Purchasing A Puppy

[Dju]

I'm on the waiting list for a little SV pup from Ausvarg (love you Cass ) one state over and when the pup comes of age (8 weeks I think, around November), I will look to the sky and know that finally.. my pup is on his way here.

However, I keep hearing all these tips about looking for a specific puppy in the litter when you meet them, like how you should pick the first one that comes up to you, or the most playful one, or the most obedient one and so on. Some say that the puppy must "choose you" and you should pick a puppy that looks like he's enthusiastic about going home with you or he will never be 100% devoted to you, but how can my puppy choose me if I've never met him before? So many different opinions, I don't know what to believe!

Question I have for fellow DOLers is this--

On buying a puppy you've never met. Good idea? Bad idea? Should I believe all the hype?

[Bundyburger]

The breeder will choose the puppy most suited to you We got our boy sight unseen and he's a perfect fit for us.

[TsarsMum]

hey i know your feelings, my pup is coming from vic and im in wa

ill let you know how it goes

[Gayle.]

I have done it twice. Both times from the same breeder.

The first time, I was very specific about what I wanted.....a black tri bitch with particular markings and I waited for the litter to be born to see if there was a pup for me, then found there were two to choose from. I had a preference for one, but left it up to the breeder as she was also keeping a black tri bitch for her breeding program. I ended up with the one I had the preference for, but would have been just as happy with the other one.

Did it matter about the temperament? In the case of this particular breed, probably not. The breeder I trusted woud only breed from dogs with excellent temperaments and would give the puppies the experiences they needed to be well socialised.

My girl arrived here when she was 8 week old, and she was perfect. She is now 2 1/2 years old and she's still perfect. I completely and totally adore her, she is sweet natured, very devoted to me and a smart, happy, companionable girl.

My second pup came to me kind of unexpectedly. Long story, but this special little man needed to go to an owner who could keep him entire and would give him a fabulous home. He was offered to me in co-ownership with the breeder. Once again, I trusted she would breed for health and temperament and once again, I have a lovely, happy pup who fitted into our family like he was born to it.

I would do it again in a heartbeat, but ensure the breeder is breeding for the type of temperament you want and that they will choose correctly for you.

[Sandra777]

A good breeder will choose the best pup for your family - so be sure to give them all the details and give them as much info as possible to work with. Most reputable breeders basically choose the pup for the buyer anyway (or might give someone a choice of two or three pups in a bigger litter) so you really aren't missing out.

Pups with a decent human orientated nature will all rush to meet a newcomer, so all "picking the first on that comes to you" proves is that the pup is faster than it's brothers and sisters

[kendall]

I didn't get to see Amber until the day she came to me apart from 2 photos (one at a few days old and the other at around 5 weeks). She couldn't be more perfect

[Niques]

Our breeder picked James for us. Although he was the one I had my eye on We didn't know it was to be him until the week before he came home.

Honestly, I would have been completely at a loss picking a pup myself based on all the old tales of searching out the bold puppy or what have you. With 10 puppies swarming over you I couldn't even keep track of which were the black males, let alone which was the more confident, etc.

[Parkeyre]

I've done it a few times before. Don't worry about it.

The only one time I got to meet my pup before bringing her home, she was petrified of my partner and I and screamed at us, so i took her brother.

In saying that though, the others were all bought unseen (only by photos) and i trusted my breeders to choose.

They made the right choices.

Edited August 13, 2010 by Parkeyre

[Andisa]

I am in the process of buying sight unseen right now, after almost a year of talking with the breeder it looks like I might have my puppy within the next couple of months.

eta: I also sent a pup to Tassie - they bought sight unseen but I did send them heaps of photos and we had talked lots before hand, they were very happy and so was I.

Edited August 13, 2010 by Andisa

[Dju]

Woah, so many replies, thank you so much!!

I hope the breeder chooses the right dog for us, though I think I'll pretty much be happy with any puppy that will love me enough to snuggle all over me 24/7

But after this thread I will definitely be giving the breeder some more information and hope that she is good at matchmaking!

Let's see, what would I need, a handsome face lovable enough so that my grandma who doesn't really like dogs will completely change her mind, a pup that will respect the carpets in this house, and be strong enough to drag the stepladder over to our mailbox so he can retrieve our newspapers... I was kidding about that last one, our chickens get the mail for us.

[Edenishy]

Our breeder is choosing our puppy for us and she has narrowed it down to 2. We have no issues with this at all....

We would love to show our dog (something the breeder is excited for us to be doing, and does herself) and as we have no experience with such, we trust

that she will pick out the one with the best show potential and with her being a seemingly good breeder, no matter the choice, the puppy should have a fantastic temperament and we will be well suited with each other.

[Lucy's mama]

I would prefer to see the pups first, but if the breeder is well known and trusted I don't think it is 100% necesary. When I was looking for an Aussie there seemed to be two types of breeder - those that let you choose from pics at birth, and those who would let you know at 8 weeks if they had a puppy for you - no guarantee you'd get one at all. For that reason I went with a 'pick one from the pictures' breeder.

If a breeder had of said 'Ýes, you WILL get a puppy but I will choose which one' I would have gone that way instead, but I wasn't prepared to wait till 8 weeks then find that none was for me.

[tianakaesha]

I picked my puppy based on my colour preferences and there was only one available in the litter. but I did not meet her until I picked her up from the airport!

[quickbrownfox]

I did not meet my puppy until he landed at the airport too. The breeder sent me photos beforehand for me to choose. I chose from two boys, both with good temperaments (which was the only thing I cared about.) In the end I picked the one with less white on the chest.

[Ons]

with Tilly I was told that I could have one of the only two girls in the litter but the breeder was going to take first choice and wouldnt' make the choice until the dogs were 8 weeks, she wanted a girl to show.

Every week I was sent photos of the two girls

Every week I did a little prayer that my dog would be the darker female

and on the 8th week my wish came true

[Dju]

So then some breeders let you choose which one you'd like out of photos? Oh I would not be able to handle the pressure of that, everytime my dog acted up what if I would wonder "Would this situation be different if I chose the other one I wanted??" I think I'm just gonna ask my breeder to do some matchmaking for me--but from what I see, bitch pups are more common than dog pups, so there might only be a choice between two boys or so

I would choose by the color/markings if only I knew what they'll look like when they're adult--SV pups, when they're puppies, they all look like light brown teddy bears sans any markings whatsoever!

[ravenau1]

This is where we hit a bit of a wall with the initial breed we were thinking of. My OH refused to get a dog that we hadn't met at least one of the parents personally, and the breeder. I suggested that he fly interstate to do that but since I can't fly and he point blank refused to leave me even for a few days (he has terrible 'Separation Anxiety' no idea how to train him out of that) that idea was a bust too. I think he's yet to fully understand that this sort of thing is 'part and parcel' of life in this country (he's an import ) where our rather small population base is spread out over such a big area. Where he comes from you can drive across his entire state in 3 hours. 3 hours driving won't really get you that far across WA

But anyway, it turned out really well for us as we found a fantastic breeder in WA. But I'm hoping that for the future he will come to see that flying a pup in from interstate is really common, and not a 'big deal'.

[Shakti]

I have had pups chosen for me by breeders and if you are 100% honest about what you are wanting and what you can handle - that can work really well.

I don't think I would ever choose a puppy based just on a picture as I have always been more interested in temperament than colour (as I don't show) and that can't be judged from a photo.

I chose my last puppy from an entire litter using K9-Forces Guidelines for choosing a puppy and that has been the very best scenario!!

I got to meet the parents, see the entire litter once at 6 weeks and then again when we finally chose our puppy, had a good rapport with the breeder and had a really clear set of guidelines literally in my hand to help us do temperament testing etc.

This pup has been just the most exemplary dog!!

[cavNrott]

I've never chosen a puppy, the breeders know their pups well and will choose the one that best matches your lifestyle. I have many phone conversations with the breeders beforehand so we get to know eachother quite well.

When I went to see my Rotty pup the breeder said to me "That's your puppy". She was perfect for me, exactly what I wanted.

With my Cavalier I wanted a tri coloured boy. The breeder sent me pics of the boy she chose for me and again, he is just perfect.

[Dju]

I just called my breeder to ask them about this and also expressed my interest in showing the dog one day and she said I'd get a show-grade puppy from her then... but what if the show grade puppy isn't one that best matches me personality-wise?? Will I get an ultimatum--"this pup is best for showing but this other one is best for your lifestyle, CHOOSE NOW!!" or will she forgo one for the other? Gosh maybe I should stop worrying about this.

I have no doubt about the temperaments of the dogs anyways, I guess, but I have been fretting about which pup will end up with me--I'll be living with it for fifteen years, it seems like a very important thing to be clear on!