Schonwasser Shepherds

Schonwasser Shepherds was founded in 2008. After owning many fine German Shepherds (beginning in 1973), I sensed a shift in the breed (see My Story for the full account). Once I had a puppy from the Kirchental lines in Germany, my perspective was clarified. One day my son (then a teen) expressed a desire to someday have a puppy from our dog. It was because of his desire that I founded Schonwasser Shepherds. My goal was to be a small boutique breeder of traditional German Shepherds and to follow the German standards of size, temperament, and intelligence as proven by training. 

 

At the time, I lived in Pensacola, Florida, the home of one of the top ten beaches in the world. In fact, "Schonwasser" means "Beautiful Water" and so the name seemed appropriate. In the same way that Pensacola was a hidden gem on the Gulf Coast, I felt my dogs were the hidden treasure of that same area. There were no breeders of traditional German Shepherds--German dogs with close ties to their standards==near me. I was the only "German" breeder for miles around.  From Atlanta to New Orleans, I was the only one I knew with German dogs imported from Germany.

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Since then, my puppies (now dogs) have met and exceeded my expectations: about half of my puppies are currently working dogs. Some are Searching dogs, some are Therapy dogs, some are Service dogs, and several are in training toward the title of IGP (formerly Schutzhund or IPO). Two of our puppies are working police K9s in Florida Law Enforcement. So the utility and intelligence of our dogs is without question. On the temperament side, our dogs are sweet and biddable.  It's a great balance between brains, beauty, and temperament.

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In 2016, I moved from Florida where my A through G litters were born. I trained in Search and Rescue in Florida, but once I arrived in Phoenix, I began training for dog sport (IGP). I have participated in area dog clubs for the past four years. My I and J litters were born in Arizona, and my current litter (K) is here in the Phoenix area. . 

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My previous website schonwassershepherds.com was an award winning site, but maintaining it proved problematic. I am just beginning to reconstruct this new website and hope you enjoy it. Please feel free to "friend" me on FACEBOOK (Schonwasser Shepherds).

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Thanks to my terrific photographer friends, I will be including some of the best puppy images you'll ever find! I will add photos as time goes along and each of them will be idenitfied by the litter letter (A through K).

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For more information and PEDIGREES, tap here:   

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Images are on the GALLERY page. 

 

 

Thanks for your interest and for taking the time to visit Schonwasser Shepherds.