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Bärenberg
German Shepherds
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Our kennel ~
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We only own 2
breeding females and one retired female. We work at home, so we are
available for our dogs/puppies
24/7. We couldn't breed dogs otherwise, as dogs need a lot of attention to
be healthy and happy.
They rotate in the house and split the rest of their time between our
yard (for exercise and interaction) and their pens. We supervise them all the time
while they are outside, as we spend a lot of time ourselves working on the yard,
the barn, the car, etc.
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We moved to this 1½ acre
property in farm country a year ago and there is
much we need to update, the
kennel included. But we are well
on our way, as we have added a
nice puppy room next to the main
dog's area, where expectant
mothers or older puppies can
have a space of their own. We
have started re-painting the
kennel. We plan to finish
updating it next year.
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Inside view of our kennel, which
is simply a garage we adapted to
the dogs' needs. They enjoy nice
shelter both in summer and
winter, the garage door is
closed at night or in inclement
weather. Our area thankfully has
mid-range temperatures. When
extreme, we provide heat or fans
as needed.
The dogs spend only 3-4 hours in
their pens during the day,
before they are let out again.
Each pen has a crate with a
blanket to keep them cozy at
night and crates are always
open. Dogs can come in and out
as they wish. Most of them keep
their pens clean, but for those
who don't we clean up each pen
as we let them out. The pens are
never hosed down, so the dogs
never have hot spots or other
wet-related skin problems. They
are also naturally flea and tick
free. Our area does not have
ticks. We spot-spray Nature's
Miracle where needed in the
pens; it's a natural enzyme
which neutralizes residue and
odors. It does the job and dries
quickly before the dogs come
back in. We also use wood chips
on the pens of the dogs not
housebroken. Thanks to this
combination our kennel never
smells bad. We finish by
sweeping up the kennel's isle
once a day to take care of hair
and wood chips. Both dogs and
puppies enjoy classical music in
the daytime.
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The new Puppy room:
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Next
to the main kennel is our brand new puppy
room, insulated and nicely painted for ease
of cleaning.
Puppy room in the house:
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Puppies are born and raised in this
room, right next to the computer
area, so I watch them all the time.
They spend their first 5 weeks in
this area, first in their pen and
then loose in the room. This
arrangement gets the puppies used to
all the normal sounds of a household
plus they get started in
house-breaking. German Shepherds
practically housebreak themselves.
They look for the area with the
newspapers first and later beg to go
outside. After 5 weeks of age they
start spending time outside in their
movable x-pens (weather permitting)
where they always have access to
shade.
As they get older they spend some
time in a larger pen in the kennel,
and they rotate in the house. The
floor in the penned in area inside
is lined with a foam material to
make the floor warmer and softer for
mothers lying down for long hours
with their puppies. Newspapers are
laid on top and then shredded paper.
Newspapers are changed as needed and
the whole puppy area is swept, dis-assembled,
disinfected and mopped daily.
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Puppies run outside in
the yard a couple of
times a day and play
with their mother or
their "babysitter",
Lara, who loves puppies
of all ages. Either
adult also spends time
in the puppies' pen a
couple of times a day.
Our puppies are
socialized with
children and adults;
when they leave they
have been exposed to
as wide a range of
experiences as
possible within a
safe, sheltered
environment. They
are calm, happy,
outgoing puppies
which many of our
new puppy owners
have described to us
as their best dog
ever. We specialize
in excellent
companion puppies
that can do it all.
Contact us
for your next German
Shepherd puppy!
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serve you help us understand your needs, please fill out our short application form:
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