IMPORTING PUPPY BOXER FROM RUSSIA OR GERMANY Please Help!

BLUEBOY wrote:
> After checking out local boxer kennels selling pups for $2300
> etc for "pretty nice" but nothing really special puppies, I am about
> to take the plunge of buying a Boxer puppy from a kennel from either
> Russia or Germany. The dogs there seem to be more readily available
> and gorgeous to boot!

Matt raises a good point. I would also like to point out that if
"readily available," "gorgeous," and cheap are your criteria, then
Boxer rescue is an excellent place to start.

http://www.boxerrescuequebec.com/

Among the many benefits of getting a dog through a good rescue group
are the knowledge that the dog will be vetted, will probably have
some training, will be temperament tested, will be matched to your
needs and lifestyle, and, most importantly IMO, will come with a
support system. If you have questions or problems, an anonymous
breeder in Russia is not going to be a very good resource.

--
Shelly
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)
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"BLUEBOY" <blue000000.DeleteThis@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1182308957.577833.3330@w5g2000hsg.googlegroups.com...
> After checking out local boxer kennels selling pups for $2300
> etc for "pretty nice" but nothing really special puppies, I am about
> to take the plunge of buying a Boxer puppy from a kennel from either
> Russia or Germany. The dogs there seem to be more readily available
> and gorgeous to boot!
> Their web sites show their kennel with a history of litters
> dating back 20 odd years.
> Any advice? I need help as to what scams/pitfalls to look out for.
> Anyone else having gone through with this your help would be much
> appreciated. Is there any "safe mode of payment"? Which airline to use
> and how expensive additional costs associated with the importing of a
> puppy? (duty to be paid, brokerage fees, etc?).
> Very anxious about all this, and would very much appreciate your
> comments, Blueboy
============================
Before you purchase your new puppy, I hope you will consider looking into
the Boxer Rescues. There are so many Boxers out there looking for their
forever homes.
Petfinder is a good place to look, and I have posted a link to a handsome
male Boxer pup listed on Petfinder. Below that link is another link for a
Boxer Rescue in LA showing all the Boxers they have up for adoption. But,
there are so many Boxer rescues scattered across the US, just do a search
and give them a look before you invest a ton of money on a new pup.
http://search.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=8329246

http://boxer-rescue-la.com/available.htm

>
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pfoley wrote:

> Before you purchase your new puppy, I hope you will consider looking into
> the Boxer Rescues. There are so many Boxers out there looking for their
> forever homes.

Indeed. It's a shame no one mentioned that option.

> Petfinder is a good place to look,

The OP appears to be in Montreal.

> Below that link is another link for a Boxer Rescue in LA

Unlike Montreal, LA is not in Quebec.

> But, there are so many Boxer rescues scattered across the US,

Montreal is not in the US.

--
Shelly
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)
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"BLUEBOY" <blue000000.DeleteThis@gmail.com> wrote in message:

> After checking out local boxer kennels selling pups for $2300
> etc for "pretty nice" but nothing really special puppies,

Who in the world is asking for that kind of money for Boxers? How did you
go about finding these breeders? The normal recommendation is to contact
the breed club for information regarding breeders in your area, and use that
as a starting point for screening responsible breeders.


> to take the plunge of buying a Boxer puppy from a kennel from either
> Russia or Germany. The dogs there seem to be more readily available
> and gorgeous to boot!

Buyer beware! Unless you're willing to fly out there, check out the kennel
and the puppy (or have someone you can trust to do the same on your behalf),
you're taking a huge risk. Are these folks you found active in show or
performance so you can verify their credibility independently? What sort of
health testing do they do? How do you know that you will get anything at
all in return for your money, never mind a healthy Boxer puppy of good
temperament?

Suja
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Hi there,

On Tue, 19 Jun 2007 20:09:17 -0700, BLUEBOY wrote:
> After checking out local boxer kennels selling pups for $2300
> etc for "pretty nice" but nothing really special puppies, I am about
> to take the plunge of buying a Boxer puppy from a kennel from either
> Russia or Germany. The dogs there seem to be more readily available
> and gorgeous to boot!

Not from russia!
When I lived in the US (I am german), I searched about 12 month for a good
(!) breeder to buy a GSD, but could not find one. So, I also thought about
importing a puppy or a young dog from Germany. However, I could not do that
(not with good conscience), it's too hard for such a young beeing, also
without having the dog and the environment seen before. Well, I found a
good breeder in CA, but I lived in GA, means it would have been the same
"fly-in-problem". I thought about flying to CA, but at the end, I thought
.... no that's not ok, too much "money-making" on that. So I went to the
local shelters (saw some horror) and finally adopted a Mix, means a
"surprise package" and she really was one ;-)!
I had to learn later, how hughe the "culture shock" really can be, when I
moved back to germany with my "american dog" (she was one year old). The
shock was much bigger than I expected. I knew, I adopted a somewhat anxious
dog. What I did not know, I adopted a dog, falling into sudden panic
attacks with everything she never saw or heard before, also tiny stuff. Ok,
there obviously were some hughe holes in her very early living (the shelter
said: "rescued from an irresponsible breeder"). Well, one year hard and
scheduled training fixed that pretty much (no warranty on future
throwbacks).
And of course, she is the best dog in the whole wide world :-)!

However, _if_ you find a german breeder, who would send you a puppy right
away, I would be very skeptical, because that would be _very_ untypical for
a good and responsible (german) breeder.
If you get a dog from an irresponsible breeder, you can run into hughe
problems (health, education and therefore time wise).

> Their web sites show their kennel with a history of litters
> dating back 20 odd years.

Better would be 30-40 years. I would go for at least 4 generations.

> Any advice? I need help as to what scams/pitfalls to look out for.

Don't get confused by "FCI-papers", if you are going to get a dog from
Germany. German dogs have to have "VDH-papers" or "VDH/FCI-papers". There
are several fakes, claming to have "FCI-papers" (means FCI only).
German purebred dogs _must_ have VDH approved papers.

VDH is the member of the FCI to ask for in germany. There are some scams
out there, selling mixes with "official FCI-papers" (especially in eastern
europe, also in former eastern germany).

> Anyone else having gone through with this your help would be much
> appreciated. Is there any "safe mode of payment"? Which airline to use
> and how expensive additional costs associated with the importing of a
> puppy? (duty to be paid, brokerage fees, etc?).

Airline: Delta (very good in animal transport in 2004 and several years
earlier) and never ever with Air France (which also means: no german
Lufthansa via Paris).
My dog checked in in Atlanta and arrived in Munich without any Problems
(beside my damaged nerves). Nonstop-flights should be the first option.

> Very anxious about all this, and would very much appreciate your
> comments, Blueboy

My comment: don't fly a puppy around the world. The hint to the rescue
organisations was done.
Another hint: US-Breeds and Original-Country-Breeds can be very different.
Shape and character wise. E.g. you can't compare a German bred Rottweiler
with a US bred Rottweiler. A german Rotti has a good chance, to be much
more "difficult". As well as US GSDs are often even more "frogs"
(shapewise), than the "german original" (not to talk about HD and others)
and even the "original" (german western) GSD is far, far away from that,
what Stephanitz (the "inventor") had in mind.

I am not aware of any pitfalls with boxers (not my preferred breed, but I
knew a very nice one), but it might be similar to the Rotties. Both are
really not couch potatoes and my experience says, US Boxers might be - as
well as Rotties - much "easier" than the "original".

Bye,
Marion
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