My body guard German shepherds Bad dog breeder Marengo Illinois

I purchased my Shepard from My Body Guard who is owned and operated by Martin and Julie Saso and have never found them to be unresponsive to anything regarding thier dogs. Julie is one of the best trainers and kennel operators I have ever encountered and my dog Nola has issues are normal and Julie has always been there to help me, advise me, and insure that Nola is healthy and safe. Now that Nola is over a year in fact 15 months old she is sound and healthy and she too had minor issues which Julie delat with swiftly and properly. She guided us through training and development and Nolla is now very well adjusted and accompanies me to hospital visits and other funstions. She is high spirited and a very loving dog and most of the dogs from Julie are great. She does not sell anyone a bill of goods and is very compliant in following guidelines to insure a dogs success and helped in every aspect of the training. I am forever greatful of this as I am a veteran with PTSD and Julie guided us through the process and every issue we had. Dogs are like family members they become ill, have issues and need the right amount of disipline to be good and functional members of a family and Julie and Marty do just that. You get what you put into and waiting 18 months is not an option. If my dog became ill I did not take her to training while being respectful of other owners and thier dogs and insuring Nola would not effect others. In every case there are always issues and Julie always answers the owners. I saw this directly because the person that referred me to Julie has a great dog and then we meet other people completely by accident who had dogs from My Body Guard and they are completely satisfied. I know many of us will stand behind her and her staff 100%.

While you are certainly entitled to your own opinion, before you are so quick to speak negatively about something you personally know nothing about, maybe you should choose your words more carefully.

We posted a response to Ms. Saso's initial reply to us, which maybe you should read before being so critical.  We are not new pet owners and take that responsibility very seriously.  We owned an 8-year-old female GSD before we got Zeus and spent almost $4,000 when we found out she had cancer to try and prolong her life because we loved her so much.  An "irresponsible" owner would have put her down without even trying to save her, but she was an important part of our family, as is Zeus, who we love very much.  You have no idea what we went through or how very sick he was two days after we brought him home and how long it took to finally have him healthy again.  After watching our girl suffer only a couple months prior to bringing Zeus home, going through the process of getting him well was very difficult for us, especially emotionally.  And, again, an "irresponsible" owner would not have gone through what we did to finally get to the point where he was finally well.

Since you seem to know so much about everything, you should know that if a dog has Giardia, then they should not be around any other animals, because it is very easy to transmit, so for almost ten months we could not begin training for Zeus because the Giardia kept recurring, through no fault of ours.  So don't you dare infer that we didn't take any responsibility during everything that was going on during this period.  An irresponsible owner would have said the heck with it and went ahead with training, knowing that any other animal coming into contact while treatment is ongoing for something like this could, quite possibly, contract this as well.

But if it makes you feel better to judge people without knowing all the facts, which we do have documented, by the way, then have at it, since you obviously don't mind sounding ignorant, but we know what we went through and we're proud of how we've raised Zeus, who is a very loving, vital member of our family, who we have a very deep, emotional bond with, and who we never once considered bringing to the pound or a shelter or whatever you seem to think you know about the type of people/owners we are.  And I have every confidence that now that we've found the "right trainer" who we feel very fortunate to have found, Zeus will continue to flourish under her guidance.

Anyone can post anything on the Internet, so all kinds of wacko stuff shows up online. But this complaint is so unreal that it should win some kind of prize.

Your vet charged $1400 to treat roundworms and Giardia?? Either you have the number wrong ($140 would be much more realistic), or your vet is the biggest crook in Wisconsin.  These are very common canine parasites that can be treated fairly inexpensively.

You waited well over a year to start training your puppy?? Why?? You seem to suggest that he was too trashed from roundworms and Giardia to train, which is nuts. Or maybe giving his medication took so much time that you had no time left for training??

You think a “protection dog” is an untrained, unsocialized dog who will hurt the trainer like yours might?? Not when protection training is done right with a sound, well-socialized dog.

Judging from the photo, you have a drop dead gorgeous German Shepherd. Because you didn’t train and socialize him, he now has some aggression issues. Surprise, surprise. This is the importer’s fault??

This kind of attitude is the reason so many dogs get dumped in shelters and killed. A puppy is a huge responsibility. If you don’t want the responsibility—and that includes owning up to your mistakes instead of blaming someone else—you should not have gotten the puppy.

If your trainer is “shocked” then either you totally misrepresented the facts or you need to find a better trainer.

The next time you feel like blaming someone because your dog Zeus now has issues, go take a look in the mirror.

Zeus is the one who is paying for your mistakes, and that really stinks.

In response to Ms. Saso's explanation above, we would like to clarify quite a few falsehoods regarding her statements.  My wife did not contact Ms. Saso several weeks after we had purchased Zeus from her, but rather two days after, when he became extremely ill with both diarrhea and vomiting.  We purchased Zeus from Ms. Saso on February 17, 2012, but did not pick him up until approximately February 23, 2012.  After calling Ms. Sasso two days after bringing Zeus home, she told my wife that she believed Zeus' illness could have been the change in environment and the traveling from Marengo, Illinois to Kenosha, Wisconsin, an approximate 90-minute trip, door-to-door, and that sometimes puppies do not acclimate to their surroundings right away.  She then sent us probiotics by mail and told us to give them to him and to wait approximately five days to see if his condition got better.

We decided to call our personal veterinarian to inquire earlier than that because Zeus was only 12 weeks old at the time and because we did not believe this to be normal health for a puppy that was supposedly in "excellent" health prior to our taking him home.  They recommended we bring him in to have a full examination and have tests run, which we did, four days after bringing him home, not several weeks as Ms. Saso referenced.  We were told he had worms, which could have most probably been prevented had Ms. Saso and her team given Zeus doses of Heartguard or similar medicatoins, as he was 12 weeks old when we purchased him, old enough to be given this preventative medication.  Ms. Saso confirmed with me that she did not, indeed, give Zeus this preventative medication as import puppies are not given this because they don't believe it's necessary, since Zeus was imported from Germany, and that she did not as well.

It was then determined that Zeus also had Giardia which Ms. Saso alluded to the fact that he got this from our home, somehow, even though we did not have any other pets at the time we brought Zeus home and we did not bring him around any other animals until we were told we could do so by our veterinarian, once he was up-to-date on all required shots.  We are not new owners, having previously owned an 8-year-old female GSD who passed away of cancer right before we got Zeus.  When we inquired of Ms. Saso regarding the extensive treatment for Zeus, which we had spoken with her on multiple occasions while he was undergoing this treatment, not 1-1/2 years later, as she alluded to in her response, she told us that there was nothing she would do since we could not prove thathe was ill when we brought him home, even though we were told there was a good possibility of an incubation period before symptoms were evident.

To respond to Ms. Saso's false and inaccurate comments regarding Zeus' training, you cannot bring an animal around others when they have the health issues Zeus was going through, as they are highly contagious and can be transmitted to other animals so, obviously, training was not an option until we were able to get him well, which took many rounds of treatment over the course of many months, almost ten months, to be exact, until he was well enough to be able to seek out training for him.  We were very conscientious in following our veterinarian's specific instructions to aid in the treatment of the Giardia, to prevent it from recurring, even going to such lengths as immediately picking up stool, as well as sterilizing practically our whole backyard, each spot where he would relieve himself, with a bleach and water combination in multiple spray bottles, which even that did not prevent the multiple treatments that Zeus had to go through until he was finally well many months later.

When we contacted Ms. Saso regarding this, she was very negative while speaking with us.  She was very quick to point out that Zeus was now "too old" as he was close to 18 months and it would be "very difficult" to correct any behaviors we felt needed correction, but that she would check with her trainers to get their opinion regarding this.  After not hearing back from her as promised, we called her again to follow-up and when she finally returned our call, at which time she left a message to the effect that she felt Zeus would be a "danger" to her trainers, who specialize in protective/protection training because of his age, weight and height, and that she believed  he would be "too aggressive" to train.  She then said she could not even offer us any recommendations and that we were, basically, left on our own to continue our search.  Surely someone who has that much experience has some contacts located 90 minutes away that could possibly be of assistance?  I would be very much surprised if she didn't.

Never once did we inform Ms. Saso that we did not begin his training because we were "too busy" and "did not feel it was necessary" to being "formal training" for him.  We had to wait until Zeus was healthy enough and did not show any further parasites in the ongoing testing we had done so as to not endanger any other animals.  And for her to further insinuate that Zeus is not a "happy and well-mannered" dog and his quality of life was diminished because of us, when all we asked for was her guidance so that we could correct a few behavioral issues we were trying to correct is disrespectful.  We are responsible owners and not new to owning the GSD breed and find it insulting that she would say these falsehoods and try to seemingly shift the blame to us when she was very helpful adn friendly until she received our $2,000 for Zeus and then suddenly after that she could not be bothered to help us, especially given the fact that he became so ill so soon after we brought him home.

Further to that end, Ms. Saso initially offered to work with us in training Zeus about six weeks after we purchased him, but since it took so many months for him to finally get rid of the Giardia, once he was welll, we did try contacting various trainers closer to our home, but many were already involved in training classes already in the process of being taught and there was a waiting period.  It was then that we tried contacting Ms. Saso to see if she could be of assistance regarding training.  Zeus is now currently being trained by a wonderful trainer who has never once said he was aggressive or a danger to others and has spent several hours evaluating him during the training process.  We would be happy to provide a letter from Zeus' trainer, detailing his progress so far, and her overall evaluation of him at this time, if that would be helpful.

Turning back to Zeus' prior medical conditions, we have all the documentation showing when we first brought Zeus to our veterinarian, shortly after bringing him home, and all the treatment we had to go through until we were finally able to have him healthy enough to begin training.  Paying $2,000 for a puppy and then having to pay another $1,226.53 so soon after that does not seem fair to us.  We have in our possession, and would be happy to provide detailed receipts, for all medical care Zeus received under separate cover during the period in question, should that be necessary.

When we did contact Ms. Saso after we had done some of the earlier extensive testing, Ms. Saso was quick to dismiss it and we could hardly speak when trying to ask for her help with the mounting costs we were incurring, as she continually spoke over us, again saying there was no proof that he became ill while in their care.

We believe it would be fair for Ms. Saso to pay for at least half of the medical expenses incurred since we believe thereis a greater than not possibility that Zeus initially became sick while in her facility's care and that it did not manifest itself until a couple days after he was brought home.  While we understand that owning any animal will incur expenses, it's highly unusual to spend this amount of money so soon after bringing the pet home, especially being assured he was in "excellent health" at the time we were to bring him home and having spent a substantial amount initially.  There is no way he became sick in our care because he was never left outside unattended during potty breaks in our fenced-in yard and he was never around any other dogs until we were told it was safe and we did not have any other animals in our household at the time we brought him home.  Ms. Saso's indifference and unwillingness to take any responsibility for all that has gone on, in our minds, is very unprofessional and we believe some compensation is warranted given the above mentioned facts.

Thank you.

I sold a male German Shepherd Import puppy to Dan and Jean Hall in WI in late February of 2012. This puppy was Vet Checked and Micro chipped before he was sold.  At the time of purchase the puppy had received vaccinations and training appropriate for his age.  In addition to his puppy go home kit, I went over training and instructions on care with Dan and Jean.  Understanding the distance between Kenosha and Marengo, I encouraged them to seek training convenient to their home.  All dogs need training and socialization, especially in their first year of life, in order to become a well mannered part of their family and community.  I express this to every person who purchases a puppy from me.  In addition, in the written contract, signed by Dan Hall, he and his wife, Jean Hall, agreed to be responsible for the health, appearance and temperament of the puppy they purchased from me.  Without socialization and training, a dog’s temperament can change.

Several weeks after taking their puppy home, Jean contacted me to tell me that her puppy, they were calling Zeus, had diarrhea.  I instructed her to take a stool sample to the Vet for diagnosis.  Jean later contacted me to tell me he had Giardia, a common parasite among animals.   I told Jean and Dan that their puppy could have received this from many different sources, including bird droppings, or coming in contact with the stools of other animals.  This is treated with one or two rounds of medication, but can return if the source of contamination in not eliminated I.e.: bird droppings, or rabbit or squirrel poop.  I did not hear from Jean or Dan again until Zeus was 1½ years old. At no time did they call to discuss health, training or temperament issues with Zeus.  At this time they called me to tell me that their dog (Zeus) had become aggressive towards strangers.  I asked them what training and socialization they had done, and they told me none.  They told me they were busy and did not feel it was necessary to bring him to formal training.  They were asking me for help with this aggressive issue.  I instructed them to seek training in their area, as our trainers were booked solid.

I am disappointed to learn that Zeus did not receive the proper training and socialization necessary to insure he was a happy and well mannered dog.  Dan and Jean neglected to train Zeus in his first year of life results in Zeus’s quality of life being diminished. 

According to our contract which the purchasers read and signed, they were responsible for the health and training of the puppy once they took the puppy home.   The puppy was deemed healthy by me and a licensed veterinarian before Dan and Jean Hall purchased the puppy.  My BodyGuard German Shepherd Dogs has been breeding and training German Shepherd Dogs since 1991. We take pride in the quality of dogs and puppies we sell and the relationships we have built with the many families whose lives have been enriched through the purchase of a puppy or dog from My BodyGuard German Shepherd Dogs.

Sincerely,

Julie Saso

My BodyGuard German Shepherd Dogs

815-568-0484