Who we are - Fenris Fangs

Fenris Fangs is a breeding facility, specialized in breeding purebred, health tested and sound tempered German Shepherds. Probably you have realized our German Shepherd’s distinct traits by now. As much as we honour breed standards, we believe the health and usability of the breed also benefits from innovation and moving with time. It’s not our intention to change the breed, but to take advantage of the given aspects in modern times, same as to increase adaptability for the breed to our busy world today, without taking away the vision Max von Stephanitz had when creating the German Shepherd Dog. Therefore 3 key aspects lead our way. Health, sound temperament, healthy anatomy. While colour and markings are secondary, we strive to preserve the dog’s athletic build, strength, intelligence and will to work, same as his ability for scent work, obedience and protection for those who need these attributes in a dog, but also a milder version which excels in Service-, Therapy- and Guidance- work. Thanks to science and technology nowadays, we are able to decrease health risks and increase longevity and life quality for the dog. For this reason we believe breed standards are out-dated in many aspects and should not hinder the breed in positive development.

Our kennel is known worldwide, and we have puppies living on almost each continent and peninsula. People know we put all effort, knowledge and heart in our dogs. To keep up this high standard we go the extra mile. We are truly honoured whenever people tell us, they recognize a dog from our breeding at first sight. Usually, our dogs are not just usual German Shepherds, their expression makes them unique. And while we provide different colours of German Shepherds, we always choose our pairings by health, temperament and anatomy, after that – colour can be added on top. Never the other way around. Health testing for our dogs is more extensive than the standard x-ray and DNA procedure required by most kennel clubs worldwide. We select thoroughly when adding new breeding stock. You may have to be patient if you want to own one of our puppies, but it will be worth it. We promise.

We do not discriminate by coat length, nor colour. When it comes to anatomy, we strive for the original type of German Shepherd as he appeared in early years because in my opinion that build was closer to natural anatomy and movement as it is today. The wolfy looks and expressions are a mark of our own and are based solely on selection and genetic knowledge. There may be people, trying to convince you our dogs are mixed breed, but don’t worry – they are all purebred German Shepherds. Seeing our dogs and their owners happy, is simply the greatest reward for us.

About me

Hello there. My name is Lucie, and after spending about decade in the Netherlands, I now live in Slovakia, together with my dogs. Pets are a part of my life since 1996 and I couldn’t imagine a life without them. The first step of my education was becoming paraveterinary and I worked in several vet clinics and stud stations for horses. I studied all topics about animal breeding and training. Genetics and dog psychology are still my favourites today and will always have my interest. I trained dogs and instructed dog owners before I began to specialize on reactive and unmanageable dogs. I‘ve been a dog handler for explosive detection dogs certified by the Royal Dutch Army, I trained dogs for mushing sports and provided genetic seminars for responsible breeders and passionate pet owners.

Dogs, cats and horses are my daily companions in more than 25 years. I owned and worked many different breeds, the Doberman being one of my favourites. 2 of them were great sled dogs, but I decided for a heavier class canine, with similar obedience level, energy and great companion dog qualities. Switching from shorthaired to dense coats for winter, I decided for the long coated German Shepherd. A strong and enduring dog with a solid nature, loving towards its family, guarding qualities and adaptability for almost any task. The concept of Fenris Fangs started in 2010 as a background project and came to live shortly after. Since then many studies have been added to my portfolio and with each single dog added to my life, my experience and love for dogs grows.

About breeding

More than 20 years ago, I began to breed rodents. As science demonstrates, breeding rodents is one of the best and fastest ways to study mammal genetics and reproduction in practice. Adding canine anatomy, biology, vitality and genetical traits to it, I realised how many similarities there are between mammal species in general and how dog breeding and training profits from that aspect.

Health and temperament have utmost priority in our breeding program. An optimized selection of breeding dogs, knowledge and patience help to create companion dogs with calm, friendly and solid temperament, trainability and will to please. Our dogs are all health tested, DNA tested and evaluated on temperament and drive. We value healthy nutrition and good habituation and socialisation. We don’t care much about shows, medals and glamour as I believe they add more to a human’s ego and wallet than to the benefits of the dog. Harmony, interaction and the bond between human and dog are very important factors in our breeding to provide a happy and well-balanced life for our dogs and their future owners. Here you can read more about our dogs daily life. Walking Among Wolves

Our breeding program is divided in 2 sectors: Service- and therapy dogs, which are equally suitable as companion and family dogs and the 2nd sector contains working and sport dogs usable for detection, dog sports, herding and guarding. Though often traits from both strains can overlap and give additional variability to one or the other side. We breed different lines to achieve specific temperament and drive but also to maintain genetic diversity and to improve health traits wherever possible. Striving for the rather classical build of German Shepherd, our lines contain mainly East-German and West- German working stock, endorsed with British, Czech and American lines to achieve healthy anatomy, temperament, energy- and drive levels. Though we breed purebred German Shepherds, we do not discriminate by colour or coat length. Genetically they all lead back to the German Shepherd breed. We also help to improve other breeds by offering our purebred dogs for responsible outcross projects of other breeds. However, we do not support any kind of fashion breeding for looks and people’s comfort. If you want to know more about this topic, check our page about Breeding Ethics.

We do cooperate with a handful of selected breeders worldwide to create a strong and healthy lineage, same as we work together with geneticists, researching genes and markers to allow an even more efficient and variable DNA analysis of the dog with time. We are glad to help novice breeders and passionate dog owners with reaching their goals. Our dog training program is not based on a single training method but combines training methods of the world’s best trainers and dog therapists who have many years of practical experience. We believe that every dog is an individual being and for this reason every dog deserves a training that suits his activity level, breed characteristics and brains. Pushing a dog into a labelled method of one trainer will work out somehow, but it will never reveal the dog’s true potential and abilities. We also apply this knowledge to the raise of our puppies. The past 25 years taught me a lot about dogs, yet there’s still much to learn. Breeding became way too commercial the past years and shifted focus on profit only. A trend we do not support. Authenticity, transparency and the wellbeing of our dogs will always have priority. If you want to know more about our breeding practices and ethics, you can check the information section or the FAQ’s.

What else do we offer?

Dogtraining (Analysing behavior and adjustment training)
Genetic seminars and workshops for beginning breeders and dogowners
Grooming service for dogs and cats
Sleddogtraining, Canicross, and Bike-Joring
Tracking- and Servicedog Basics

Education and certificates

Proof of professional competence in care/breeding dogs and cats (Aeres)
Pet Psychology and behaviour (NSA)
Canine Communication (NSA)
Breeding of purebred dogs (Raad van beheer)
Microchip marking of cats and dogs (Trainingcentrum Harderwijk)
Dog grooming (Hondenvachtspecialist Zoetermeer)
Paraveterinairy (Companion animals, Equines, reproduction)
Detection dog handler EDD (Explosives Detection Dog)
Dog trainer Education KK1 KK2 1999/2024
Animal Kinesiology (AET)
Ethology & Dog Psychology

Want to know more about the daily life of our dogs?

Walking Among Wolves