I have searched the forum but it may be worth throwing the topic out there once again.

After a trip to Finland i've come back absolutely besotted with German Pinschers, they seem to be just what i'm looking for in an active canine companion but i'm perfectly aware that I shouldn't be basing my opinion on a breed from two dogs.  Given that the next three/four years will be spent completing my theoretical and practical training and then I should really give myself another year or two to find a job/appropriate house I have plenty of time to do my homework properly, but I know there's such a thing as overdoing it.

My problem is trying to balance the fact I want to make sure I really am the right person to own the breed with my tendency to over plan. I know that on the outside doing anything four years in advance is slightly unnecessary, but perhaps it would be better to start meeting as many individuals within the breed as possible now so that when i'm actually in a position to have a dog i've already had a few meet and greets with the breed? Would it be best just to attend as many shows where the breed will be present as possible and trying not to get in the way too much (possibly pre-arrange to meet exhibitors so i'm not ambushing them?) or just to stick to arranging to see how their dogs are in the home?

I know this may seem very silly to a lot of you, despite always owning terriers I've never been through the process of contacting a breeder or assessing my suitability for a particular breed so i'm feeling a little out of my depth.

Nothing to stop you joining the breed club and attending club events and shows getting to know owners and breeders. 

It is very much a breed in the development stages, so planning well ahead and perhaps getting involved with bringing in new blood will be something you may choose to do as you get to know the situation with the breed here.

These are the kind of people breeds like this need.

I decided to change breed in 2000 but didn't get my first dachsie till 2004, very few breeders had websites back then, even now there are more websites but some are very basic or are not kept up to date, as I was hoping to show/breed I wanted to get it right first time not buy any dogs to later have to neuter the lot because they were of poor quality as I had seen others do more than once, so I don't think it is too early to start your homework.

By going along to breed specific shows you will see a concentration of the breed and breeders, majority will be happy to speak to you once their dogs have finished in the ring. By meeting several breeder/owners like this you will see which ones you can build a rapore with, nothing worse than turning up at someones home after emails/brief phone call and finding you don't get on with the person and out of politeness feel you have to stay for a reasonable length of time.

What I did was contact the breed clubs and get a list of their breeders and shows, don't limit how far you want to travel for a pup but you can opt to attend shows nearer to home as breeder/show folk will travel all over the country.

Find out what breed specific health tests are manditory/recommeded by the KC, you can then ask with knowledge if dogs have had them done,some breeders are proud to have done the tests but others who haven't may not bring up the subject, certain tests can be checked on the KC website provided you have the full name of the dogs, another way to while away the hours and put it down to research if you feel guilty or someone pulls you on it.

Good Luck with your research.

It's an interesting question but I don't think it's ever too early to start researching, particularly if there is even a small chance that you might discover it isn't the breed for you.

Joining the breed club and going to shows is a great idea and you can also go to Discover Dogs which is held in London each November.  If you can tell us where you are perhaps we could tell you what Championship shows are relatively nearby or you could have a look at Fosse Data and Higham Press for more information about shows in 2013.    Crufts is another very good show for a look around but be careful not to limit yourself to one or two shows if possible as sometimes the judge doesn't suit and you may get a slightly skewed view of the breed based on who is willing to enter under them!  Luckily you have several Crufts to attend before making your decision

Discover Dogs is manned by volunteers and they are very helpful but it only gives you a snapshot of the breed and of course only the best tempered examples will be there.  It's also worth remembering that you want a 'warts an' all' viewpoint and with the best will in the world we are all a little bit biased about our breeds :)  (I try and tell people about my gundog breed then end up explaining just how kissable they are     ....sigh!!).  I'd be useless manning the information booth :( 

Some of the summer Championship Shows are held in lovely settings so make a good day out.  There is generally plenty of room to just hang around the breed ring observing the dogs and owners and the interaction between the two.  Get a catalogue and start to mark the dogs you like the look of and you may well find over time that you identify dogs with breeders, and lines, in common.  Once they've finished in the breed rings I'm sure many owners would be happy to talk to you.  Good breeders will go out of their way to help you meet some of their other owners too so you can see the differences, if any, between the dogs who show and those that don't.  Good luck with your research

Theres no harm in starting now, that way when the time comes you will be happy the breed siuts you and will have some people in mind if you do decide to go for the breed. You could go to discover dogs, they will have a stand there for the breed and shows. You could also email some breeders and ask them about the finer points of the breed and let them know you wouldnt be looking for a pup for a few years. Also ask for the bad points of the breed as well as all the good. After i fell in love with my breed the breeders told me she shed alot which i hadnt read anywhere and was the main reason why i crosed another breed off my list, so i brought a new hover lol. As you said you could arrange to meet people at shows and see there dogs, once they get to know you they may welcome you to visit them.

I started my search long befor i was allowed a dog but i had a plan to convince my mother who i live with to agree which worked. Im so glad i did as i have no regrets on the breed or the breeder i chose.

Brainless: I wasn't aware I could join the breed club without a proposer, i'll definitely look into that. I've been browsing the club website and noticed the next show I could semi-realistically get to would be Darlington, but i'll definitely get in touch with the club secretary and see if there are any events going on. Whilst in Finland my friend did offer to help me bring a dog over from one of the breeders there after i've finished my training, so if this goes well and I remain convinced that I can do the breed justice it's definitely something i'd consider in the future. I agree that the breed (and others like it) definitely need people willing to invest time, effort and emotion into maintaining and furthering the breed here; if all goes well and the breed really is for me i'd like to think i'll work towards getting actively involved in their development. I view that as something in my 10 year plan rather than the 5 year one, or at least the best case scenario 10 year plan.

Rhodach: Your post definitely makes me feel a little more at ease with contacting people at this early stage, thank you. You're absolutely spot on, it would be far better to attend a show, meet people there and build a rapport rather than making an awkward nuisance of myself in their house. I think i'm rather lucky as there are two local-ish breeder/owners within the Midlands area and where i'm located there are decent links to most of the country so it's only really my work/uni schedule that will dictate where I go. 
You're right about the health tests too, the German Pinscher Club has been very informative about health concerns in the breed and the few breeders sites i've casually browsed have all been very open about their testing which has been interesting. I'm thinking I may have to start putting together a binder so I can sit spend my free time at work digesting everything.

dogs_a_bade: That's very true, my relatives have been a bit "a dogs a dog" about it all, so i'm glad to see thinking about all of this now is more advisable than the alternative they suggested.

I'm based in central Birmingham, so Crufts is a little bit like my annual treat. Accessible, full of dogs and glorious treats to bring home to the ruffians. I should really go to Discover Dogs again, i've only been once in my teens and as far as I remember spent most of my time admiring the Affenpinschers. You're right, it would be best to go to as many events as possible. I know what you mean about warts and all, my friend was very realistically negative about her two, i'll definitely be seeking that from everyone I get in touch with. There are many positives, but I can see why some of those positives could be negatives with the wrong owner, and that's what i'm setting out to find out.

JoStockbridge: Thank you very much for your reply, you're right of course. I'm so glad to see that the time you spent investigating the breed helped you make a choice you have no regrets over, that's all I really want. If i'm going to actively look into buying a pup rather than taking on ex/failed workers I want to make they can be the best version of themselves possible.

Thank you all for your replies, they really have been most informative and helped settle my mind about how to go about this. I now know what I shall be doing over the next couple of days.

Re proposers and seconders to join breed clubs this can often be overcome by introducing yourself to club members (at an event for example) and showing your genuine interest people will be happy to propose you.

The main reason clubs need this is to prevent malicious take overs, etc.  Infiltration by people wanting to undermine a club etc

> Re proposers and seconders to join breed clubs this can often be overcome by introducing yourself to club members (at an event for example) and showing your genuine interest people will be happy to propose you.
>
> The main reason clubs need this is to prevent malicious take overs, etc.  Infiltration by people wanting to undermine a club etc

Thank you for explaining the main reasons, I shall make sure to do some legwork and put myself out there in the coming months.

The main reason clubs need this is to prevent malicious take overs, etc.  Infiltration by people wanting to undermine a club etc

What a sad state of affairs that that happens :-(

I got details re clubs from the secretaries and then when I got to know more dachsie folk I had no problem getting proposers, bit of a hassle having to post the paper work to them if they don't live close by, one occassion I took the paperwork with me to that clubs show and met up with the proposer and handed completed form over to secretary with money, watched her put it in a safe place and I got conformation through the post, it is great getting the annual news letter with contributions from other members,some funny others sad/serious reminders re health problems within the breed.

From a breeders perspective the most useful thing was to be able to buy decades worth of annuals and study the development of various kennels lines.

This is so helpful when choosing studs.

I was having a good chat with the lady who has the GP who took bob at Crufts in 2011, don't know of he did this year or not. Lady came across as very informative and they want more people to come into the breed so please do contact the breed club. They are a lovely breed which stood out in the ring to me..
From what she was telling me she does import a lot too..

Good luck with your search and do get yourselves to discover dogs this nov, any of the club shows and of course Crufts!! :-)

The last stud visit I made I went to stay with a friend of the stud owner along with my 3 dachsies, for bedside reading she had left lots of hard back volumes going back to the 60's of dachsies which I had seen mentioned on my pedigrees but never seen pics of,they were all black and white pics but it shhowed their conformation, needless to say I didn't do much sleeping for 4 nights.

I have ended up with at least 30 full years of yearbooks and many going back to the 50's ans earlier. 

Like you when staying with a friend who had been in the breed fior decades I was able to read the yearbooks back to the formation of the breed clubs.