A testing culture, not a marketing culture
In Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and the Czech Republic, a dog that cannot pass a working test is rarely bred from. KNPV, IGP, mondioring and national service trials create a continuous filter, and breeders live or die by the results their dogs post in public.
That culture produces predictability. When you buy from a line with fifty years of trial results behind it, you are buying a probability curve, not a promise.
Health screening is standard
Hip and elbow scoring, DNA panels, cardiac and eye checks and — in shepherds — degenerative myelopathy testing are routine on the continent rather than optional extras. Breed clubs enforce them, and results are usually published in searchable databases.
Genuine working purpose
Many European kennels supply police forces, military units and detection contractors. Those clients return dogs that fail, which creates immediate commercial pressure to breed for function. Nerve, hunt drive, environmental stability and grip quality are selected for because customers with real operational needs demand them.
What importing involves
We manage the entire import process: health certification, rabies vaccination and titre where required, microchipping, DEFRA-compliant documentation, transport and settling-in. Dogs travel with a handler or approved pet transporter, never as unaccompanied freight where it can be avoided.
On arrival every dog goes through a decompression protocol before training resumes, so it starts its new life rested rather than overwhelmed.
- Full veterinary and export documentation handled for you
- Compliant travel arrangements into the UK and Ireland
- Structured decompression and acclimatisation on arrival
- Handover training so the dog transfers cleanly to you