, that’s how I discovered the ISSR Shiloh Shepherd Dog breed and now I have decided that this is the breed I want AND I am more than happy to start with a puppy (or two, or three). I still have limited source of funds and the bigger expenses like purchase price and the 12 month hip X-rays will be a challenge but I will work hard to earn what I can and will trust God to provide what I can’t. I know if it’s his will, He will see me through. I honestly believe that He was the one who kept me from getting a dog earlier and led me to this breed. I believe that it was important for me to wait and now, I am very glad that I didn’t fight too hard when I didn’t get my way. I can’t wait to see what God has in store for me!

Btw, this whole thing started back in 2003 and I am still waiting for my shepherd!