[speeder]

Both of my GSDs were acquired from hobby breeders who had both parents and the parents were from well known championship lines. My last dog's GGF was 2-time National Champion, just a magnificent Shepard.

As much as I believe in adopting shelter animals, (I have countless friends w great rescue dogs), I wanted a great German Shepard and wanted to see the parents, not just for their health and beauty but also for temperament. I wanted to see how they reacted to a stranger coming into their house w a litter of puppies present, how they were around children, etc. If you are really good at studying dog behavior, even small puppies can reveal personality traits but most people would miss them.

Dog breeding is a science and an art. It is not as simple as finding two good-looking dogs and breeding them, you need to know their blood lines and how to breed in order to get the results you want. There is a certain amount of distant inbreeding involved, for instance but I don't completely understand it. For the best dog/human experience, there is also an ideal time period for the puppies to stay w the parents/mother before separation/adoption. There is a lot to it.