~ Welcome! A little about us

~ GSD's diverse history includes Service Dogs

~ A few Candid Home pics of our group

WELCOME to the old style Shepherds of Pearlinhaus!

About us, our pups and the lifestyle of our babies:

Our family's experience with this breed goes way way back, 5 generations now! You could say it's in my blood, and training and breeding interest/responsibilities started very early for me too. That, for the most part, comes from my grandparents.

My grandparents had tiny ones in addition to their German Shepherds. My Grandmother bred her favorite tiny ones (Pomeranians) back in the 1960s when I was young, and I spent a lot of time with my grandparents so they were a huge influence on me and my passion. I learned so much from them, from the basics of dog nature, and the careful strategies of birthing and raising the babies, to natural health care and supplements (which used to be the norm back in the day) and especially training.

My grandfather first introduced me to training at an early age when I would go with him when he took the dogs out. Then I trained my first one, a sable German Shepherd, when I was 12 -13 yrs old. I taught him to climb, watch, "send away", come, stop, sit, lay down, stay, heel, and more all with hand signals as well as voice commands. I was hooked from that point on (I have been told more than once by a sibling that I "was always monopolizing our dogs"... I suppose they're right, I was always out training with them LOL!) I LOVED being with and working with the dogs! I chose the dogs over people more often than not and still do to this day. For me, being with the dogs is a fun and fascinating field of interest and I will continue to soak up all the research and facts until my last breath! It is my passion!

I still use quite a bit of what I learned back then, but today I am able to take it so much farther now with all the tools we have gained over time, such as the DNA screening tools and modern research.

I've noticed there is a lot of confusion about the words "Old Style" so I hope this can clear it up a bit:

When we use the term "Old Style", we're referring to the demonstration below. We simply prefer the older style of GSDs that our family has grown up with for many generations (since the 1940s).

00 GSD 1920s to current day. Why we choose the Old Style.jpg

Yva, a naturally protective Family Dog

Here is a short video showing how a dog can be protective yet well behaved family dog at the same time. This is Yva many years ago. (now called Gramma Yva, she's still around but will be 13 this year!

(RIP my love)

In this video she was bothered by something outside of our yard and yet settles down quickly with simple control from me.

Some dogs are naturally protective, and most GSDs are, and if you don't "correct" it out of them, they'll be great protectors, yet easily controlled when they're adults.

I was very lucky to catch this on video as we don't use fake situations to game with, and don't "set it up" where there is no real air of danger. I was very lucky to have the video running in the right place at the right time to catch the natural act on video! YAY!

***This most awesome girl of mine passed away peacefully at home when she was 13..... RIP Yva, you are missed and always will be

The Pearlinhaus Family Shepherd

Our goal is the high quality Family Shepherds / Service Dogs for the average family who loves the breed as much as we do. Ours are not the show dogs, they DO have the titled bloodlines (you COULD show them if you want to), but our goal is for them to be high quality, sturdy Family Dogs and Service Dogs with all day stamina for the health / mobility challenged. The first thing I look for is their personalities, but the bloodlines are also important to their overall health, thus I combine them. Because of this diversity in their bloodlines, we usually have a variety of coat patterns too such as blacks and sables in addition to the traditional color patterns.

We strive for the dogs that I grew up with in the 60s and 70s. They were big with a sturdy build (not streamlined), straight backed and level headed with a protective edge, yet playful and watchful of us kids. If our parents couldn't see us, they'd call the dog and wherever they came from was where us kids were, and the dog would head right back to us.

Today we mix the 'lines' for a good balance and then those pups are born within the family unit right from the very start of their lives, in fact they’re born in my bedroom!

So we’re a family with our dogs, we're a very small operation, we don't have 15, 20, or 30+ dogs and say they're "Family" dogs, and many of our dogs stay with us to a ripe old age. We prefer being very small like we are, it's a family atmosphere! We do many things the same as the “Big Kennels”. For instance, just like many of the responsible big kennels, we monitor everything, we health screen our prospective mating dogs, we occasionally re-home adult dogs (because we would be overrun with too many if we didn't and some do best as the only dog in a home), and we keep our vet busy. The differences between us and other “kennels” is that our dogs live in the home with us, we don't have rows of kennels with lots of dogs, and we don't have puppies available at all times. We only have 4 females that are moms and we try very hard to schedule their litters in order to have 'hands on' with every baby. That would be nearly impossible if we had puppies coming every month!!

Because our puppies are born in our home, they're "imprinted from birth" I guess (for a lack of a better term) to living in a home with people. The sounds of a family life, the aromas of cooking, sounds of TV and music, voices of all ages, toys, vacuums, things dropping, laughter and playful human sounds are a part of this. ***I've seen a few pups that I was interested in adding to our family, happy to read that they were "family raised" only to find that they came from a place that had 30 dogs or more! Family dogs live with the family, not outside in rows of kennels. Big difference in the two lifestyles and it will show in the dogs themselves.

This “family start” in life gives them a strong foundation for living in your home. So remember; when you've chosen a puppy from our home, you've chosen a family GSD, please don't make them a backyard or kennel dog, you are adding a member to your family! So go ahead and go shopping, puppy proof your home and.....be excited for the new member of your family!

New to The German Shepherd?

They have quite a diverse history!

Throughout their history of over 100 years, the German Shepherd has been worked in several different areas, from herding dogs, to War dogs, and even used as Seeing Eye dogs, they can do it all. Because of their diverse capabilities, you'll find a few different "types" of the GSD today that were developed over the many generations. Those breeders who used the breed for a specific use, will have maximized on that one trait when selecting which dogs to breed together. Today each 'type' will depend on the traits that were selected to be brought out the most via selective breeding over the decades..for example the working line is most often the 'type' used in police work, and each country had their own "look" that would win in the show rings. We strive for the family minded or Service work type so the build must be strong and straight, not streamlined. It's a very intelligent and very loyal breed that needs a firm but loving teacher. Ultimately, it's the training that will make the difference with this breed (as it is for most breeds). We stress that training can make or break a dog, so please make sure you're up to the training aspect of owning a GSD

***German Shepherds, the Pioneers in Assistance (Service Dogs) from: https://phz8.petinsurance.com/pet-breeds/dog-breeds/5-things-you-didnt-know-about-german-shepherd-dogs?OM=CI0410&extcmp=smd-ebiz-BL0002-fbwall

In 1927, Dorothy Harrison Eustis, an American dog trainer living in Switzerland, was training German shepherd dogs as guide dogs for the blind. The first recipients of these GSD guide dogs were WWI veterans blinded on the battlefield.

Eustis’s work caught the attention of Morris Frank, who was blinded as a child and saw a widespread need for the talented seeing-eye dogs. He and Eustis went on to co-found The Seeing Eye, the first guide-dog school in the U.S. By 1956, due to the effortless campaigning by Frank, every state in the U.S. passed a law permitting guide dogs to accompany their blind companions in public spaces.

Seeing Eye Dog Day is celebrated every year on January 29th. (See more historic photos of these Seeing Eye dogs below)

This breed has a huge desire to protect and serve their people. It comes from deep inside them. Puppies will generally show this from an early age, and as long as it has not been taken out of them, the adult dog will be a level minded protector. (If you want a guard, don't break that trait when they're pups!)....Have you ever seen or read or even heard of the story of Secretariat, the famous race horse? He had a pure deep love and desire to run, and run FAST ...that deep desire of his made a difference, he made history! (one of my favorite movies/books) That desire was so deep, they didn't need to use a crop whip as is normal for race horses. It was all in his own desire and his heart....... Same with dogs, they all have a different level of desires, each one is best suited for a specific type of work (some love the "catch and take down the prey" game so they make the best Police dogs, some love to use their nose for everything and make great tracking dogs, some love to be lazy lap dogs, that's what many of the toy breeds are bred for and are very good at it!) And then some dogs have a deep desire to BE with you, to do things for you, to protect you and yours, to take care of you, to serve you. There is no trophy or ribbon or competition ring for that trait, that I'm aware of anyway. It is in some bloodlines though, and those traits are what I search for in all the various bloodlines out there today.

Because of this high intelligence as evidenced in their history, they need training, early training right from the start or they can take over the home. They will train YOU if you're not a good leader. Train them with consistency, encouragement, and love. They'll THRIVE on that guidance!

Yva grandmother to many of our Service Dogs.jpg

Many things will contribute to the overall dog

Environment, training decisions, health care decisions, food, and of course bloodlines.

Around here we try to keep their environment as natural as possible, their health care as natural as possible, feed high quality foods, and I believe in and strive for a blended balance of bloodline "types". I do this because the dogs I grew up with were amazing, but were not show or working CH types at all, yet they were protective, gentle, highly intelligent, big not flimsy, and could go all day with all of us kids (we were a family of 6 kids so that took a LOT LOL) Our goal now is for that same type of dog.

I also take great care in the decisions of their food and health. I read ingredients, study research, and am constantly learning something new to me. I do prefer natural approaches to their health but I'm very appreciative of my vet as well! I'd be lost without her ability to diagnose things I can't figure out and I don't hesitate to turn to her skills when I don't have the answers to an issue.... I believe that balancing the natural approach with conventional knowledge is what's in our best interests.

In our breeding program it's another balancing of two or more. We use both the show lines and the working lines, but also find the non titled dogs to have traits that some titled dogs don't have. We blend them because none of these by themselves are quite what we personally strive for. I have also found that most of the 'extreme lines' are heavily inbred (it's called "line breeding"and I try to avoid that as much as I can) and that poses concerns for me. IMO, Inbreeding is never a good idea unless it is a necessity to create a new breed or to preserve a dying species, neither of which affect the GSD of today.

In any case, in our experiences, blending them works best for our goal. These Family dogs that come from this 'blending' just seem to be the best balanced in what I'm striving to improve upon and strengthen. The main trait we strive for (other than the best overall health, of course!) is intelligence and the natural ability to excel in a family or Service Dog setting.

As we all know, in everything in life there are the "extreme" opposites and the GSD world is no different, any GSD blog or social page debates about "which side is best" will prove that. But I usually find the most fairness and happiness is in the middle, that 'middle' is a great balance of both traits!

Our program reminds me of the story of the rancher who went away to war, leaving his prized horses in the care of an inexperienced though loving & trustworthy care taker. At one point some horses needed to be sold to cover expenses, so the rancher gave his consent, trusting the person would do the right thing. When the rancher returned home he found his herd drastically changed ...all his best horses were gone, leaving only the "pretty ones"! The person thought they had done right, thinking that selling off the ones that weren't as "pretty" was the right thing to have done (in the eye of that kind but inexperienced care taker, these would be seen as the "show" choices) ...but the rancher was dismayed. All his good horses were gone. The pretty ones, while nice to look at, did not have what it takes to work the farm. It was too bad the kind, well meaning person taking care of them didn't know the true value of the farm horses.....

So although all of our pups may not be considered by some circles to be "show" candidates, or "working dog" candidates, (some pups would, some don't and that's ok, very few "competition kennel" pups are even chosen for their world of trophies). I see ours as above and beyond those outward beauty traits. They are abundantly capable of going in any direction an individual or family may want and that's what I look for. Their ancestral bloodlines are diverse; from Service, Therapy, Personal Protection, Herding and Family dogs as well as the usual CH show and competition lines. Since our goal is versatility, we strive to select the best from the best, out of all those abilities, among all the different bloodlines, ...something that is not often done anymore, thus today has GSDs that can be 'inbred', and some either don't "work" as Shepherds of our past did, or can ONLY work and are too tightly wound for the average family home, neither of which suits our demands for our goals. So if a well rounded highly intelligent Family dog is what you're looking for, this is what we strive so hard for.

As beautiful as any bloodlines may be, the right environment from the start is extremely important as well. Our pups, from pregnancy, to newborn, to active puppies, enjoy tons of love and socialization, from birth to the time they go to their new families. Born in the quiet atmosphere of my bedroom, then as they start to explore and get even more active and want to leave their nursery area, they move outside where they have a HUGE area, a field all their own to play in, develop in and explore in, all the while having full access via a doggy door to an indoor room designated just for them. Born in this home environment, and handled with gentle love from day one, combined with a special 'stress exercise' program, helps a pup develop naturally strong and make the smoothest possible transition to being your family dog in your own home. Loving and smart, with a desire to serve their humans, and being reasonably protective, that GSD is our main goal. In addition to being some of the best family companions, and because our world is changing fast, we also like having the immediate and visible crime deterrent that the German Shepherd provides.

We strive for the older style, stable, protective yet less "trigger happy", family minded, highly intelligent type. It's nothing new and we're not the only ones who seek them out. They've been around for a very very long time. In fact they've been Guide Dogs for the blind since 1920s in Germany and since 1946 here in the U.S., they just haven't gotten as much publicity, which is a shame because they are AMAZING dogs! Below are just a few of the Service Dogs we've produced here. The Pearlinhaus pups shown below have saved the lives of their people with their early detection skills, stability for the unsteady, PTSD skills and other .... We're very proud of these pups and their people!

"Blind Veterans in 1920 from World War I. In the German Government Training School for Guide Dogs in Oldenburg. The first class trained by X Captain L.A.Kreimer, founder and head of the German Government from 1919 – 1929

14 Blind war veterans / 1 blind nurse / and 15 trainers standing in back…also Captain L.A. Kreimer"

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A few candid photos of our dogs

Garden season safety!! One more thing to learn about when considering getting a puppy.

Please be sure to check the list of dangerous flowers and other plants that we love, but that can also be very toxic to our pets. Here's a link to a list to get you started. Some pets have small reactions - some have severe. Make sure you know your pet and your yard plants! http://www.petpoisonhelpline.com/pet-owners/basics/top-10-plants-poisonous-to-pets/

Our oldest, Yva (13 this year) and now our youngest Rylah ...

Pearlinhaus Old Style Family German Shepherds

The adults do have their own outdoor space as well, although theirs has direct access to the house (via a back porch for drying off their feet!) ....and I'm planning on enlarging it even more maybe next year...I'm thinking " even more play space"!

Boss and Ami get rough and then sweet .j

It's been a very wet and nasty winter this year (it does this about every 7-10 years now for as long as I can remember and I'm almost 60!) So the dogs area is nothing but mud even with the wood shavings on their pathways, and so they have to use the tiny little front yard for playtime or else they get mired in mud! You can see Ami is full of it as she was racing around in the back pen this morning and Boss is clean. I guess it's front yard playtime for the next few days or a couple of weeks.... Although I won't complain about the mud (knowing that others are hitting MASSIVE cold temps this winter) still...I can't WAIT until it's nice weather again!