Kimbertal Kennels

[karns]

Hello. We are planning on buying our third Rottie. The first two we had came from private breeders. We are thinking of using Kimbertal because of there gaurantees. They have also been breeders for the last 36 years. The question I have is this - Has anyone heard anything good or bad about this breeder or had any personal experience with them. They also breed Dobermans and Filas. Any information would be greatly appreciated.
Andy Wheeler

[Orville Story]

If you give me your email address I will go into detail why I personaly would not buy from this puppy mill. You can use the search function. This has been a hot issue here with documentation and personal expriences pro and con.

[roscoe]

With the holiday season quickly approaching, I thought some of our visitor may find the following link of interest: http://www.newstimes.com/archive95/dec2295/nad.htm

Thanks
Roscoe

[bearkat]

Excellent article, Roscoe. Thanks for sharing it! Hopefully this information will benefit those wanting to buy a puppy. Please, check around with your local pound, humane society or rescue organization first! There are so many loving animals looking for a good home!

[AngelBunny]

karns:

Why not a rescue Rottie? Rescue groups around the US are bursting with fine dogs waiting for their forever homes. Wiggly puppies up thru well-trained older dogs. Males. Females. Some from BYBs and puppy mills, some with much better backgrounds.

We have a 2 year old female from rescue. Tula is a wonderful friend and buddy!

There are so many options open to you; *please do your homework* before you consider buying from the kennel you mentioned.

[Ct. Tom]

Karns,
Honestly i would get a rescue before any dog from Kimbertal!E-mail me if you want my experience with them.


------------------
Ct.Tom

[roscoe]

Here is an excerpt from the above mentioned article

Even well-known breeders sell puppies with genetic problems. Kimbertal Kennels in Kimberton, Chester County, outside Philadelphia, is a nationally known breeder whose customers include Phillies pitchers Curt Schilling and Danny Jackson. Kimbertal customers don't complain of parvo or distemper or of unclean kennels. While there are satisfied customers, there have been numerous complaints about genetic problems

John LePere paid $350 for a purebred rottweiler puppy from Kimbertal that was so wild LePere gave him away after six months. LePere said he later learned the dog's parents were brother and sister - inbreeding that experts say leads to genetic problems.

Kimbertal owner Robert G. Yarnall Jr. said the inbreeding was accidental.

(c) 1995, Knight-Ridder Newspapers. Distributed by Knight-Ridder/Tribune Information Services.

Lets not lose sight of the fact that Kimbertal is not the only kennel mentioned in the article. The article covers many of the problems of purchasing from an unreputable source. As many of us know, Christmas is a traditional time of giving, and puppies are always high on the list. As a public service, we should also list the area rescues starting around February.

[Briar Rose]

An adult rescued Rottie has big advantages over a puppy, if you're feeling a little tired, like us. They are past the "chewies," and often past the destructive stage--a little more settled. A full adult can be taken to the vet, and if he's medically healthy, you have a good chance he will continue to be healthy. A puppy is a lot of unknowns. We rescued a 7 year old female from the pound, have had her four years, and she is wonderful. Her vet says she's in such good shape, there is no reason she shouldn't last another 4-5 years easily, even tho Rotts are supposed to be short-lived. Rotts are mentally tough, and if they receive kind, firm, consistant, REASONABLE treatment from their new person, they will bond to you as if you had raised them from puppyhood.

[reif]

The people complaining about kimbertal
are nuts. The kennels are spotless, the
animals have a great temperment and the
customers I've met there feel the same.

And as far as the guy who spent $350.00
for his rotty..
Kimbertal does NOT sell pure breed rottys
for $350.00. What they do sell for $350.00
is pups who have known defects or are the
result of accidental breeding.
There is one such pup there now. A single
phone call will verify both facts I have stated.

I do not work for Kimbertal, I am not
good friends with them. I am a happy
Kimbertal customer - period. So is my Vet
and the owner of my local Pet store.

BTW, my vet is Limerick animal hospital.
Dont take my word... Call one of the most
respected animal hospitals on the East coast
and ask them for yourself.

And keep in mind..the people who
open their mouth to complain are
usually the people who live to complain.
( and they are usually the primary source
of the problem )

[WorkinDogz]

hmmmm let's see....buy a dog from Kimbertal.....or get into cats who are feral, unvaccinated and rabies suspect.....

Heeeeeeeeere kitty, kitty, kitty!!!!!!

Just my humble opinion....but hey...a blind pig finds an apple sometimes...so maybe this puppymill produced a good dog....once. As far as their "guarantee"...they can replace 50 dogs a day...afterall...puppymills ALWAYS have replacements available to the schmucks that bought in the first place.

[AngelBunny]

reif:

The kennel under discussion [mass] produces so many dogs they're bound by the laws of statistics to get a dog right now and again.
However, these dogs are the exception, not the rule. Big deal the kennel is clean. Have you done a search on this forum to read the anguished stories of people who've bought from them and have nothing but heartbreak and very expensive problems with their dogs?

[reif]

I have read all the topics related within
the search. Problems and accidents do
occur. I realize it is easy to get
caught up in the name bashing too.

I met one of their own rottys who is free
to roam their property. He was sooo
huge I was intimidated by his presence.
But when he laid his head on my lap and
gently licked my hand I couldn't stop
petting him. There is no way he is abused.
You cant hide abuse. I've had pups for over
28 years and anyone who loves pups knows abuse at first site.

Now, an objective look at the complaints.
We take a look at a company like General
Motors. They own the worlds largest sales
of autos. But, they also own the worlds
largest amount of cars bought back under lemon laws. It only makes sense, yes ?

It doesn't mean they sell a bad product.
It means that the more you sell, the more
complaints. This true to any business.

I also received a 10 minute lecture about
how to discipline my puppy. One wrong word
and I would have called the Humane Society
myself. I let them tell me so I could see
their character. the entire discussion
was based on a firm tone of voice and
keywords like "no" and "good boy".

I was told NEVER hit the pup and never
rub their nose in the feces. That is
exactly what I wanted to hear !

I do apologize for the lengthy post but
I walked their property 2x now in the
last week alone. If there is any type of
abuse there it did not show on the dogs
or in their eyes.

[CarolineS]

I don't think anyone ever said the kennel was unclean or that they abused their dogs. That has never been the issue as I understand it.

That "huge" Rott you encountered when walking their grounds...just how big was he? Do you have any idea what size the breed standard calls for in a Rottie? Do you know how tall a Rottweiler is supposed to be, how much it is supposed to weigh? If this dog was huge, he was probably well out of standard. Breeding dogs out of standard shows a blatant disregard for all other breeding practices that go into producing a good, healthy dog.

The vast majority of complaints that people have about this kennel is the high incidence of genetic diseases that their dogs suffer from. Did you miss this statement in reading the newspaper article, "The Pennsylvania SPCA lists Kimbertal as one of the state's top three sources of dog complaints. The agency compiles its data by asking vets statewide to identify their clients' most serious complaints." Hip dysplasia is a big one, costing the owners thousands of dollars to fix and causing the dog a lot of pain. This disease is inherited, if the parents of a pup test free of it, chances are very, very good the pup won't suffer from it. This disease can be diagnosed on x-rays at the age of two years or after, before that the x-rays are unreliable. To get a clean bill of health, the x-rays have to be sent to the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) to be read and a rating given. This kennel apparently does "preliminary x-rays" at 18 months, I'm sure read by their own on-staff vet. I doubt any of them ever go to the OFA. Ask to see the OFA certificates on the parents of any pup you may be considering buying there.

Their advertising budget is huge, their PR great, but I suggest you read more than just the posts about this kennel on this board...I suggest you educate yourself extensively on the breed, research what to look for in a good breeder and then go back and take a look. If you buy a dog from there, be prepared to shell out a lot more than the purchase price in vet bills down the road.

It makes no sense whatsoever that all the totally unrelated people who've had problems with dogs from there would just decide, out of the blue, to get together and tell lies to defame the kennel. Where there's this much smoke, there's certainly a big fire!!

[This message has been edited by CarolineS (edited March 08, 2000).]

[Kiminski]

I have to agree with Caroline, I just browsed the Kimbertal site this morning and every rottweiler that they show is out of standard, they are all too large and heavy. I would have to wonder about a kennel that is supposed to be knowledgable about the breed advertising dogs so out of standard.

[kdewey]

I don't know if it is still there but when you look under the Fila section they tell you how to make the dog mean by abusing it.Any breeder who condons this has problems.