Should I ? or shouldnt I ?

Question
Hey!!,  

im away to move into a 1 bed flat.
I have always wanted to get a german shephard but i dont know if my situation would be suitable.
I will be out for 3 mornings a week.
I will be in a flat, possible in town but he/she will get plenty of exercise through the park and up at my parents house. do u think that this would be a suitable situation for a german shepherd ?
And do you have any advice ????

hope to hear back soon, JAMES .. ..

Answer
If you are going to be around except 3 mornings a week, it sounds very good.  If you are living by yourself in a flat, it might  be easier to start with a older dog.  There are plenty of nice ones available.  

Finding a good breeder and purchasing a puppy that will make a good pet is very difficult.  Almost nobody is intentionally breeding dogs to be nice pets.  Most of your so called reputable breeders are breeding for show or something.  They may say the puppies they don't keep for their purpose make great pets, but the truth is that the parents were selected for other than health and temperament.  Often they keep the puppies in the kennel too long and they miss the important early socialization puppies need to live in the house with people.

Next are the disreputable breeders.  They breed any 2 registered dogs they can lay a hold of looking only at the money they can make selling them to pet stores.  Pet store puppies are easy to find, but difficult to socialize into nice pets, perhaps difficult to even keep alive.  You will not get what you pay for at a pet store.

One of the best sources for dogs with a predictable personality is the rescue
dogs.  These are dogs that lost their home, but were taken into a foster home
to be retrained as necessary and placed in the right home for them.  You may
find a rescue near you starting at
http://www.akc.org/breeds/rescue.cfm  The rescues charge a fee to help cover their expenses, but is much less than the price of a puppy plus all its medical expenses the first year.  

If you do get a puppy, post back for help with it.