About us
How ZABENZAH German Shepherds Began
ZABENZAH German Shepherds was established in 2015, but the roots of my love for the breed began long before that. As a little girl, I grew up with German Shepherds in the backyard — my dad bred them, and from an early age I knew there was something incredibly special about this breed. Loyal, intelligent, challenging, and endlessly rewarding.
Fast forward to adulthood, after almost 30 years of showing horses at the highest levels — Horse of the Year, Royals, Pony Club — I reached a point where falling off wasn’t quite as fun, and you certainly don’t bounce like you used to. I stepped away from horses and dipped my toe into showing English Cocker Spaniels for about a year. They were lovely, fun little dogs, but they didn’t give me the same challenge or the same fire that a German Shepherd does.
And that’s when the real journey began.
Finding Our First German Shepherd Show Dog
In 2015, after searching for our first German Shepherd show puppy and contacting several breeders, I was told by one very well known breeder that no one would ever sell a German Shepherd to someone who hadn’t been at GSD shows for at least six months. That comment lit a fire in me — and it turned out to be the best thing that could’ve happened.
I kept trying and this then brought me to Tom Devine of Conkasha German Shepherds, and thanks to him, we were lucky enough to welcome our very first show dog:
Multi Excellent - Conkasha New Direction AZ (King).
King was an incredible dog who took us all over Australia. He worked his heart out in every ring and achieved some unforgettable results — including placing 13th out of 30 in a very competitive Open Dog Class at the 2019 Melbourne National, beating imports and showing his absolute quality. Our journey with King was huge, and I will forever be grateful to Tom for giving us our start.
Not long after came Multi Excellent - Conkasha Shadow Diva AZ, another dog who brought us amazing memories as we travelled and showed across the country. Shadow had the most beautiful soul and with her, we had our first litter, a singleton, but a beautiful puppy named Uno.
Our Foundation Girl – Viva
The real foundation of ZABENZAH arrived with Multi Excellent - Conkasha Va Va Voom AZ, RN (Viva).
Viva is the heart of our kennel and has gifted us four outstanding litters. She made our dreams come true, producing our current three beautiful show girls:
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ZABENZAH Helia AZ, ZAP
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ZABENZAH Vitalia AZ, ZAP
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ZABENZAH Vada AZ, ZAP
All three daughters are breed surveyed, hold excellent hip and elbow results, and continue to carry forward everything Viva gave us — strength, beauty, temperament, and that unmistakable German Shepherd spirit.
The Journey So Far
Since 2015, we’ve had incredible highs, tough lessons, wonderful mentors, and unforgettable experiences. We’ve bred exceptional puppies who now live with families all over Australia — families who have become part of our ZABENZAH German Shepherd FAMILY. We’ve travelled the country, celebrated wins, overcome challenges, and fallen even more in love with this breed every step of the way.
Looking Ahead
Our goals continue to grow. I am working toward obtaining my German Shepherd Dog judge’s licence, and eventually becoming a Breed Surveyor. The sky truly is the limit.
The German Shepherd Dog is everything to me — and honestly, my family doesn’t get much of a choice…
It’s German Shepherds or nothing in this house!
That’s how ZABENZAH began, and this is only the beginning of our story.