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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.
I also want to point out that Levi had a broken tail when we picked him up and has an overbite. As of today we are also still figuring out how to stop his diarrhea. The vet thinks this could be damage done from the Parvo and maybe a life long thing for him. We will work with Levi to get him as healthy as possible because we love him and he's been through so much in his little life.
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Your story sounds the same as mine
My puppy arrived so ill emaciated wouldn’t stop crying in pain. He kept having pure loose stools he tested positive for giardia thousand of dollars in vet bills diarrhea that was at first water pile up to 20 a day has now year later became more of a mush pile
I am wonder if the puppies system was ruined
Because I don’t understand the diarrhea problem nothing stops it
even was on a special diet has a
Sensitive stomach
I think they are a glorified puppy mill wrapped with a pretty bow charging thousands of dollars like they have a higher product better off getting one locally from someone that has just mom and dad.
also I know someone else that bought a dog from them called me and told me same problem with the diarrhea nothing he is doing works vet doesn’t know how to stop it. I think if these puppies are all ill they treat at their facility and shove them off to people that are thinking they are getting a wonderful healthy pup because of their fancy website but in actuality we are receiving puppies with life long health problems
We have the same issue with the diarrhea and received the 6-month-old shepherd in Nov 2022. In addition to a lot of other issues. He also came to us with heartworms. Very very scared of everything and has no drive at all, like a genetic issue. I am wondering if they are cross-breeding, and the dogs on the pedigree are not even the parents my shepherd is tiny, and the parents are supposed to be very large. Julie takes no accountable for anything.
Also not to be rude but my dog has mental issues attention issues separation anxiety badly chews everything doesn’t listen won’t make eye contact and no trainer or training facility has been able to calm him I have spent nearly 6000$ in training Just so I can have a calmer dog that doesn’t have HdH super difiant and throws tantrums. I feel like a prisoner in my home because if I open a window he jumps and barks at them he has jump thru the screen to go after our cat
Which I said I wanted a mellow family oriented cat friendly puppy we got the cat a week before he arrived so they could grow up together but being he was sick and highly contagious even people can get giardia my kids and cat had to stay away that took months to clear up and he was alsways to prey driven crazy wild puppy
And I requested a calm family oriented puppy with low drive . I have had Shepherds my whole life
This will be my last I have never been so exhausted by a pet
Instead of being a family pet as we were looking for he has become a huge chore
No one can handle him but me and it’s not his fault he came this way
I have videos of the first day I brought him home crying and crying I had to hold him and rub his belly he would try and eat rocks and metal objects because his stomach hurt so much I could tell he was off from day one
I love him but boy oh boy a this age in my life
He is definitely almost to much for me to handle I even did board and train for 3 months trying to get help
Buyer beware please
Don’t have the puppy shipped to you go visit play with see your puppy make sure it’s healthy first
I had 10 yrs w a Shepherd from Mittelwest and I wish I could've had more time w him. He was gorgeous, nice drive and had a little comedian in him. He totally had my heart. With that being said, he was not the dog I asked for. I specifically told Julie I had a dog walking service and would frequently have other dogs at my house. I needed a temperament that was good w other dogs. Julie said I have just the dog for you. Liar. I also said I'd take a discounted dog that wasn't perfect because I wasn't looking for perfect. Julie said this litter was outstanding. No discounts. All vet checked and sound/healthy puppies. I paid $3500 and got a puppy w a little overbite, one dropped testicle and genetically aggressive w other dogs. Vet checked? Liar. I spent a great deal of time in training w him giving him an outlet by doing IPO and continuously exposing him to neutral situations w other dogs but you can't change genetics. Other than a dog I already had in my house, I could not have my shepherd around any other dogs. There is zero place in this world for dog aggression. ZERO. There are many many high drive, hard working dogs that can be in the company of other dogs without wanting to hurt them. I've run into numerous other people w dogs from Mittelwest. ALL bad w other dogs. I've worked w several trainers over the years who all recognize a mittelwest temperament. Such a shame because they are beautiful dogs. Julie also used my charge card without my permission and added in an extra $50 charge to have me pay for HER merchant fee. What a thief! She didn't think I'd notice. I disputed the charge and it came off but, bottom line, Julie is a dishonest breeder. She is a liar. Money over morals. Playing games w people's emotions and love for the breed. She should sell tires, not dogs.
Absolutely accurate. Our now 4 year old (litter born 7/6/2020) is a doll and part of the family- can’t imagine life without her. However, for what she cost, she was kept with her siblings in disgusting conditions if they let you sneak away from their watchful guiding eye for a second, I recommend using the restroom, which is in the back of a large barn where they have dozens of dogs in, plane sized kennels (again, we were there July and finally for pickup in August - in the Chicagoland heat and humidity. These dogs were forced to be in that humid stagnant air barn with no fans and horrific stench while they wait their turn for one of the very few, very young staff to come and take them for it. A brief walk. The only reason I saw all of this was it was the only way to get to the bathroom and my husband was in the office writing the check, so they were not focused on me. I’m glad I saw it and also horrified. The kids on staff were visibly at a loss and in agreement when I commented about the conditions and asked if I was over reacting by noticing myself feel red flag after red flag. They all said no I was spot on. It does remind me of a puppy mill in disguise, and because their dogs are truly beautiful. It seems everyone of the customers is willing to turn a blind eye to all of the oddities and warning signs. Our puppy has had absolutely nothing but health issues since the day she was brought home beginning, mildly enough with constant eyes and incessant scratching at only one month of age and it has continued every day to present day. She gets lesions all over her body, dull, thin coat, often heavy distressed breathing. Lack of appetite but displaying hunger, incredibly inconsistent and unhealthy poops… and yes. She has been tested for every allergy under the sun. We have done elimination diet. She has been on every diet from purely raw to cable and everything in between.
But I’m describing I know sounds like a dozen common dog issues that are fixable believe me it is none of them She is four years old and thousand and thousands of vet bills later with no conclusion of what her various conditions may be, I lean to thinking that the other commenters I’m here are correct and there could be breeding going on or some kind of genetic issue but I’m reading others stories about their dogs and it seems as though we are all having the same experience around the same time beginning with the litters of the infamous 2018 that were brought over with Parvo. If you Read negative reviews about mittelwest, especially the ones that seem to all have a similar health related issue with their dog they ALL, like myself, are talking about dogs they brought home beginnning mid-late 2018- current 2024.
Something I’d like to note-she is our second mittelwest dog. Our first passed just shy of 13yo in 2018 of myelopathy. She had none of the other issues I’ve listed above in our current dog and an incredible luscious, shiny coat, no issues. However. That first dog had bad hips and slope that we were made aware of by her vet from the time she was a small puppy, and we were told that her bone structure was going to be a great concern and make myopathy incredibly probable for her. This is in Starr contrast to the guarantees that we got from Julie regarding her breeding and her “that check that was perfect.
Anyway two different angles of a similar lie- one that vet confirmed our first pup was perfect and we should feel confident that she was very low risk for hip issues. (This dog was in a wheel chair and absolute agony the final months of her life and from age 8- her death we spent a fortune on every eastern / western tx available, every test every therapy every medication. Nothing helped it was absolutely progressive and happened exactly as our (non mittelwest) vet foresaw.
Second dog second medical lie (in the sense that their more recent litters obviously are of consistently overall poor health and there is no question something has changed in their breeding practice resulting in unhealthy genetic lines.)