About Us

 Zwinger von dem Walkonig/Timberhaus Training is a small facility and farm located just outside of  Eatonville,WA in the foothills of the beautiful Cascade Mts. Our dogs are first and foremost,family companions.They are very much a part of our life and MUST have the temperament to be able to take everywhere. All of our dogs can work,most are even pronounced in the protection phase.They absolutely will work in a real situation but are also clear-headed and social ,they can ascertain the difference between a threat and someone that is not threatening,such as a child.These traits,along with a excellent pedigree,health and beauty are among many things that I look for in a dog.Although I breed only workinglines,I do not breed for fad or extreme crazy drives. Competition fads have always changed Breeds over the years. In the showring We see the American Showlines looking like ridiculous charactures and West German Showlines are becoming softer and nervier from lack of anyone caring if they have the drive to work as they care more about winning the beauty contest.They are loaded with health problems due to excessive line-breeding to set "type" to win in the show ring. I've had both American and WG Showlines so my opinions comes from my own personal experiences and is the reason I breed only workinglines now.Unfortunately extreme fads don't only belong to the Show ring. With Dog Sport becoming more popular and more competitive the extreme in this case is drive. The Showier,louder,faster,more intense and more aggressive is what people want to see so its what many are breeding. Competition and the glory of winning overriding the fact that THAT kind of dog isn't what the original GSD was and breeding excessive Prey without the balance of real defense isn't a GSD. A working dog does not need insane drive to work. He just needs intelligence,drive,biddability and a good trainer. Capt Max did want us to "keep my dog a working dog " However, "working" did not mean winning top sport trials back then but truely working . He also stated "If you breed for Sport,you will appear to have made some gains,only to loose in the end". I too love sport but have seen the movement and it concerns Me.
I'm happy to say that the Waldkonig dogs have a reputation for good temperaments and versatility. We have produced dogs that are excelling at Police K-9s, SAR,narcotic, Protection,herding,Schutzhund,Service,Therapy 4-H, Agility,K-9 Noseworks,dock dog and there's even a duck hunting dog! All while being great family companions too. I have been involved with dogs for my entire life,GSD's since 1983 and breeding since 1991. I was raised in a family of farmers/ranchers so animals of all types have always been a huge part of my life.As a young child ,if I wasn't bringing home strays,conveniently"winning"ducks at the local fair or making friends with the neighbors chained aggressive dobermans,I would be taking my Grandfather's cattle dogs and training them to do obedience routines! I have worked my entire life with animals..Vet assistant,Show horse farm management,assistant breeding manager of horse farm,dog training,Boarding kennel management,Animal Control...you name it! My goal as a steward of the greatest dog breed on the planet, is to breed a German Shepherd that is true to what they were meant to be..a hardy,loyal and intelligent working dog of great temperament, health,conformation, courage,balanced drives and good bone structure and substance.A dog that is just as much of a joy to live with as they are to work. For these traits I prefer the European working lines with heavy emphasis on the old DDR(East German) Czech and Belgium.