German Shepherds have long captured the hearts of many families for their ability to excel in many roles ranging from the family pet to working police dog. Once you decide to let a German Shepherd into your home and heart, the next step is finding a reputable breeder. If you don’t know what to look for, we can help. Please check out our great resource on what to look for in a reputable breeder.
Our guide of breeders is the key to finding the best German Shepherd puppies in Alabama. Each breeder will have a general description and information on any health guarantees they offer as well as what their adoptive families think of their dog and their experience. We have taken great care in putting this guide together, but you should always do your own research and talk with the breeder you are considering to be sure they are a good fit for you and offer the type of German Shepherd you are looking for.
1. Ingram German Shepherds
Ingram German Shepherds is owned by Lisa Ingram and located on a beautiful 250-acre ranch in Pike Road, Alabama. It is on this ranch where Lisa raises her German Shepherds alongside her cattle and horses to be superior working dogs. Ingram German Shepherd specializes in imported bloodline working dogs that closely follow the original version that began in Germany in the year 1899. This is your go-to breeder if you are interested in a dog for protection because Lisa offers fully trained protection dogs as a part of her business.
This breeder is proud to have a stud dog that is the winner of the Slovak National Championship of German Shepherds title. His name is Hugo, and he has the highest title a dog can have in tracking, obedience, and protection at the Shutzhund IGP3 level.
Puppies from this breeder can be limited or full AKC registered, which is good for those who want to have breeding rights for their dog. Puppies receive age-appropriate vaccinations and deworming treatments while waiting to go to home with their new families as well as any other health care they may need.
Ingram German Shepherds is held in high regard by its adoptive families. Lisa is praised again and again for her dedication to her dogs and the amazing customer service she gives her buyers. Dogs from this breeder receive the highest praise for their fantastic temperaments, intelligence, and natural protective instincts.
| Owner | Lisa Ingram |
| Breeder Since | 2014 |
| Location | Pike Road, AL |
| [email protected] | |
| Phone Number | (334)-224-4584 |
| Website | ingramgermanshepherds.com |
| Ingram German Shepherds | |
| ingramgermanshepherd |
2. Schwarzer Hund German Shepherds
Schwarzer Hund German Shepherds is owned by Robert Whitlock and breeds from West German, DDR, and Eastern European Bloodlines. Schwarzer Hund dogs excel at a great number of things including working, protection, Shutzhund sport, dock diving, herding, and family companionship. The goal of this breeder is to breed even-tempered intelligent dogs with great abilities.
When purchasing a puppy, you can expect them to be vaccinated and temperament tested. They are also socialized with children, dogs, and various environments to set them up for a successful life. All puppies come with a lifetime health guarantee that includes all major diseases and hip and elbow dysplasia. Full and Limited AKC registration is available for these puppies, so this breeder would be a great choice if you would like breeding rights to your dog. Living far away won’t cross this breeder off your list either, because Schwarzer Hund ships their puppies worldwide for an extra fee.
Families who have purchased from this breeder love their dogs easy, dependable nature and their gentle touch with children. Robert is said to be a very knowledgeable breeder whose top priority is the care and well-being of his dogs. Many would consider purchasing from Robert again when they are ready for their next furry friend.
| Owner | Robert Whitlock |
| Location | Camp Hill, AL |
| [email protected] | |
| Phone Number | (800)-766-1804 |
| Website | schwarzerhund.com |
3. Myranda Godwin German Shepherds
Myranda Godwin German Shepherds is owned by Myranda Godwin and specializes in long-coated German Shepherds. Myranda has many excellent select German Shepherds in her breeding program and claims to be the only breeder with VA1-VA2 BSZS long-coated German Shepherds in the United States.
This breeder raises her puppies in the home with family, children, and other pets. All puppies are AKC registered and bred from German and European bloodlines. Puppies from this breeder would excel in showing, Shutzhund sport, protection, and being a phenomenal family pet.
Parent dogs at Myranda Godwin receive extra-special care and amenities including heating and air-conditioned runs and on-call grooming staff. Full-time caretakers, veterinarians, and trainers are also on staff to attend to each dog’s needs. Myranda truly believes that providing this exceptional care for her breeding dogs contributes to happier, healthier puppies.
Reviewers of Myranda Godwin German Shepherds love Myranda for her knowledge, kind demeanor, and willingness to spend time answering questions. Many have developed a friendship with her after adopting their new family member. Dogs from this breeder are loved just as much for being healthy, high-quality German Shepherds.
| Owner | Myranda Godwin |
| Location | Dothan, AL |
| [email protected] | |
| Phone Number | (334)-350-0318 |
| Website | myrandagodwin.com |
| Godwin German Shepherds & Team |
4. Dry Creek German Shepherds
Dry Creek German Shepherds is owned by Richard and Laurie Hoover and is located on a scenic acreage in rural Alabama. Richard and Laurie have owned German Shepherds for over 35 years and have over 20 years of breeding experience. Dry Creek breeds for temperament, trainability, and intelligence. Many of their dogs have gone on to be police workers and personal protection animals as well as the family pet.
This breeder raises their puppies in the family environment and ensures that they receive proper daily socialization. Before going to their new families, puppies receive all necessary vaccinations and deworming treatments. If you find you need training resources for your new addition, Dry Creek offers a six-week training program that teaches the essentials, such as heel, down, and stay.
Dry Creek is celebrated for its knowledgeable owners and great bloodlines. Many purchasers have returned to this breeder for a second or third dog. Dry Creek’s training program also gets high praise for the structure and education it provides the dog and owner.
| Owners | Richard and Laurie Hoover |
| Location | Jasper, AL |
| Phone Number | (205)-587-2806 |
| Website | drycreekgermanshepherds.com |
5. The Chozen Shepherds
The Chozen Shepherds is a breeding operation that specializes in high-quality companion and working German Shepherds. Rantz Brand, owner of The Chozen Shepherds, carefully chooses his breeding dogs for their excellent temperaments and strong physical abilities. He believes this combination produces the ultimate German Shepherd puppy.
All breeding dogs and their puppies are registered with the AKC. Puppies receive extensive socialization from Rantz to ensure a smooth transition to their new homes. They also receive age-appropriate vaccinations and healthcare before leaving this breeder. Families appreciate the care that has gone into the breeding of their dog and are delighted with how healthy and even-tempered their dogs are.
Reviewers of The Chozen Shepherds absolutely adore Rantz and report that is creates an excellent experience for his buyers. He is said to be a great communicator and very supportive of his families by answering questions and sending regular updates to families about their chosen puppy while under his care. The Chozen Shepherds is recommended by many as a great place to get a dog from, and many buyers would return to this breeder again for an additional dog.
| Owner | Rantz Brand |
| Breeder Since | 2019 |
| Location | Tuscaloosa, AL |
| [email protected] | |
| Phone Number | (205)-765-2773 |
| Website | thechozenshepherds.com |
| The Chozen Shepherds, LLC | |
| the_chozen_shepherdsllc |
6. Von Richardson Elite German Shepherds
Von Richardson Elite German Shepherds is owned by Angel Richardson and breeds from DDR Czech working and west show lines. These dogs go on to be phenomenal police, military, service, and pet dogs. All breeding dogs from Von Richardson are AKC registered and have either long or standard coats. Parent dogs also receive testing for major genetic diseases like Degenerative Myelopathy to ensure they are creating healthy puppies.
Vaccines and deworming treatments are given to all puppies before they depart for new homes. Angel raises her puppies with children and other animals to maximize their success with their new families. Angel cares about the puppies she produces and has attended the Good Dog Second Annual Health Symposium to further her education on the breeding female and neonatal care.
Adoptive families love their dogs from this breeder for their great temperaments and gentle way with children. They are also commended for their trainability and intelligence. Families had wonderful things to say about Angel’s care and dedication to her dogs as well and would recommend her to anyone looking to purchase a puppy.
| Owner | Angel Richardson |
| Location | Deer Park, AL |
| [email protected] | |
| Phone Number | (250)-242-1916 |
| Website | vonrichardsonelitegermanshepherds.com |
| Von Richardson Elite German Shepherds | |
| vonrichardsongsds |
7. Sweet Country Shepherds
Sweet Country Shepherds specializes in German Shepherds with diverse coat colors. Dogs used for breeding have had color testing done to help predict what they will produce. Different coat colors are available at different prices, which can be viewed on their website.
Dogs and puppies from this breeder are AKC registered and bred from West German working and show lines. Parent dogs are tested to be sure they are negative for degenerative myelopathy, making the puppies negative through lineage. Melissa, the owner, breeds dogs for size, health, and temperament. She prides herself on creating the perfect family companion.
Buyers would agree that dogs from Sweet Country Shepherds are the perfect companion. They report having dogs with sweet dispositions that are intelligent and easily trainable. Melissa also receives praise from her buyers for making the experience of getting a puppy painless and enjoyable. She is held in such high regard that a fellow breeder has complete faith in her and has bought a dog sight unseen and would allow her own dogs to go to this breeder with breeding rights.
| Owner | Melissa Draper |
| Locationg | Valley, AL |
| [email protected] | |
| Phone Number | (334)-559-4935 |
| Website | sweetcountryshepherds.com |
| Sweet Country Shepherds |
8. Lewis Family Dogs
Lewis Family Dogs is recognized as an AKC Breeder of H.E.A.R.T. and breeds AKC and UKC registered German Shepherds. This breeder cares very much about the quality of their puppies and does not breed dogs until they have passed their genetic testing and OFA certifications.
Puppies from Lewis Family Dogs receive their first vaccines, deworming treatments, and a microchip before going home. They are Limited AKC registerable and can be Full AKC registered if they pass their genetic testing and OFA certifications. Puppies also come with a two-year guarantee against hip dysplasia, but this becomes voided if you spay or neuter your dog before they are two years of age.
Emily and Bryan, owners of Lewis Family Dogs, are available for any questions you have about the breed or their dogs and provide lifetime support to adoptive families. They also have a lifetime return policy for all dogs, so if you fall on had times and cannot keep your furry friend, they will take the dog back.
Lewis Family Dogs is highly recommended by families who have purchased puppies. Emily is praised for her dedication to her dogs and their health. She is commended for not breeding any stock that doesn’t pass all their health tests. Dogs from this breeder are loved for their great health and temperaments, and many families have returned to Emily for an additional dog.
| Owners | Emily and Bryan Lewis |
| Location | Roanoke, AL |
| [email protected] | |
| Phone Number | (706)-773-1159 |
| Website | lewisfamilydogs.com |
9. Davidson GS K-9
Davidson GS K-9 is owned by Hal Davidson, a breeder with 18 years of experience. Hal breeds from European working line German Shepherds. His dogs are bred to have excellent health, high drive, and exceptional temperaments. All breeding dogs have screening done for hip and elbow dysplasia and many have earned AKC titles including Companion Dog, Canine Good Citizen, and Rally Excellent.
If you need shipping, this breeder will ground ship his puppies within 150 miles for a fee. All litters from Davidson are available to view on their website as well as the parentage of each dog which includes their pedigree and personality to help you easily see the type of German Shepherd being produced.
Davidson German Shepherd buyers love their dogs for their amazing bloodlines and high-quality breeding. As for Hal, he is reported to be extremely helpful and supportive to his families and answers any questions they may have. He is also said to be very professional and loves keeping in touch with adoptive families. Many families have more than one dog from Hal and would return again when looking for another.
| Owner | Hal Davidson |
| Location | Talladega, AL |
| [email protected] | |
| Phone Number | (256)-362-1795 |
| Website | davidsongsk9.weebly.com |
| www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063738992829 |
10. Dixie K9 LLC
Dixie K9 LLC breeds working-line German Shepherds and is owned by Daniel Lambert. These dogs are bred to excel in many facets of police work including narcotics detection, patrol work, and locating explosives. If you aren’t looking for a police dog, have no worries, these dogs also are proficient in Shutzhund sport, personal protection, and being the family companion.
Dixie K9 will ship puppies for a fee. Cost for this service depends on where you need shipping to. Training and police dog certification services are also available through this breeder, as well as training for personal dogs and puppies. Daniel is a certified trainer, and able to host these services at his facility of over 100 acres.
Buyers from Dixie K9 report having beautiful, protective, and loving dogs. They refer to Daniel as a knowledgeable breeder and competent trainer who is willing to answer any questions his new families may have. He is also celebrated for raising high-quality animals and keeping clean and organized environment for his dogs.
| Owner | Daniel Lambert |
| Location | Atmore, AL |
| [email protected] | |
| Phone Number | (251)-379-5755 |
| Website | dixiek9llc.com |
| Dixie K9 LLC |
Our Top Pick
Our pick is Ingram German Shepherds. We picked Ingram for their customer’s absolute love and adoration for Lisa and her facility. Lisa cares for her dogs as if they are family, and that has really been shown to her buyers. She also gives her puppies the appropriate care before going home and breeds responsibly to achieve the healthiest conformation in her German Shepherds.
We hope this guide has given you the resources to find the German Shepherd puppy you’ve been wishing for.
Widening the search past Alabama
If nothing in Alabama fits your timing, waiting lists here can run months, the south is the natural next place to look. Start with German Shepherd breeders in Alabama, then compare what to look for from a Oklahoma breeder and vetted Tennessee German Shepherd breeders, or open our full German Shepherd breeder index.
Verify any breeder yourself, including the ones on this page
A directory is a starting point, not an endorsement. Breeders start up, stop breeding, move and change practices, and a listing accurate when it was written can be stale by the time you read it. Check before you travel or pay a deposit, whether the name came from this page or anywhere else.
The good news is that most of what matters is checkable in an afternoon, because the things that separate a careful breeder from a careless one produce documents.
“AKC registered” is not a quality claim
This is the most common misunderstanding in puppy buying, and it is worth being blunt about. AKC registration turns on parentage, not health or quality. A litter is eligible when it “is the result of a mating between an AKC-registered Sire (male) and an AKC-registered Dam (female) of the same” breed (AKC litter registration requirements, retrieved 2026-08-12).
So papers tell you who the parents were. They tell you nothing about whether those parents were screened for anything. A puppy mill litter and a carefully bred litter can both be registered.
What to ask for, and what the answers should look like
The Orthopedic Foundation for Animals puts the buyer’s job simply: “Research the common health problems of the breed beforehand and ask your breeder for proof of screening (e.g. OFA certificates)”, and “Ask to see at least one of the parents (preferably both) of your puppy, and review the health screenings of both parents’ bloodlines” (OFA, Information for Prospective Dog Owners, retrieved 2026-08-13).
For a German Shepherd specifically, four things are worth naming.
- Hip grades on both parents. The OFA scale runs through seven grades: Excellent, Good, Fair, Borderline, Mild, Moderate and Severe (OFA hip dysplasia, retrieved 2026-08-11). Ask which grade, not whether they are “clear”. OFA also notes why the parents matter so much: “Young pups can’t be screened for it, so it’s very important you review the parents’ and grandparents’ screenings” (retrieved 2026-08-13).
- Elbow grades on both parents. Screened at the same time as hips, and skipped surprisingly often.
- Degenerative myelopathy (SOD1) status. There is a DNA test. The OFA notes that breeding two carriers is predicted to produce 25% of puppies with two copies (OFA, retrieved 2026-08-12), and carriers are healthy, so testing is the only way anyone knows. Merck states there is “no specific treatment… and no evidence that glucocorticoids, other drugs, or supplements alter the course of the disease” (Merck Veterinary Manual, retrieved 2026-08-12), which is why avoiding it at the breeding stage is the only real intervention.
- MDR1 drug sensitivity. VCA gives German shepherds at roughly 10% (VCA Animal Hospitals, retrieved 2026-08-13). It matters because affected dogs process several common drugs abnormally, including sedatives used in routine anaesthesia.
Look the results up yourself
You do not have to take a breeder’s word for any of it. Results submitted to the OFA are public and searchable by the dog’s registered name (OFA database search, retrieved 2026-08-13). Ask for the registered names of both parents and look them up before you visit.
One detail worth knowing, because it gets used as marketing. A CHIC number does not mean a dog passed. The OFA states that a dog achieves CHIC certification “if it has been screened for every disease recommended by the parent club for that breed and those results are publicly available”, and that “the CHIC number itself does not imply normal test results, only that all the required breed specific tests were performed and the results made publicly available” (OFA CHIC Program, retrieved 2026-08-13).
So “CHIC certified parents” means tested and published, which is genuinely good, but it is not the same as “passed”. Look at the actual grades.
Why this matters more in this breed than most
The screening emphasis is not arbitrary. A VetCompass study of 12,146 German Shepherds found the most common causes of death were “musculoskeletal disorder (16.3%), inability to stand (14.9%), neoplasia (14.5%) and spinal cord disorder (13.6%)” (O’Neill DG, Coulson NR, Church DB, Brodbelt DC, “Demography and disorders of German Shepherd Dogs under primary veterinary care in the UK”, Canine Genetics and Epidemiology 2017;4:7, retrieved 2026-08-13).
Take the first, second and fourth together and roughly 45% of deaths in that study relate to the dog losing the use of its back end. Hips, elbows and DM are exactly the screenable end of that. It is the single most consequential thing a breeder decides on your behalf, before the puppy exists.
The signals to walk away from
- Several breeds available, puppies always in stock. That is a volume operation.
- Health testing described but never shown. “Vet checked” is not a screening result. Neither is “our lines are healthy”.
- You cannot meet the dam, or cannot see where the puppies are kept.
- Deposit demanded before any of the above.
- No questions asked about you. A breeder placing dogs carefully wants to know your household, your hours and your experience.
- Puppies available before eight weeks.
- “Rare” colours at a premium. Colour is not a health or temperament feature, and a price built on it usually means the money went somewhere other than screening.
What the price actually reflects
There is no registry, breed club or veterinary body that publishes what a German Shepherd puppy costs in Alabama or anywhere else, so treat any figure you read, including on this site, as something to check rather than rely on. Ask three breeders in your own region what they charge and what it includes.
What is worth understanding is what moves the number: the health testing on both parents, any titles or working results, what is included (vaccinations, microchip, registration, contract terms), and what happens if the dog later develops a condition the parents were screened for.
A puppy priced far below everything else you have been quoted is a reason to ask more questions, not fewer. The usual explanation is that the screening which makes up most of a careful breeder’s cost was not done.
Adopting instead
Breed-specific rescues take in more German Shepherds than most people expect, including young dogs and the occasional puppy, and an adult dog with a known temperament is often an easier match than a puppy whose adult self is still a guess. Our German Shepherd rescue directory covers that route.
Disclaimer: PetVR shares general information based on our contributors’ firsthand experience with German Shepherds — it is not veterinary advice. Always consult a licensed veterinarian about your dog’s health, diet, or behavior. Read our full disclaimer.
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