OUR KENNEL NAME: Our kennel name, is a name we hold near and dear to our heart. "Vom Haus Himmelsoldat" is German, Meaning “From the Sky Soldier House”. We named our kennel to honor my late father who was a member of the 173rd Airborne (also known as Sky Soldiers). Our company logo bears the crest of the 173rd Airborne Brigade. We honor my father’s memory, as well as the men and women who continue to serve, fight, and sacrifice for the freedoms we enjoy in this great country!
OUR BREEDING STANDARDS: We are a small kennel based in Central North Carolina. We are extremely passionate, and committed to Breeding, and producing top of the line, quality Workingline, and Showline German Shepherds, and puppies. All of our dogs are Registered with the AKC (some Imports are dual registered, with AKC as well as their country of origin). We will never breed dogs who have not been health tested. Our Breeding dogs have been trained by us, and have proven themselves to have stable nerves, clear heads, strong work ethic, and high food and ball drive, all of which are some of the most important components to building a solid dog with the capability and willingness to work, after all, that is what this breed was created to do, to work!
We not only breed German Shepherds but we train them as well. We are actively involved in Schutzhund (German for "protection dog") which is a German dog sport, and was developed in the early 1900’s in Germany as a breed suitability test for German Shepherds. Schutzhund requires the dog to prove themselves in three different areas...tracking, obedience, and protection work, this sport requires years of dedicated training to be able to compete and receive a title in the sport. By being active in this sport and training to compete, It awards us the opportunity to know all the important nuances of our breeding stock(as many unknown traits are often uncovered during the extensive training) . We are able to identify their strengths, as well as, where they could be stronger. It is with that knowledge that we are able to identify good pairings for breeding, as we will make sure to breed with a dog who is strong in all of the most important areas but also very strong in areas where our dog may not be as strong. The fact is, no dog is perfect, and we strive to only breed to excellent dogs who compliment what our dogs already have, and to impart a trait that we would like to strengthen. We will never breed to dogs who have not had the proper health testing and to whom we have not witnessed their working ability as well as their temperaments first hand. Breeding German Shepherds is not simply something we do, it’s our passion!
"What does all of this mean for someone simply looking for a pet?" Quite simply, it is just as important for "pet" dogs to have the same clear heads, stable nerves, and high drives, as it is for a dog doing Sport, or Police or Personal Protection work.
Why? Because, if a dog lacks food drive, or ball drive, they are going to be difficult to train. When you train a dog, they should get rewards for completing the task you have asked them to do (such as "sit"). When they have successfully done what you have asked them to do, you should be marking the desired behavior, either verbally (with a "yes") or with a clicker; as soon as you mark the desired behavior, they get rewarded (this is where the food and ball drives come in). If they do not value food, or a ball, the reward is not rewarding to them, and they will likely bore of the exercise at hand, and their focus will drift, thus ending your training session, having learned nothing. If they have high food and ball drive, they will give you extreme focus, and the reward will be like ecstasy to them. They will LOVE to work, and the progress you will make with them, during training, will be enormous in comparison.
Why is it important that your pet has genetically stable nerves? Unstable nerves can absolutely be passed on to puppies genetically. Most behavioral issues, we see in training, are due to the dog not having strong, stable nerves. This can cause major problems for pet owners. Fear aggression, and environmental issues are just a couple examples of issues that can arise out of poor breeding practices . They can keep you from being able to fully enjoy your pet in every environment. One of the most dangerous dogs you can encounter is one with fear. This is why we will never breed a dog that has not proven their nerve stability!
Of Note: Some nerve issues can arise out of poor socialization, no matter how good their genetics may be, so it is very important that you socialize the puppy as soon as you have completed all of the rounds of immunizations, making it safe to do so.
"Dogs know two things, what you teach them, and what you let them get away with" JH