Greetings and thank you for visiting our website, viewing our pages and reading our articles. There is a lot of information here because we think it is important to know what we do with our dogs and what we value. The purpose of this site is not to sell puppies or to provide stud service. We are extremely active PERSONALLY training AND showing our dogs in AKC obedience, rally, Schutzhund, tracking and agility. We do not just send our dogs out somewhere to be trained. When we talk about temperament and intelligence, we are experiencing these qualities on a daily basis.

One of our primary goals in creating this web site was to provide information not only on the German Shepherd Dog but on other issues of importance in purchasing and caring for your dog. Over the past few years, we have introduced several articles which we hope you have found useful. If you are contemplating purchasing a puppy, we strongly encourage you to read our articles. And do not stop there! Read and learn as much as you can about your breed and the bloodlines.

CLICK HERE for a listing of our articles.

A LITTLE ABOUT US: OUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND OUR PHILOSOPHY
We fell in love with the German Shepherd breed many years ago because of their beauty, intelligence, devotion and versatility. This breed can do it all - protection and police work, scent detection, competition obedience, Schutzhund, search and rescue, agility and service work! Plus, they are the best friend, companion and protector you will ever find.

We have been training and showing dogs since 1983. Almost all our efforts are spent with performance activities rather than conformation although we have on occasion visited the German style show ring.

Our first German Shepherd, Jessie, was very successful in AKC obedience and earned her UD. We continue to compete in the AKC obedience ring, and have trained several dogs to a CD and CDX. We were active in Schutzhund for almost 20 years and personally titled many dogs. We think of the sport as one of the best ways to maintain the integrity of our wonderful breed for the future.

Fred and Alice have put over 60 major AKC Obedience. Schutzhund, Rally and Agility titles on nine different dogs including over 30 different titles in Schutzhund. Over the years, Alice and her dogs have earned numerous high scoring awards including High Combined in AKC and many High inTrials in AKC and Schutzhund events.

Alice qualified for the United Schutzhund Club of America (USA) Nationals three successive years and competed twice successfully at this event. She also competed successfully at the World Dog Association (WDA) World Qualifier and has earned the USA bronze, silver and gold metals signifying continuous achievement in the sport of Schutzhund. Alice and Fred are both members of the United Schutzhund Clubs of America's Schutzhund 3 club having trained multiple untitled dogs through the Schutzhund 3, including an owner bred dog. We know and appreciate first hand the importance of the working ability, and we will continue to strongly promote this quality in our breeding along with proper structure.

We are now training and actively competing in Agility. Agility has become the most popular dog sport in the world and is offered by over 200 SV clubs in Germany. The agility dog is obviously not tested in protection related activities, but the sport does require stamina, concentration, intelligence, noise indifference, willingness, temperament and nerve. The dog must perform varied complex courses with sometimes hundreds of noisy people and dogs outside the ring. In an average competition weekend in Excellent classes, a dog will jump 80-100 times. Even though the jump is 24 inches in AKC events for most German Shepherds (versus one jump at 39 inches for Schutzhund), the sheer number of launches requires the dog be physically sound.

OUR PUPPY GOAL
Our goal in breeding and importing is to promote a beautiful dog with impeccable temperament and sound physical structure. The dog must have the spirit, courage and willingness to work in any arena whether it is AKC obedience, agility, herding, search and rescue or on the Schutzhund field. Yet the dog must be entirely suitable as a loving family companion. And we want the dog to look like the German Shepherd type. Drive is essential in a working dog, but it must not be so extreme that it overrides intelligence or willingness to work. An uncontrolable, manic dog is no use to anyone.

Our livelihood is in no way dependent on breeding and importing dogs. We engage in these activities as a joyous hobby that we take very seriously. We strongly believe that a breeding should be carefully planned and done for the purpose of improving the finer qualities of the breed. We do not have many litters. When we de have a litter, they are raised in our home with constant attention, handling and stimulus. We do not believe in mass produced puppies. And we do not import entire litters. All of our imports have come from individual requests. We make every effort to fulfill your specific requests.

Our puppies--whether imports or bred in our kennel-- make excellent loving companions for families with young children. We are happy to assist anyone whether they purchased one of our puppies or one from another breeder. The goal is for you to be happy with your dog and for the dog to have a good home. This is the number one priority for us. Puppy socialization is very important in any breeding program. All of our puppies receive individual attention from a very early age. We get the puppies used to a variety of environmental stimulus by taking them to different places and exposing them to the sights and sounds of the world. Our puppies are beautiful, confident, intelligent, friendly and outgoing.

OUR PROMISE
Our promise is to assist you in getting the most from your puppy and dog. We will provide advice on feeding, medical care, and training. We welcome your questions and will be available at any time to provide information and assistance.

Alice & Fred Stroman
Austin, Texas
phone: 512-694-9990
512-836-3933
Von Stroman ©2008. All rights reserved internationally.

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