Von Scoles Kennels
About us
Von Scoles Kennels was an idea that began in 2012 when I first got Lobeau (Rupfen) and Xena. First and foremost, Von Scoles Kennels
is named after my grandfather, Morris Albert Scoles. He is by far the best man I ever knew. He use to tell me, “I am not going to charge you for all this knowledge that I am passing on to you.” Because of him, I have always realized that knowledge is the one thing that is priceless and can never be taken away from us. His last name was Scoles and with the Von being the German word for “from,” it only felt right for the kennel to be named from my grandfather, Von Scoles.
I have had a love of German Shepherds from a very young age. My grandmother told me that when I was a kid and she would ask me
what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would tell her I wanted to be a Marine MP K9. I did go into the Marine Corps in 1998 and served 4 ½ years, however, I choose not to go MP, instead went Infantry. When I got out of the Corps in 2002, I was lost. I didn’t know what I wanted to do, or which direction to go. I moved here to Oklahoma and in 2003, I got my first German Shepherd, a female named Sonny that I got from the German Shepherd Rescue of Tulsa, OK. I loved Sonny, and had a lot of fun with her, however, I really didn’t know
anything about German Shepherds or why dogs do some of the things that they do. In 2004, I moved into a new apartment. While
moving in, I left Sonny in the upstairs apartment while I went down to the van to get more stuff. I got distracted and began talking with the new neighbors. I had forgotten that I left the balcony door of the second floor apartment open. I had only been talking for about 5
minutes when I saw Sonny come flying over the balcony wall. I was lucky. I ran over to her , picked her up and rushed to the van, but
found that she had not suffer any injuries. A few months later, I was began working with German Shepherd Rescue of Tulsa, OK and
was adopted by another German Shepherd, Bear. I only had Bear for a few months before I lost him to bloat. That was a bad time in my life. I had just lost my grandfather in June, my grandmother in October and then Bear. I was also being evicted from my apartment
and diagnosed with PTSD. However, 2 days after I lost Bear, a German Shepherd was returned to the rescue. One that I had fallen in
love with when I first met him. His name was Buster. He was a big blonde German Shepherd that had been given to us as a failed K9
candidate. I lost him in 2014. He and I had moved around, been in several different homes, and had other dogs to spend time with us.
However, during all this time, I found that there are reasons dogs do what they do. I found out that Sonny was given to the rescue
because she was a fence jumper. I knew that there had to be a way to correct these behaviors, so I started reading books. The first book I read was by Jan Fennell, “The Dog Listener”. In her book, she went over how to correct these behaviors, but she also discussed what
causes some of these behaviors to develop to begin with. From there I also read Paul Owens “The Dog Whispe,” the book that came out long before Cesar Millan’s hit TV serious. From there, I read every book I could find including Patricia McConnell’s, “The Other End
of the Leash,” and even “How to be Your Dogs Best Frien,” and “The Art of Raising the Puppy,” both by the Monks of New Skete. One book that I started to read but could not bring myself to finish is “The Culture Clash” by Jean Donaldson. The hardest thing about this book was at the very beginning, they say that the old saying, “There is no such thing as a bad dog, just bad owners,” was not true, that
there were bad dogs. This was something that I strongly disagreed with. I wanted to fill myself with knowledge that was of a positive
nature. I did also watch a lot of TV programs such as Cesar Millan’s “The Dog Whisper,” “It’s me or the Dog” with Victoria Stillwell
and “Devine Dog” with the Monks of New Skete. All these books and shows helped me to develop my belief that dogs are an important
part of our lives and that the best dog is one that not only feels like it is part of the family, but also believes that it has a job to do in that family.
Having already worked with hundreds of German Shepherds while working with German Shepherd rescue of Tulsa, I already had an
idea of what I was looking for. In September of 2011, I was working security at a night club and was taking my rescue German
Shepherd, Buster with me. I was approached by my good friend, Dave Martin, who asked if I would be interested in an Eastern
European German Shepherd. When I adopted Lobeau from him, I knew about the breed, but nothing about the line. I would spend the next 3 years learning as much about this line as I could.
When I got Lobeau, he was already 2 years old. He did not have any of the drive that I was wanting from a protection dog. He did have an incredible bloodline. I went back to Dave a couple of months later and adopted Xena at 8 weeks old, and she was more than I had
ever could have expected. She has incredible drive to play and to be with her pack. She has taken on the role of alpha after myself. She isalso a "mother hen" as I have introduced her to several puppies, and she as always excepted them as her own.
The pairing of these two has always been the plan, however, as they are getting older, I have been looking to bring other dogs into the
program. My goal is to breed high quility dogs that are ideal for service, companion and protection. Each puppy is handled from the
moment that they are born and under go a puppy temperament test at 6 weeks of age, and then start basic obedience at 8 weeks.
A lot of people have asked me many questions about my puppies. Through my readings, one of the most important things I learned was that the best way to correct bad behaviors is to not allow the behaviors to begin in the first place. Many people make the biggest
mistake of them all, getting a puppy when it is too young. Many people advertise that they will sell their puppies at 4/6 weeks old. This is too young for the puppies to be leaving the litter. First of all, the puppies are barely weaned at 5 weeks old. They don’t get their first
effective shots till they are 8 weeks old. But most importantly is their socialization. Puppies need to learn from the mother, litter mates
and other members of the pack how to be a dog. The most important time for this learning is from 6-12 weeks old. This is when
puppies learn how hard is too hard when biting and what no really means. Puppies will bond with their new owners from 10-16
weeks. This is the ideal time for them to be placed in their homes. Therefore, the earliest I will let a puppy leave my home is 8 weeks.
"After searching for the right place to buy our fur baby, Von Scoles was the perfect place! We are very happy with our baby! He is so smart! He has already learned to set, roll over, shake and lay down. He has found a forever home. Thank you Bruce for everything you have done! If you are looking for a German Shepard, you have come to the right place!!"
Ashley Strunk Clayton's Owner
Loving my sweet Sarah thanks Von Scoles kennels she is amazing
Ali Whitehead, Owner of Sarah