ABOUT STRAHL VON VALOR SHEPHERDS

Hello- My Name is Chasity Taylor and along with my oldest daughter Breeann, we are the breeders behind Strahl Von Valor Shepherds located just outside Little Rock Arkansas. Our main focus is ensuring to only breed from health tested and even-tempered dogs in order to ensure that every puppy we produce has the best possible chance of being clear from any and all genetic defects. By raising all of our puppies underfoot in our home and using programs such as, Avidog and Puppy Culture, we are setting them up to have a good foundation before they go to their forever homes. We will now be performing 2 temperament evaluations; one at 6 weeks and one at 8 weeks just prior to going home. The one done at 8 weeks will be completed by our trainer to ensure the most accurate information about the puppies temperament is sent home with the new owners. We are also in the process of researching Genetic Diversity and how it directly impacts the health of a breed. At this time it does not seem to have significantly impacted the German Shepherd in a negative way but the studies are still not complete. However, thru my research I have found several lines, including but not limited to, standard and non-standard colors, that are low or no diversity. It is important for us to begin to improve not only the genetic diversity but also the coefficient of inbreeding to ensure the German Shepherd remains a healthy breed for generations to come.

Since our journey began we have talked with and seen several different trainers. We are happy to say that we have finally found one that we feel shares the same values that we do. She has helped us find a local club that we are now members of and have a place we can go to trial our standard and non-standard dogs that have the drive and workability. For the other dogs in our program that we are not working on with Protection Sports we are currently working on several AKC Virtual titles and entering ICKC Virtual Conformation shows. We will be attending some UKC Conformation shows and AKC Sport shows in the future but for now Covid has restricted us to operate from a small area so we are working with what we can.

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Why did I start doing this and why is health testing so important to us?

Since I was a little girl I have always wanted a German Shepherd. My paternal grandparents had one and my Mamaw would tell me all about "Sam" their German Shepherd and how much she loved him. 

Fast forward 30+ years and my Mamaw passed away. She was more than just my grandmother she was one of my best friends and I missed her dearly. About 8 months after she passed I fell in love with a boy now named "Zeus" from a post on Facebook but he was already sold; I was devastated. A little over two weeks later his owner reached out to me because his new family fell thru and that was the beginning of the end for me. In February 2018 we welcomed "Keizer Zeus Strahl Von Valor" into our hearts, our home, and our pack. 

By that summer I decided it was time to add another German Shepherd to our pack and along came "Zena". Now I did not know at the time but Zena was sick. She was diagnosed about a month after we got her with Demodectric Mange. We spent 6 months going to a canine dermatologist to get her in remission and in early 2019 she had to be spayed due to those health issues and new hip issues. That is when I started researching German Shepherd health tests. See like most people, if I knew a dog was AKC registered it was always a no brainer and a sign that you were getting a good healthy dog but that is just not true! So a kennel was born. 

After much extensive research and reading I decided I wanted to help make a change within the German Shepherd community. Families deserve to have the healthy companion they search for and to know they have a breeder they can trust and count on in the future.