Beth and one of our 7 week old puppies from the February 15, 2003 Cassidy x Yelo vom Haus Miller litter. This is a very typical looking Katzel Kennel puppy.

About Us: We are Beth & Bill Hansen (and daughter, Amber) of Cambridge, Minnesota. We love our German Shepherds and are proud of the wonderful puppies that we have produced. Since we only produce one to three litters per year total, we take the time with our puppies and make sure they are very well socialized, happy and healthy. We also take the time to make sure and answer any questions that you might have to make sure you are as happy with the puppy as the puppy itself is.

Our Location: We are located on 20 acres near Cambridge, Minnesota and only 50 miles north of Minneapolis/St Paul. We have a huge yard for our dogs to get plenty of exercise and fresh air.

Our Name: Katzel is my grandfather's family name. My grandfather, Earl Katzel, loved dogs, but had a real passion for German Shepherd dogs. He was one of three children. His sister married and took on her husband's name and his brother and him each had one daughter, and no sons to carry on the family name. His brother passed away many, many years ago, and my grandfather passed away on March 11, 2002, when Cassidy's January 9, 2002 litter was 8 weeks old, so we decided to carry on his name as our kennel name. One of the puppies of that litter, Kellie von Katzel, visited him in the nursing home just a week prior to his death. My Grandmother, Doris Katzel, just passed away on December 17, 2005.

Our Goals: We make sure that the puppy and the family matches up perfectly, whether you are looking for a show dog, an agility dog, a tracking dog or a family companion around lots of kids. Since we are around these puppies from the time they take their first breath until the time they are going to their new homes, we have a very good sense of their personality, and we have had wonderful luck making great matches. These puppies are very much a part of us and we really want to hear follow-ups on how they are developing and how training is going after they go to their new homes. We love getting updated pictures and keeping up with these energetic babies.

Our Breeding: We are concentrating on breeding for structure, quality, health, nerve, temperament and beautiful black and red color. We are very serious about feeding the best quality food and keeping our dogs healthy and happy. We feed Canidae brand dog food and give the adults raw beef knuckles for enjoyment. Each dog is totally different and we decide timing and frequency of breedings according to the bitches age, health and condition.

Health Statistics: According to the Orthopedic Foundation of Animals (the "OFA"), the statistics for dogs in the German Shepherd breed that have been checked for hip dysplasia are 19.5% have abnormal hips and 19% have abnormal elbows. Their website is http://www.offa.org and is an excellent resouree for information on health problems in animals. I am thrilled with the fact that, as far as what we've been informed with, we only have 3 cases (or less than 4%) of our pups known to have elbow dysplasia and 1 known cases of hip dysplasia (about 1.3%) out of 77 pups. When looking at the pedigrees of our dogs, keep in mind a couple things about hip dysplasia that are sometimes not easy to understand. The European countries rates hips differently than the OFA. The OFA separates non-dysplastic hips into three categories, Excellent, Good and Fair. In the ratings in Germany, the SV, these three ratings are lumped into "HD-Normal" meaning non-dysplastic. Also, an "HD-Ausland (a6)" rating in Europe is not dysplastic, even though a4 and a5 are dysplastic. HD-Ausland (a6) means that it is a foreign dog (from outside Germany) that has NORMAL hips. Below is the OFA's table showing the various ratings and their equivalents.

One of the countries ratings that aren't on this table are Slovakia, which are the SUCHNO ratings that appear in our pedigrees. The best rating for a hip in Slovakia is 0 and each hip is given an individual rating. So there for 0/0 which means that the hip rating would be close to equivalent to an excellent OFA rating, 1/1 is good hips, and 2/2 is approximately fair hips. SO a 0/2 would be excellent on one side and fair on the other.

Our New Pole Building

We will have 3 indoor/outdoor kennels under the 10 foot overhang. We also will eventually have an office and whelping room inside.
No more whelping in the 3' X 5' laundry room closet!!! Check back often for updated photos.

Puppies

We strive to produce happy healthy puppies that provide their new families with unending love, affection and joy in their home. Our goal is that our puppies are:

Well socialized
Happy
Confident
Friendly
Ready to please
Eager to learn
Excited to find out what life has to offer them.

Here's Nemo with one of the babies at 4 weeks old. Nemo is so gentle with his kids!

What determines the price of puppies?

Breeding excellent quality German Shepherds is not a money making business. We do it because we love the breed and we enjoy producing beautiful puppies. It's expensive to breed if done correctly. Purchasing titled parents is not the only expense, we also incur the costs of hip x-rays, vaccinations, breeding tests, fecal exams, heart worm preventative, flea and tick preventative, dewormers, registration fees, X-rays before delivery, C-sections when needed, trips to the emergency vet at 2 a.m. on a Sunday morning, etc., etc., etc. not to forget about the fact that we feed some of the best quality dog food on the market. We are not a backyard breeder that breeds 2 AKC dogs together and sells the pups (cutting all corners) to make a profit. Here are a couple of the determining factors of the prices of our puppies. Keep in mind that there are breeders out there that are selling pups of equal or lesser value for 2X, 3X or even 4X the price of ours. The prices of our puppies are most likely a quite a bit lower than similar lines/qualities.

Titles: The SVV1 at the end of Akim's names are working titles in Slovakia. These prove their workability in obedience, tracking and protection. These titles are very similar to SchH titles, but more difficult to earn. Also note Cat has her AD title which proves her endurance. Hertzy and Oz come from a training academy that trains police dogs for narcotics detection, cadaver searching, tracking and apprehension amongst other things.
Hip Ratings: Akim's are 0/0 hip ratings (or DBK "A") and clear of elbow dysplasia and is the best hip rating in Slovakia. This does not guarantee that he will not produce offspring with hip or elbow dysplasia, but the chances are significantly reduced.
Show Ratings: Every "V" before a dog's name in the pedigree means that he/she has excellent conformation, and each "VA" before a dog's name in the pedigree mean he/she has Very Excellent conformation. Their pedigrees are littered with V and VA show ratings.
Pedigree: A European pedigree with the number of exceptional dogs as Akim, Cat, Markota and Iris's pedigree has says incredible things about the potential of their offspring. The number of "V" and "VA" show ratings and the number of SVV1, SVV2, SchH1, 2, & 3, IPO1, 2, 3, FH, AD, etc working titles is incredible. Hertzy and Oz have some incredible show dogs in their lines and have numerous relatives that have won Best of SHOW and other top awards.
Pigmintation: Dark pigment in Akim, Iris, Hertzy, Oz and Daphney make our dogs very sought after with the dark saddles and muzzles.
Color: Rich color is a goal of our in our breeding program. Our showlines have gorgeous red color and we plan on breeding to enhance that rich red color with dark pigment. Akim, Hertzy and Daphney show an example of the dark colors.
Coat: Right now we have breeding stock that are stock coat, show coat (bit longer stock coat) and plush coat. Since we are adding Daphney to our family, we may have some plush coats in the near future. Markota, Nemo, Hertzy and Oz are stock coat but could produce plush coats. Plush coats are different than TRUE long coats. True long coats do NOT have an undercoat. Plush coats have longer guard hairs over the body and have tuffs of long hairs behind ears, on the feet, on the chest and they have bloomers on the back legs and they HAVE an undercoat.
Lines:

U-GRCH Akim Vitmajk SVV1 (92-92-89) (Slovak Import) — STUD
Akim has an exceptional pedigree with beautiful conformation and gorgeous dark red pigment. Akim has a wonderful disposition and excellent with kids, cats and other dogs. He's a serious protection dog and is ready to escort and uninvited guests out the door. He is titled with his SVV1 title with awesome scores. He's available for stud to approved females.

a-OZ von Erzengel — STUD
Oz comes from an incredible line of showline dogs that can and prove they can work. His dad is an import from Slovakia. His mother comes from a long line of conformation dogs with huge wins. His two littermate brothers are in narcotics detection training and tracking training. They look pretty but can work too. He is super sweet and I'm pretty sure he has springs built right into his legs! Oz also has the best feet I have ever seen. He has very correct structure that results in beautiful clean movement. He floats when he gaits.

VP U-GRCH Cat vom Landstrasse AD
Cat is from very strong german lines and her mother is a V rated titled import from Germany. Her father is VA Utz vom Hirshcel SchH3. She is sweet, feminine and a fabulous ball drive. She has a very physically muscular and tone body with a large frame.

U-CH a-HERTZY von Erzengel
Hertzy is out of incredible showlines that come out of Slovakia. She's got incredible movement and gorgeous structure. She has very nice drive and is a bundle of energy. She's extremely agile and we are so excited to have her here! Hertzy is one of the most confident dogs I have ever seen.

a-NATASHA von Erzengel
Natasha is out of the same incredible showlines that that Hertzy and Oz are out of. She's got movement that is like a dream and beautiful structure. She's a total sweetheart and very affectionate with eyes that just melt. Thank you Malinda Julien of Archangel German Shepherds for another incredible dog!

DAPHNEY z Eurosportu
Daphney is a plush coat imported from Slovakia as a puppy. She is the daughter of V Karat's Ulk SchH3 from Germany. She has incredible bone substance, huge head and intense dark red color with a very dark mask. I expect very nice pups out of her in the future.

Here's a breakdown of the differences in our litters.

Markota's "S" Litter

Daphney's "T" Litter

Titles (working)
N/A

N/A

Hip Rating
X-rays look VERY good!

TBD

Show Ratings
N/A

N/A

Pedigree
Czech Showline

3/4 Czech & 1/4 German

Color & Pigmentation
Black and Red

Black and Red

Potential

Conformation showring
(SV Style, UKC or IABCA)
Companion
Protection
Sport
Tracking
Obedience
Agility

Conformation showring
(SV Style, UKC or IABCA)
Schutzhund
Police K-9
Protection
Sport
Tracking
Obedience
Agility

Sire Bred to
U-GRCH Akim Vitmajk SVV1
"Nemo"
UKC GRCH Conformation Title
SVV1 working title
Black and Red Showline with dark coloring with beautiful pigment
Fabulous temperament
Excellent with kids and other animals
0/0 HIPS (top hip rating in Slovakia)
Clear elbows

a-Oz von Erzengel
"Oz"
Exceptional family of top show dogs
Gorgeous black and red
Excellent temperament
Excellent Feet and Structure
Dreamy movement

	Markota's "S" Litter	Daphney's "T" Litter
Titles (working)	N/A	N/A
Hip Rating	X-rays look VERY good!	TBD
Show Ratings	N/A	N/A
Pedigree	Czech Showline	3/4 Czech & 1/4 German
Color & Pigmentation	Black and Red	Black and Red
Potential	Conformation showring (SV Style, UKC or IABCA) Companion Protection Sport Tracking Obedience Agility	Conformation showring (SV Style, UKC or IABCA) Schutzhund Police K-9 Protection Sport Tracking Obedience Agility
Sire Bred to	U-GRCH Akim Vitmajk SVV1 "Nemo" UKC GRCH Conformation Title SVV1 working title Black and Red Showline with dark coloring with beautiful pigment Fabulous temperament Excellent with kids and other animals 0/0 HIPS (top hip rating in Slovakia) Clear elbows	a-Oz von Erzengel "Oz" Exceptional family of top show dogs Gorgeous black and red Excellent temperament Excellent Feet and Structure Dreamy movement