bek
I've sent you a (long) PM!!  Look at the top of the board under 'Messages'

Sometimes in life my heart sinks...then it keeps on sinking!!!:rolleyes:

Beks
Hi..I also think that breeding from a non standard colour is a 'no no'.I have looked at all the white studs on the CD GSD pages and haven't found a single one that IMO is of good standard if colour is taken out of the equation.Breeding for colour alone with or without health tests is WRONG! In the end the dogs end up soooo far removed from what they should look like .Dogs should be bred to improve the breed...to produce top quality animals who look like the breed they are supposed to be.If people don't like GSD the way they are supposed to be then they should chose an alternate breed...not try to change the breed to suit themselves.
As for researching pedigree...you have been given some links to help you...however without knowing what to do with the info gained it is pretty useless.If your bitch is bred from purely from pet lines then you are unlikely to get any hits from these searches.If you do then you need to research wether these animals are producers of animals that have any inherited problems.This would be very hard again since most pet owners do not health test and any problems would not be documented.
Breeding is about researching as far back into your dogs history as possible and then some.Of knowing the dogs in that pedigree and knowing any problems therewith. Its about knowing that certain dogs throw certain traits....some dogs may produce short legs,low set tails etc without having these faults themselves.Just producing 'nice' puppies is not sufficient...a mongrels nice doesn't mean we should breed from it.To have a dog health tested and breed to a health tested male is not enough...we are guardians of our breed and such have a responsiblity to preserve that breed and not breed because we think we know better than those experts who set out the standard many years ago.
I believe you are a caring responsible owner ...thats why your asking questions.You have had many many opinions given...most giving you the same reply.Its now up to you what you do with that info.
Archer

Beks

You initially asked if you would be classed as a good breeder - simply answer is no. You intend mating an unacceptable colour bitch to an unacceptable colour dog. From all the posts I am not sure what your aim is, you say you would like to breed a black - why not just buy a black.

You say (apart from colour) that your GSD only has 2 faults - I have been lucky enough to have had a few Champions, all with more than 2 faults. If your bitch has perfect shoulders, upper arm, hindquarters ribbing and topline you have a gem.