Ironwood Shepherds

Our philosophy

A German shepherd that is nervy is a dangerous dog, and nerve is inherited. We test ours: crowd, gunfire, strange surfaces, strangers in hats. We breed the dogs that recover quickly and go back to work. The kennel sits on eleven acres outside Bend. It has heated whelping rooms and gravel yards with shade, and the dogs rotate through the house in the evenings. That balance of structure and family is the whole design. Hips and elbows are cleared and published on both sides of every litter. If a puppy cannot pass on those clearances, it will not be bred here, however good it looks.