We purchased a puppy from Julie at Mittelwest after doing months of research on german shepherd breeders. After having our new puppy for 3 weeks, we could not be happier. Our puppy is intelligent, happy, and healthy. Most importantly, she has a wonderful temperament and is so wonderful when interacting with people and other dogs. This is a true testament to the wonderful socializing that is done with puppies at Mittelwest before they are given to their new homes. We are constantly stopped and told just how beautiful our puppy is as well. Lastly, Julie has been great to deal with and very responsive to all questions we have had along the way. I highly recommend Mittelwest if you are considering adding a wonderful dog to your family. read more

Be more kind and understanding to customers that want a good well breed dog. I do not recommend

Puppies are about 6K. Here is two people from my training club who purchased from them . One . Purchased imported male puppy who proved to be cryptorchid AFTER already arriving here in USA and them paying for him. Second , mother and daughter (autistic , dog meant as a therapy prospect ) paying for a dog that proved to have severe eye condition , likely genetic . They offered to take the dog back .. at the age of 8 months when the dog was already bonded with the autistic girl ?! Do not recommend . They are simply well positioned politically in the GSD world which is why they continue to pop up and sell dogs . read more

We purchased a puppy from Mittelwest and our vet pointed out to us at his first visit a couple months later that he only had one testicle. This is called unilateral cryptorchidism, where one testicle fails to descend. This means the undescended testicle is up in the belly somewhere and surgery is needed to get it out because there is a high risk of emergency surgery being needed later since it could twist and cause severe pain. Undescended testicles also have a substantially higher risk of cancer. Our vet explained that this is a hereditary condition, and we should notify the breeder because not only can it be passed to male dogs, but the females can also carry the gene. She said that dogs with this genetic defect should absolutely not be bred. After reading more, this seems to be industry consensus. We were shocked when we notified Mittelwest and the response was that they did not really have concern and planned to continue to breed the parents and would not notify anyone who may plan to breed a dog from the litter that they may have an affected dog. We were not planning to breed but the surgery will cost $2,000 and there is more risk to it than standard neutering with longer recovery. This breeder charges top dollar and yet continues to breed and sell dogs with known genetic risks. I strongly suspect they knew this at the time they sold him to us since they would know to inspect a male dog for this and we did not, but I can't know that for sure. Most vets call continuing to breed dogs like this unethical and bad practice. Shame, shame to put unsuspecting new owners through this and still charge them top dollar! read more

Pretty much same experience as all the other negative reviews. Was willing to wait on a dog that was the best fit (large, stable temperament, family dog) and was guaranteed the puppy she pushed on me was "A++" in her book. From day one (got him late at 4 months which I also regret) we noticed he was severely lacking in confidence. Just like everyone else I have owned shepherds my whole life (working line) and also have spent thousands on socialization and exposure therapy for our particular puppy. Figured I would wait till he was mature to see how it played out, he is two now and we love him to death, but he is petrified of the outside world, incredibly reactive, will attack any outside dogs and recently bit a neighbor who he has met over a hundred times. Luckily he is in the best home on the planet and I would never in a million years send him back nor would I trust this breeder to give him a good life. Also not a deal breaker but more so crazy based on Julie's guarantees but she stated his dad was 100+ lbs and my dog is 80 on the dot at 2 yrs old. Just very very strange the lack of honesty coming from Julie. Beyond frustrating to spend this amount of money for a dog who is unfortunately unable to integrate into the outside world. Please please visit in person before spending multiple thousands of dollars read more

How this company is considered a reputable breeder with the AKC is ludacrious. Bought a 7 month old puppy that was supposed to be house broken, but is not. Puppy was definitely not socialized properly. Paid $5500 based on a lie. Pupp y was born Sept. 2024, and now breeder is selling another litter from the same two parents. This is what backyard breeders do. read more

We picked up a 3 months old puppy by the name Mango from Mittelwest in June of 2020. He had been returned by their previous owners and we were lucky to get him 2 days later, so we didn't have to get on a waiting list. He was super cute and turned into a beautiful looking dog, we got compliments for him on a daily basis. Mittelwest advertised him as bred in Germany, imported from Germany but his passport was from Croatia and his pedigree was from Bulgaria. The pedigree also had his date of birth and gender wrong and that couldnt be fixed due to COVID Julie said. The guy in Germany handling the dog imports insisted that the date of birth in the pedigree was correct which would mean that he wasn't from the litter Mittelwest said he was. The bigger problem was Mango's GI issues. He had diarrhea from the day we got him and lots of puking. It took us a while to figure out that he had to be on a raw diet to stop the diarrhea, the puking still happened once in a while. Feeding Mango was torture most of the time, he didn't have much appetite and needed enticing and no distraction to make him eat his expensive food. He had a sweet personality but he was fearful of almost anything. He liked to play but he hated walking, so I drove him to places where he could play off leash. At the age of 3 Mango had bloat which according to vets is unusual for his age but we caught that right away and he got emergency surgery which was successful. Most dogs recover if they survive that surgery but Mango went in and out of the hospital for the next 3 weeks with complication after complication unrelated to the surgery. There is nothing that we wouldn't have done for Mango, the vet bills added up to 45K but we had to end his suffering and let him go last week. Before the bloat we were treating him for bilateral tendonitis in his shoulders which required rest and 12 weeks of limited play, we knew that he had mild hip dysplasia already and during his recent hospitalization a CT found that his prostate was enlarged out of proportion for his age and would probably need to be dealt with. It is not normal for a young dog to have any of these health issues according to the specialists. This is certainly not what we expected when we paid a Mittelwest $5000 for him. Our dog from another breeder in Indiana has been completely healthy, the breeder checks in on us frequently to see how he is adjusting. It's night and day compared to Mittelwest. The worst part about this is learning to love a dog and then having to put him down at such a young age. We miss him so much but it is also a relief that our sick dog is gone. read more

Mittelwest German Shepherds - Pet Breeders Near Me - Wonder Lake, Illinois

Mittelwest German Shepherds is AMAZING, Julie is AMAZING....they're dogs are AMAZING, their training is AMAZING. Seriously, I was shocked the first time I went there, just a wonderful place and their GSDs are the most beautiful I've ever seen. My wife and I are planning on getting a couple of long haired GSDs, just stunning. Thank you Julie and Tessa for letting us come to tour your beautiful property! read more

Wonderful Breeder, knowledgeable on the breed and are reliable and respond if you have a question. I brought my girl home August first and she's been doing so well and has been learning to become well behaved and she loves her dog sibling Molly. My pup Harper is so sweet and I love how amazing Julie and Grant are. They helped me get not just my dream Breed of dog, they helped me pick out my best friend. 10/10 would recommend them as a overall good GSD breeder. read more

See all

We are so in love with our German Shepherd that we purchased from Mittelwest! They are amazing to work with!! It's hard when your miles away and only have pictures but I wouldn't trade our experience or our boy for anything! Great customer service and Julie is amazing! read more

One of my previous jobs had a German Shepherd from mittelwest and he went through one round of training and was by far the best well rounded German Shepherd I have ever met. He very much acted like a German Shepherd but was extremely knowledgeable. He was breathtaking watching him run around. I would recommend Mittelwest German Shepherds as the number one place to get one! read more

Mittelwest German Shepherds - Pet Breeders Near Me - Wonder Lake, Illinois

See all

They are short of a puppy mill. Gives very poor puppy care and is abusive. My puppy has very high anxiety, 6 mos and still isn't secure. I could go on for pages of how terrible their facility is. read more

Be prepared to see something you do not want to see! Seeing as this place claims to be the best in Illinois, I expected more & or better. These dogs are "housed" outside with very little shelter or escape from the heat. The guy we met with was very kind & seemed to care very much for all of the dogs. That being said, One of the building that we went into was disgusting. Flies everywhere, flies on the dogs, kibble all over the floor both inside & outside the cages & dog crap left in the kennels. Holy mother of pearl, did I mention the flies?!?! It was so bad that I felt as if we were in Ethiopia or some other third world country! While looking at one of the dogs we were told about how he was "over worked" & not doing well due to too many attempts of breeding (1-3 times a day). My girlfriend & I were disturbed & disgusted by the way these poor dogs are being kept that we couldn't justify paying such a premium price for dogs that are treated & kept in such disgusting conditions. It would've been nice to meet Julie seeing as that she's the one in charge but I guess there were more important things for her to other then greet a potential customer. After we left we agreed that there isn't a snowballs chance in hell that we would give these people $4,000 for a dog. Lastly, the outbreak of parvo. I don't believe that I need to say anything else other then test your dogs for potential diseases before placing them with healthy pups. The negligence is seriously disturbing. read more

Let me start out by saying that for the last 15 years I have been actively involved in animal rescue. It would be irresponsible of me not to encourage saving a life and adopting! But that being said, if you are looking to purchase, I can't think of a better kennel around than Mittelwest! Our GSD is so handsome and well behaved, he puts most well behaved children to shame! You become like extended family once you do business here. Owners Julie and Grant are very welcoming and serious about their love of the breed. Whether you want a showdog or just a gorgeous pet to love (and show off in your neighborhood) this is the only place to go. Thanks Julie and Grant for selling us the best boy ever!!!!! read more

We recently acquired 2 beautiful young, adult German Shepherds from Mittlewest. They have gorgeous red pigment, are very intelligent & respond to hand signals. They are loving & sweet & have great temperaments. It was a pleasure working with Julie. Thank you. read more

We just got the most gorgeous German Shepherd puppy from Mittelwest. My family and I had the opportunity actually go the Mittelwest Kennel in Wonder Lake, IL. It was a beautiful location and the kennel itself was immaculate and all the dogs looked healthy and happy. We got to see our puppy's Father who was magnificent. We also got to play with our puppy prior to taking her home which our kids loved. Since then I have had a few questions and Julie has responded quickly with great advice and direction. Our puppy is a show stopper. Whenever we go on walks with her, it takes about 1 minute for someone to stop us and ask about her. She is already a beloved member of our family. Thank you Julie! read more

I've been waiting to write this review since March. It's a very hard review to leave because it was a very hard time in my life. Zepplin "Levi" John Von Mittelwest was born on 1-28-2018 (Kondor/Gracie litter) and this is HIS story. I researched Mittelwest for quite sometime before putting a deposit down on first pick of the male in this litter. I wanted a healthy, beautiful, big boy. On March 5th I found an article on the pedigree database (http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/german_shepherd_dog/community.read?post=900699-beware-of-julie-martinez-and-grant-smith-of-mittelwest) about Julie's kennel having a Parvo outbreak. In the documents it stated that her property was cleared by the Department of Agriculture. I confronted her at that time and asked if Levi got sick with Parvo would she pay for care. She told me (in an e-mail so I have proof) that yes she would. She stated that only two puppies that came in from Germany had the Parvo and they weren't even at her kennel for 24 hours and had went to their homes. Now I know it wasn't just those 2 puppies do to a news report done by CBS Chicago. The Parvo spread through her kennel. She didn't say anything to anyone about it. If, I hadn't seen the website or asked her about it she never would have told me about it. It was right before we were to pick up Levi on March 23rd, 2018. After talking to her I felt safe bringing him home because she made it seem like only the 2 puppies had it and her kennel was cleaned. My fault for trusting her. But, if I wouldn't have gotten "Levi" when I did I'm sure that he would have lived. So fast forward. We picked up Levi on March 23rd (he wasn't 8 weeks yet) and by the 24th he was showing signs of being sick. He had thrown up on the way home and had diarrhea but at that time we really didn't think anything of it because he was on his first road trip of 3 1/2 hours. So the 25th rolled around and I knew there was something really wrong with him. I called the vet on the morning of March 26th to get him in asap. That is when he tested positive for Parvo (the test was already turning positive within a minute). Julie was contacted by me from the vet's office and she paid that bill with her credit card ($450.00). On the 28th I had to pick up more medications and IV fluids and she again paid for those things ($100.00). The vet said that he should be hospitalized so I talked to Julie (breeder) about it and she said to call around. I called around and the price would range anywhere from $1500-$3000 depending on what tests, medications, food, etc he would need. I told Julie and she stated that was way too much money. That I could bring him back to her and she would take care of him or I could take care of him at home. I was NOT going to bring him back to her!! One I was not bring a Parvo puppy back to her property to infect more puppies. Two I was not going to trust her to take care of him properly. And, three I wasn't going to drive another 7 hours total, then turn around and maybe drive another 7 hours to go get him if he survived there. So she sent me somethings and told me to give him them (medications). Hell no was I going to give him anything that she sent (actually Grant sent). It had poop on it, it was all gross on the outside of the bottles/tubes, and inside the box was disgusting (I do have pictures to prove the condition of the supplies). So, I talked to my vet and we put him on a different medication (I paid for it) and for the next 17 days took care of him here at my home. Yes he made it after all of my nursing care 24/7. During this process I contacted one of the people that said something about the Parvo outbreak on the pedigree data base. Come to find out she had a Parvo puppy from a group of 5 that came in from Germany. (She no longer has him, he was sold to someone else after he recovered) We became friends and started talking. I Skyped and interview with the news reporter Pam Zekeman on 4-19-2018 talking about my story with Levi. Here is the link to the news report https://www.facebook.com/cbschicago/videos/10156555605728338/ And, then comes today and moving forward. Levi has damage to his intestines from having the Parvo and will need to be on a probiotic for the rest of his life (out of my pocket). Right now he is on a special food and we won't know if he will also need this food the rest of his life (out of my pocket). Julie did end up giving me back $2000.00 of the $4000.00 purchase price of Levi. This was an amount that I gave her for all the care that I had to give to him to make him healthy and to get him through the Parvo. When I gave her that figure I didn't know at that time that he would need probiotics and special food for the rest of his life. If, I wouldn't have read about the Parvo outbreak at Julie's kennel (Mittelwest German Shepherds) I would have never known about the Parvo outbreak because no one at Mittelwest Kennels said anything about it. Not Julie nor Grant or any workers. read more

The puppy was not the puppy from the photos unless the photos are enhanced to look better? She arrived very sick had giardia would not stop crying the worst diarrhea cost me thousand in medical bills I asked for a low drive family dog nope got a very high energy high maintenance wild dog I have had to put her in training for months at a time as well as training with the family at home nothing works her drive is crazed knock you over get it at all cost. Total opposite of what I asked for a family dog Only person that can handle her is me she is so defiant the trainers would get frustrated just completely stubborn not going to do what u say!! so she is not allowed inside unless crated she has jump thru my screen windows to try and eat our cat. I feel like a prisoner in my home I can't open any windows not even the blinds without her jumping and banging at the window and barking it's so annoying I think the dog being so sick when she arrives made her crazy And going back to the giardia it has been about a year of loose on and off at first no solid for at least 6 months couldn't stop the diarrhea Had to be put on special diet I spent about 6,000$ in training probably more by now in 1 year I never received my dogs papers either I only got her to have as a family dog so I don't care much but for the price she charges for her dogs really I don't think they care about the customer or what you are actually looking for I think it's a glorified overpriced puppy mill wrapped with a fancy Bow By the way when my puppy arrived was the worst looking German Shepard puppy I had ever seen might have been from being so thin and sick but usually puppies are cute especially German Shepard puppy's not this one I was questioning if she was even purebred. I have own a Shepard my whole life when one passes from old age I get another. This was the first time I bought one from online and had shipped to me. I will never do that again. Bad choice to rely on someone else to give u what you need. I think she gave me what she wanted to get out of her puppy mill before she got the other dogs sick Also I researched the parents of puppy I surely hope the pics are not being enhanced in any way to make the dogs look better and I say this because I was digging after I got my puppy and found a different pic of the father he did not in any way look as glamorous as the photo they had posted as the parents? Looked rather small and his markings were not great coloring but in the parents photo they had him as a red coat Shepard and he was beautiful black and red in the other photo his black was mixed with white and his what was red was barely a light tan with white also mixed in? Don't expect much from the owner or her boyfriend They come across more defensive then helpful If you have such a great thing going you would be customer driven and puppy/Dog driven. This dog that you pawned off on me I believe you New she was zany and sick probably would not have been a dog someone coming in to your location would have picked So hey this man lives far let's ship it to them This is my personal view you do your research make your own choice but this is what happened to me read more

We found Mittelwest after searching for a top quality GSD breeder and experienced trainer. We wanted a puppy with impeccable breeding, solid temperament and show potential and we are very pleased with our new dog. Expensive, but worth it. read more

We have 2 beautiful dogs from Mittelwest with fantastic temperaments. You can definitely tell a MW dog when you see one. The red and black color is so rich in these dogs. Always get compliments. read more

Building a kennel starts with the best possible foundation, and the breeding stock that Mittelwest provides is top notch. I'm selecting from more than one kennel, but no matter what configuration strategy I work up, Mittelwest is at my core. Beautiful dogs. Great workers. Everything a solid GSD is expected to be. I look forward to a long and prosperous relationship between Mittelwest and myself as I build up my own breeding/working program in the southeast region, read more

I do not understand how Julie is still in business. Her skill is only in finding gorgeous dogs. Her other skills are lying, cheating, oh and lying. I told her I was looking for a GSD that would be good w other dogs. She said she had JUST the dog for me. I said I'd take a puppy that had a little overbite or who's testicles hadn't dropped for a discounted price because what mattered to me was that my dog was sound, not perfect. She said she didn't have any dogs w imperfections. She charged me the full price for what she said was a top of the line litter. Got my puppy home and had a vet check to discover he had BOTH an overbite and only one dropped testicle. Julie knew that. She played me. She knew I was not the type of person to return a puppy after I had taken him home. She also tried adding the "merchants" fee of $350 to my credit card trying to put that cost on me. I disputed it w my charge card and of course got it back but real shady move on Julie's part. My dog is 10 now and I love him to bits but he has never been good w other dogs despite literally thousands spent on training. He is genetically reactive. (thank you Julie - since I specifically told you I needed a dog good w other dogs in that I work w dogs all the time) It has zero to do w lack of socializing or effort on my part. I work w some of the best trainers in my area but you can not undo genetics. I have run into at least a dozen other people w Mittel West dogs in my area w the same reactivity issues w their dogs towards other dogs. I work w a training facility that always has Mittel West dogs in for hopeful rehabbing because of the same issue. With currently 45-50 breeding females you can't even say you care about the breed. You are one step away from a puppy mill. read more

I have bred some German lines myself and was very impressed with all her sires and dams. I was able to pick and choose and found and excellent match with my blood lines. I kept 2 of my litter mates and just loved the vivid Red and Black colors. Mittelwest is a awesome breeder as being very informative. They have made my dreams come true. I believe the best breeder around...Their personalities are astounding.... read more