About Us
My name is Chris Wild and together with my husband, Tim, we run a small breeding kennel located in rural southern Michigan, just west of Ann Arbor. I grew up with German Shepherds and for me there has never been another breed. I have owned them for over 20 years and together Tim and I enjoy breeding, participating in schutzhund, and sharing our lives with these wonderful dogs.
We have been actively involved in schutzhund training for more than a decade. We have trained and titled several dogs in SchH, and in 2007 we founded the Liberty Schutzhund Club . In addition to being avid schutzhund enthusiasts, we have taught many group and private obedience classes, and Tim worked for several years as a dog groomer. We also have experience in the training of police K9 tracking, patrol work and drug detection through assisting several law enforcement officers with the training of their canine partners, and raising and imprinting young dogs to be placed in service with the Michigan State Police.
Our true love of the German Shepherd Dog stems from living and working with them, and the bond that this builds between dog and handler. Our dogs are far more to us than just breeding stock or schutzhund partners, and we enjoy them first and foremost as members of our family. All of our dogs live in the house with us and enjoy life as our constant companions.
We consider ourselves to be "hobby" breeders. We do not make a living off dogs and we only have one or two litters a year. Our breeding program focuses on quality not quantity. We put a great deal of time and effort into planning our breedings, often spending months researching dogs and pedigrees. All of our breeding dogs are titled and health screened, thus proving themselves of sound health, temperament and working ability before they begin their breeding careers. Breeding partners are selected very carefully based on their pedigree, their own characteristics and accomplishments, and the positive impact they will have on our own bloodline and on the German Shepherd Dog breed as a whole. Careful research and planning, combined with our small in-home kennel environment that allows us to provide all of our puppies with a great deal of personal attention, socialization and early imprinting, ensures that our pups have the best possible start in life.
Our Passion
Working German Shepherd Dogs
Often people new to the world of working dogs are under the false assumption that these dogs are hyperactive, dangerous, and in general unsuited to family life. Nothing could be further from the truth. Our dogs possess the courage and drive to excel in police or personal protection work, yet are gentle enough to play with a room full of kindergartners. They are high drive and will give their all in training and work, but when the day is done they will turn off and happily lounge about with the family watching television. We strongly believe that a dog who is unable to be a trustworthy family companion is not a good representative of the German Shepherd breed, no matter how well it may excel in working endeavors, and we strive for this balance between work and home life in all of our own dogs, and the puppies we produce.
At the same time, this does not mean that a German Shepherd Dog is an appropriate pet for everyone. When asked if these dogs make good pets, the answer is always "Yes, but...". While they are reliable, devoted and enjoyable companions, German Shepherds, and the working lines in particular, need owners that are experienced with dogs, lead active lifestyles, and enjoy involving their dogs in all aspects of their lives. These dogs are highly intelligent and have a strong, inborn desire to work with their handlers. While this makes them highly trainable, it also means that they are not couch potatoes. In addition to regular physical exercise, these dogs also need clear, fair, consistent leadership, mental stimulation through training, and quality one-on-one time interacting with their people in order to be happy, well mannered pets. If you want a laid-back lap dog, a German Shepherd is not for you. If you want a dog that will work tirelessly for you, be your constant and faithful companion, defend you and your family with its life, and let your children crawl all over him AND you have the desire and ability to properly raise, socialize and train your dog and ensure that his needs for mental and physical exercise are met, you have come to the right place.
Our Goals
We breed only top quality German Shepherd Dogs from European working bloodlines. You will not find any American or European show line dogs here. Our goal as breeders is to preserve the fundamental characteristics of the German Shepherd Dog, and promote the traits that make this breed great. We do this by only breeding dogs with proven working ability, superb nerve and temperament, excellent health and sound physical structure. The German Shepherd Dog is a breed that can do anything, and we strive for this in our breedings.
Tim and I are very active in the sport of Schutzhund. Not only do we enjoy the sport tremendously and feel that it is an excellent way to ensure that our dogs are well mannered and well rounded companions, it is also a superb tool for evaluating breeding stock. Schutzhund was originally designed as a breeding tool to weed out those dogs that did not exhibit proper nerve, character and working ability and remove them from the gene pool. It is still used as such in Germany, where puppies cannot be registered unless both parents are titled in schutzhund or herding. This requirement that the dog first prove itself a good representative of the GSD prior to breeding is a major factor in why the European dogs are generally considered to be of better quality than those of American stock. The American breed registries like the AKC require only that the pups be purebred; no health or temperament testing of breeding stock is required.
Today, while not a perfect evaluation, schutzhund remains one of the the best and strictest method for ensuring that the German Shepherd Dog breed remains true to its working heritage. The schutzhund requirements for a dog to be proficient in tracking, obedience and protection work in order to earn a schutzhund title also ensure that the breed remains the all around "Jack of all trades" working dog that it was intended to be. This training provides important knowledge as to the dog's temperament and abilities, and helps separate dogs who possess the proper characteristics to be an asset to the breed from those who should not be bred. With this in mind, we require that all of our breeding dogs are schutzhund titled, as well as hip certified and health screened.
We raise, train and title our dogs ourselves and all of our current breeding stock are Handler Owned and Trained/Titled (HOT). This can be a slow road at times as each and every title obtained represents a large commitment of time, energy and money. But it is well worth it. From a breeding standpoint, we feel it is imperative for dogs to be thoroughly tested and have to prove they are breedworthy through objective evaluation by qualified judges. Even more important, we have found that the journey to a title is the best way to really know our dogs. A thorough training program that pushes the dog's limits is the only way to bring to light all that lies in the depths of a dog's personality, and schutzhund is without a doubt one of the most comprehensive and stringent training programs out there. Through the training process, we become intimately familiar with each dog's strengths and weaknesses and gain a thorough knowledge of his or her individual traits and working ability, which in turn helps us make good breeding decisions. Thus we are able to ensure that pups from our kennel will be healthy and true to their working heritage, and able to carry on the legacy that has made the German Shepherd Dog the most popular and versatile breed in the world.
Dogs from our breedings are excelling in schutzhund, agility, obedience, law enforcement, search and rescue and personal protection, while at the same time serving their families as loving, loyal companions and protectors. There is no better dog in the world than a good German Shepherd Dog, and that's what you will find at Wildhaus Kennels.