In 1997 Hannah Peters adopted her first German Shepherd, Lucy, who came from a local breeder. At the time she had a Shepherd X called Cougar. She loved Cougar and his personality so much that she thought she would try a purebred German Shepherd Dog. Hannah loved the versatility of the breed that she saw in Lucy and this sparked her passion for GSDs.

In 2003 Gemma joined the family. Gemma was a 4 month old GSD and was a rescue dog. Thousands of dollars were spent on elbow operations for Gemma to try to bring her some comfort. After trying everything possible, eventually Gemma had to be put to sleep.

After Gemma, Hannah started to take an interest in breeding GSDs. She loved the breed and had a good interest in animals in general. But Hannah wanted to do more for this already outstanding breed. The breed was (and still is) notorious for joint dysplasia and is wrongly associated with agression problems. Hannah wanted to improve the breed and its reputation and help rid GSDs of genetic problems. The only way she could work on this goal was to start breeding GSDs herself. She was also drawn to the showing aspect of breeding as she wanted to do more with her dogs than just obedience. Hannah's goal was to set up kennels that would have dogs and bitches with quality German lines and no hip or elbow problems.

In 2004 Hannah purchased Bailey from a breeder in NSW. Bailey was named as such, to match Cougar's alcohol related name. Bailey's dad has great German lines and as a result Bailey was a great pick for breeding with.

Hannah also wanted a male for her breeding program, so in 2004 Kaiser was purchased from a different breeder in NSW. He shares the same father as Bailey and is also a very good pick for breeding. Kaiser was 14 weeks old when he joined the ever expanding Peters family and came with his name.

In 2005, Hannah felt the need to expand again. She was on the lookout for good specimens of the breed and came across another breeder in NSW where she found Zara. The litter had distant German bloodlines and were from some of the best bloodlines in Australia at the time. The sire had placed extremely well in many shows and was generally a great dog. Zara was given her name because Hannah wanted a name that sounded gentle, reflecting her nature.

In late 2005 an opportunity arose that Hannah could not resist - another litter from Zara's breeder - different parents to Zara. This litter had a great heritage from dogs that Hannah really liked. The sire was newly imported to Australia and Hannah had had her eye on him when he was in Germany. Tayla was chosen and became the fourth breeding dog at what was soon to be named as Derharv kennels. Tayla was named as such because Hannah wanted a soft, feminine name for her new pup.

In late 2005 Hannah was ready to officially start her kennels business. After 2 years of research and careful preparation to ensure she did everything right by the breed, she now had the dogs so all she needed was a name.

She started to think of her grandfather who had recently passed away. He had shared her love for animals and she could think of nothing better than naming her kennel business after him. His name being Derek Harvey was shortened and became Derharv.

Derharv is based in the Dandenong Ranges, one hour's drive from Melbourne.

Not only is Hannah passionate about enjoying her dogs but she also likes to participate in German Shepherd Specialty Shows. In addition to this, she completed an 18 month course in dog training and dog behaviour through Alpha Dog Training

Jason Kelly joined the Derharv team in 2007. He adopted Jag in February 2005. Jag, a Bull Mastiff X, inspired Jason to explore the world of dogs. He met Hannah at Alpha Dog Training where he fell in love with her Shepherds and became dedicated to maintaining the quality of the breed.

Derharv is a small kennel whose mission is to breed sound quality dogs from the best bloodlines with outstanding temperaments, but most of all our aim is to enjoy owning such wonderful dogs.

Hannah is an active member of the Victoria Canine Association and the German Shepherd Dog Club of Victoria, we adhere to all codes of ethics and breeding requirements.

Our dogs have all been raised in a home environment and endure a life of free running, swimming and relaxing on a daily basis.