Copyright. Nachtwaechter Kennels. All rights reserved.

Our dogs come from primarily West German Working Lines, with some Czech lines as well. We have chosen to focus primarily on West German Working Lines as, in our opinion, their temperament, drives, structure, and working ability is the closest to the original German Shepherd Dog as described by Captain Max von Stephanitz, founder of the German Shepherd Dog breed.

We very carefully select our dogs from trustworthy and reputable breeders from lines we know to produce the qualities we strive for. All breeding females, even if not yet titled, have been trained in all three phases of schutzhund. 

What is schutzhund?

Now referred to as IPO, it is the breed suitability test for the German Shepherd Dog that consists of three phases: tracking, obedience, and protection. Dogs are tested in trials, and at the upper levels of competition are the regional and national events. A select few qualify to represent the United States Teams in international competition.

When we breed, we focus selecting males that match well with our females' temperaments, drives, structure and lines. Success on the trial field is not the only judge of a dog's quality and value; we look at the dog as a whole. As such, we always have an eye open for dogs that would improve the breed.