[SABELLESMOM]

When researching for a great breeder, I took MANY things into consideration. I went to shows, I spoke with breeders, handlers and judges. Two of the handlers had shown her dogs. A number of judges had judged them. I checked for every health cert imaginable. I spoke with the breeder MANY times on the phone, thru e-mail, etc. And she checked ME!

I also checked online! Which, is different than buying from an ad...online. Good grief! If you do all the rest, why not? I found beautiful (US/CAN) dogs bred to standard, with titles fore and aft. I found beautiful WELL titled (GERMAN) imports. I found what I was looking for and have ABSOLUTELY NO regrets!

I would recommend MY breeder to anyone. I have two dogs from her, and would happily return for more in the future. She puts out a great product: BRAINS and BEAUTY, with an alert, intense, and sensible TEMPERAMENT.

Check on line? You betcha! Doing your homework CAN include an online check.

I agree that you can find poor breeders online as well. I found ones who bred "oversized" dogs. I found the notorious "K" breeder...and others like them. There are clues to weed out poor breeders. Employ the brain. Talk with the folks here about what to look for in a breeder. Search the archives. I believe there's a sticky somewhere by Judy W. that would help.

PS: $1000 is not too much to spend for quality. Maybe you could make less expensive travel arrangements. My breeder sent one pup with another buyer so I only had to make 1/2 the trip by car. I'd had back surgery. My other girl we drove ourselves.