Frequently Asked Questions
​
What is the Price of a West Coast Puppy?
Our puppies are generally priced at $3,500. Older puppies may be priced higher as training progresses and if they are shown. Prices on puppies imported directly from Germany with German Pink SV Papers will vary according to pedigree/training/etc., German Import puppy prices start at $5,000.
Holding Fees for puppies under 12 weeks old are $500 and are non-refundable, they can be transferred to another litter only if the current puppy on hold is less than two weeks old. Holding fees for puppies over 12 weeks of age is 50% of the price of the puppy. The only vaccinations that are included are the Distemper, Parvo, Adenovirus, Parainfluenza Virus, any additional vaccinations including rabies beyond 4 months old will incur additional fees for vet visit, vaccine and transport to vet.
Please Call or Email for pricing on a specific puppy or litter.
How Can I Reserve My Puppy?
If you are interested in a puppy from one of our planned or upcoming litters you can contact us to place your name on our waiting list.
​
Beginning in 2022 we have changed the way we take reservations for our puppies. We take a $500 holding fee to reserve a puppy from West Coast German Shepherds. An initial holding fee first payment of $250 will reserve a place for you on our waiting list for a certain litter or expected litters until pregnancy is confirmed and/or born at which time the second $250 payment of the holding fee is payable to in order to reserve a puppy for you in a specific confirmed litter/litters. We will move you to a specific litter based on what is born and how it fits into your timeline and what color/sex/coat length you are looking to get. Holding fees are $500 to hold a puppy in a litter and are non-refundable except in the case where there are not enough puppies born to fulfill the wait list for each sex/color, they are however always transferable to another litter if transferred by the time the puppies are no more than two weeks old. Holding Fees for puppies under 12 weeks old are $500 and are non-refundable, they can be transferred to another litter only if the current puppy on hold is less than two weeks old. Holding fees for puppies over 12 weeks of age is 50% of the price of the puppy. The only vaccinations that are included are the Distemper, Parvo, Adenovirus, Parainfluenza Virus, any additional vaccinations including rabies beyond 4 months old will incur additional fees for vet visit, vaccine and transport to vet.
​
Click Here to Make a Payment to be placed on our waiting list or to place a holding fee for a current litter.
You are welcome to set an appointment to come and meet any available puppies once old enough or the parents and our other dogs. Please feel free to call or email for further explanation of this process. A copy of our guarantee/contract is available upon request.
**Placing a holding fee with us tells us that you have chosen us as the breeder of your choice for your future family companion.**
​
We enjoy the time spent waiting together with our clients for their new puppy to be born and the excitement of watching them grow with their littermates until they are ready to join their new families at eight weeks of age. We send photos of the litter at birth and individual portraits at three and five weeks of age. We will also sneak in candid photos of the puppies in between those portrait times when time allows. We also will take photos upon request in order to fulfill any needed puppy fixes!! Puppies are normally chosen between the ages of 6-7 weeks old. We do not allow puppy visits prior to the age of 6 weeks.
What Does My West Coast Puppy Come With and When Can My Puppy Come Home?
Each puppy bred here at West Coast German Shepherds can go home no earlier than 8 weeks of age and will come with the following:
​
-
5 Year Written Hip & Elbow Guarantee and a 2 Year Written Congenital Health Guarantee. We do not require you to give back your puppy/dog in order to receive a replacement puppy under our guarantees. We also do not require special supplements or foods be purchased in order to keep your guarantee in effect. Please email us for a copy of our guarantee/purchase agreement.
-
AKC Individual Registration Application
-
First Puppy Vaccinations
-
Veterinarian Health Check
-
Up to Date Dewormings
-
International ISO Microchip
-
Hip & Elbow Certified Parents with a rating of no less than the German SV rating of "a" Fast Normal (a2) or OFA Fair Hips & OFA Normal Elbows.
-
Degenerative Myelopathy Free - Each litter we produce will always be from parents that have been DNA tested for Degenerative Myelopathy, one parent from each litter will be CLEAR for DM, we will never produce any puppies that would get two copies of this gene making them susceptible to this crippling disease according to the current research. Click Here to read more about Degenerative Myelopathy.
-
MDR1 Clear - Each litter we produce will always be from parents that have been tested Clear N/N for MDR1
-
Lifetime Support - We encourage our puppy owners to call or email us with any questions or concerns regarding their West Coast puppy or dog. There is no such thing as a stupid question when it comes to your puppy or dog. These questions when asked can sometimes save you both money and heartache, so please ask.
-
"Forever Have A Home Guarantee" - If you ever have to give up your dog for any reason our door is open and we will take them in and spend the time necessary to find them another loving family to call their own.
UC Davis German Shepherd Study Finds Early Neutering & Spaying Poses Health Risks for German Shepherd Dogs
Quick Summary
-
Neutering before 1 year of age triples risk of some joint disorders
-
Urinary incontinence risks elevated in female dogs spayed before age 1
-
Previous studies also found early neutering risks for golden retrievers and Labrador retrievers
https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/early-neutering-poses-health-risks-german-shepherd-dogs-study-finds/
​
Renowned for their intelligence, obedience and loyalty, German shepherd dogs are often the preferred breed for police and military work, as well as popular service dogs and family pets. But as most handlers, breeders and veterinarians are aware, joint disorders are a big concern in these animals.
A new study in the journal Veterinary Medicine and Science finds that neutering or spaying these dogs before 1 year of age triples the risk of one or more joint disorders — particularly for cranial cruciate ligament, or CCL, tears.
“Debilitating joint disorders of hip dysplasia, CCL and elbow dysplasia can shorten a dog’s useful working life and impact its role as a family member,” said lead investigator Benjamin Hart, a distinguished professor emeritus in the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. “Simply delaying the spay/neuter until the dog is a year old can markedly reduce the chance of a joint disorder.”
Dog owners in the United States typically choose to spay or neuter their dogs prior to 6 months of age, in large part to prevent pet overpopulation or hoping to avoid unwanted behaviors. In Europe, however, neutering is generally avoided by owners and trainers and not promoted by animal health authorities, Hart said.
During the past decade, some studies have indicated that spaying or neutering can have several adverse health effects for certain dog breeds. For example, a 2014 study published in PLoS ONE and also led by Hart, examined the health records of over 1,000 golden retrievers and found a surprising fourfold increase in one or more joint disorders associated with spay or neuter before 1 year of age. In the same paper, joint disorders in Labrador retrievers were found to be increased by just twofold in dogs spayed or neutered in the first year.
For this current study, researchers examined veterinary hospital records over a 14.5-year period on 1,170 intact and neutered (including spayed) German shepherd dogs for joint disorders and cancers previously associated with neutering. The diseases were followed through 8 years of age, with the exception of mammary cancer in females, which was followed through 11 years.
The dogs were classified as intact (not neutered), neutered before 6 months, neutered between 6 to 11 months, or neutered between 12 to 23 months and 2 to 8 years. Joint disorders and cancers are of particular interest because neutering removes male and female sex hormones that play key roles in important body processes such as closure of bone growth plates.
Seven percent of intact males were diagnosed with one or more joint disorders, compared to 21 percent of males neutered prior to a year of age.
In intact females, 5 percent were diagnosed with one or more joint disorders, while in females neutered prior to 1 year of age this measure was significantly increased to 16 percent.
Mammary cancer was diagnosed in 4 percent of intact females compared with less than 1 percent in females neutered before 1 year of age. (The occurrence of the other cancers followed through 8 years of age was not higher in the neutered than in the intact dogs.)
Urinary incontinence, not diagnosed in intact females, was diagnosed in 7 percent of females neutered before 1 year of age.
“In addition to dogs suffering pain from joint disorders, the condition may also disqualify the dog as a working partner in military and police work,” Hart said. “We hope these findings provide evidence-based guidelines for deciding the right age to neuter a puppy to reduce the risk of one or more joint disorders.”
Other researchers on this UC Davis study were: Lynette Hart and Abigail Thigpen, School of Veterinary Medicine; and Neil Willits, Department of Statistics.
The research was supported by the Canine Health Foundation and donors to the Center for Companion Animal Health.