About Us
40 years of dog breeding. 20 years of Shepherds. One 14-acre property in Canisteo, New York where every dog is health-tested, handled daily, and known by name.
Experienced Breeders
Upstate German Shepherds founder, Don Spear, has been breeding dogs over a 40-year span — 20 of those breeding the mighty German Shepherds of European fame.
Don discovered the longhair variant Shepherd when his reproduction veterinarian introduced him to Jodi Hartman. They bred Rommel to Mishka, and the pups proved to be extraordinarily beautiful — more importantly, superior companions. A few years later, Don and Jodi merged their small kennels and housed the dogs on Jodi’s 14-acre property in Canisteo, NY.
Jodi has 20 years of dog breeding experience and an invaluable instinct with German Shepherds. Breeding and daily care are her duties in the partnership, along with new acquisitions — usually direct from Europe. Together they decide on the match between sire and dam to produce the traits they want in each litter. Jodi assists buyers in pup selection based on individual personality.
Our Standard
We keep the operation small deliberately. Every dog is handled daily, worked regularly, and known individually. The European Shepherd is a demanding, people-oriented dog, and requires attention.
We emphasize the well-bred, “flat-back” German, Czech and Low Country bloodlines popularized after WWII. We do not deal in the American or European show branch characterized by the sharp downward angle of the back and the squat rear. Ours are working lines — and are not show dogs.
What’s the difference? We breed for flawless disposition with unparalleled steady nature, courage and character. Our dogs are accidentally beautiful.
The European breeds were always superior, but with the fall of the Berlin Wall, East (DDR) and West Germany were reunited. An entirely separate line of GSD was integrated into the DNA mix. Strong stock became mighty.
Our dogs are impossible to make unsure with a rock-solid steady nerve base. Great bone strength, great working ability. Relaxed inside the home, especially gentle with small children — and highly determined in protection.
Our adult dogs are DM clear
Our number-one objective is good health. Next is the perfect home-pet disposition. Along with that comes the desire to be trained — leading to the satisfying relationship between dog and master.
Hips & elbows
The Orthopedic Foundation for Animals is a nonprofit founded in 1966 that evaluates x-rays of a dog’s hips and elbows and certifies the results. Hip and elbow dysplasia are among the most common inherited problems in German Shepherds, and screening the parents is the single best way to reduce the risk in the puppies.
OFA’s results database of roughly two million animals is public and searchable — you can look up any breeder’s dogs, including ours.
Genetic screening
Degenerative myelopathy (DM) is a progressive disease of the spinal cord that shows up later in a dog’s life — often compared to ALS in people. It is linked to a mutation in the SOD1 gene, and a simple DNA test reports a dog as Clear, Carrier, or At-Risk.
Our breeding dogs test Clear, meaning they carry no copy of the mutation to pass on — so their puppies cannot inherit one from them.
Working titles
Schutzhund — German for “protection dog” — is the sport the breed was built around. A dog is tested in three phases together: tracking, obedience, and protection. It is the same sport you’ll see called IPO (renamed 2012) or IGP (renamed 2019), and it is earned in three ascending levels, 1 through 3.
Titles are awarded by judges at sanctioned trials, not by the breeder — so they can be checked independently. Titled dogs appear throughout our bloodlines.
Registration
Every pup is registered with the American Kennel Club and goes home with its paperwork and pedigree, so the bloodline behind your dog is documented rather than described.
