Purchase Information & Screening Process

Long-Term Commitment

Owning a white shepherd is a very long term commitment, as they live upwards of 14 years. Is a White Shepherd the right breed for you?

Potential Challenges

Shepherd puppies without adequate supervision may be very destructive, and can become territorial, protective, and aggressive. They may dig, chew, bark, jump up, and poop in the house! They may wander off (or actively seek to escape!) and become lost and/or injured.

These behaviors can be prevented by careful planning, supervising, and training.

Socialization Requirements

Before you buy a puppy, you must understand that you will have to socialize it in a range of varied situations. This breed has defensive instincts, is emotionally sensitive, and socialization is a must, and throughout puppyhood is recommended.

They will have puppy fear periods, which need to be handled with great care, to prevent decline in confidence. Examples of experiences would be car rides, trips to the park (not just the dog park) and meeting lots of strangers. Obedience class is great because it allows the dog to meet both new people and other dogs.

This breed is very smart and intuitive to its surroundings and handler, and must be taught how you expect it to act in public and at home.

Training Approach

Shepherds can be sensitive to discipline, and a positive reinforcement training style is generally the best way to train your shepherd puppy as a beginning. However, it is also important to understand that this breed is highly intelligent and some have enough willfulness to require other types of operant conditioning in addition to positive reinforcement.

In other words, a balanced approach to training is a very good approach and care must be taken to teach/train the dog in front of you, rather than just take training ideas as gospel and forcing those ideas to fit every dog. It is important to be able to identify when other types of conditioning/training is needed.

It is important to know that this breed is not the easiest for first time dog owners and finding proper training will likely be needed if you have not had experience with this, or similar breed.

Breed Characteristics

Shepherds are very loyal, active, and require lots of exercise. White Shepherds tend to be somewhat mellower than the historical working German shepherd lines, but they have very active minds and bodies and destructive tendencies usually arise out of a dog's boredom or lack of a "job" within the household.

They are naturally protective — don't ever expect them to walk up to a stranger with their tail wagging. If you want that behavior then this breed is not for you.

White Shepherds are great with children, other dogs, and if properly introduced, get along fine with cats and other smaller animals.

We are here to help with training/behavioral issues should they arise while rearing your puppy. We have a Slack group for our clients, where you can connect and share experiences and stories.

Purchasing a puppy from Moro Shepherds means that you also agree to the following (this verbiage is part of our formal contract you will sign):

Living Arrangements

That your living arrangements provide adequate room for exercise and play for your pup. In other words — if your address has an apartment number or a space number you will likely not be approved for adoption. Your yard is safely fenced to keep your puppy from escaping. You understand the necessity of lots of early socialization.

Registration Name

Buyer agrees to use the kennel name "Moro" as the first part of a dog's name for registration. An example would be Moro's Darling of Sapphire.

Contact Information

Buyer agrees to inform seller when they move or change phone numbers so we can have the ability to send communications to the buyer.

Return Policy

If during the 30 days of ownership, if you cannot keep the dog for any reason, buyer agrees to return the dog to the seller and receive a refund. Buyer is responsible for shipping expenses, if any. If after 30 days, the dog may be returned, however without a refund.

Transfer Restrictions

Buyer agrees not to sell, trade, lease out, euthanize (except under emergency conditions to end suffering), or give away the dog without our permission. If you ever decide that you do not want the dog it may be returned to Moro Shepherds, where we will rehome the animal if possible. In some cases we will allow a buyer to rehome themselves so long as we approve of the new owner.

Care Requirements

Buyer agrees to comply with all local ordinances regarding the keeping of dogs, in addition to providing adequate food, water, housing, immunizations and health care and humane treatment for the dog.

Spay/Neuter Contract

If purchased on a spay-neuter contract, buyer agrees to prevent the dog from breeding (even by accident) and buyer agrees to wait to have the dog spayed/neutered until the dog is at least 13 months of age, and after the female's first heat cycle, whichever is later. Any breeding under a spay/neuter contract is strictly prohibited, and attempts at registering any litters from a dog that was to be spayed/neutered will be reported to the appropriate kennel club.

The goal of Moro Shepherds with its breeding program is to produce dogs of sound mind and body, conforming as closely as possible to the FCI Berger Blanc Suisse breed standard. Our puppies carry the following guarantees with relation to health:

Hip/Elbow Dysplasia Guarantee

All pups are guaranteed regarding hip/elbow dysplasia. However, pedigrees that are free of hip dysplasia, for example, do not always guarantee 100% that a puppy will be free of these issues. Hip and elbow dysplasia can also become present if a dog is ever injured, especially in athletic/working breeds such as these.

In the case of bad hips and elbows, that would be an OFA grade of Moderate or Severe dysplasia on hips, or anything worse than DJD grade 1 on elbows. Hip X-rays must be taken and submitted to the OFA before the age of 36 months (3 years), and BEFORE BREEDING to qualify for this guarantee.

Puppies sold on a breeding or show contract are guaranteed to have a minimum rating at 24 months of fair hips and free of elbow dysplasia.

Genetic Health Issues

With respect to any other genetic health issues, if it becomes apparent that your dog has a life threatening genetic defect, with written confirmation from a vet we will either replace or refund your purchase price of the dog.

Initial Health Care

When you get your puppy home, they will have had their first vaccination, have been wormed multiple times, and microchipped with prepaid lifetime enrollment into AKC's Reunite program.

Our dogs are fed Royal Canin/Eukanuba brand pet food. We have fed this for years with fantastic results.

Temperament & Conformation

• Pups that are deemed not breed quality will be sold on a "pet contract" and require spay/neuter for release of registration papers.
• All pups that evaluate as breed or show quality are always sold with full breeding rights and registrations.
• We make every attempt to match the individual puppy with the home environment they will be placed in.
• Dogs that are placed in show/breeding homes are guaranteed to be fit for either breeding or show depending on conformation and health qualities.