moosmum Posted November 13, 2010 Share Posted November 13, 2010 A GOOD breeder who knows their dogs and has spent the time observing and interacting with the pups is the best judge of the puppy to suit you. The most dominant is not always the most confident.You can have a very confident pup who is not easily intimidated,but not interested in asserting himself all the time over a much more dominant pup who the breeder should recognise as needing a particularly strong handler.(in the case of dominant strains for example) Its all going to be relative according to the litters and their backgrounds.You might have a particularly dominant strain to start with. The pup who appears the most confident at a visit might in reality just be the most active/reactive and energetic. Size can change several times in the puppies early growth periods. IMO nothing can replace good observation skills and experience on the part of a good breeder,combined with your honesty about the home and situation the pup will be living in,and what you expect of your dog. Pups innate personalities can be pretty complex. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WreckitWhippet Posted November 13, 2010 Share Posted November 13, 2010 I know my pups inside out and back to front and choose the pups for the new owners. I would go with what the breeder suggests. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
betsy Posted November 13, 2010 Share Posted November 13, 2010 Go with the breeder's pick but be very honest and open with exactly your circumstances/lifestyle and expectations for the puppy. I remember feeling bad many years ago picking up our pup because it was the breeder's youngest daughters favourite! She was a great dog for our family for many years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WreckitWhippet Posted November 13, 2010 Share Posted November 13, 2010 Go with the breeder's pick but be very honest and open with exactly your circumstances/lifestyle and expectations for the puppy.I remember feeling bad many years ago picking up our pup because it was the breeder's youngest daughters favourite! She was a great dog for our family for many years. I wouldn't feel bad about that. I rehomed my 4 year olds two favourite puppies a couple of weeks back. I let the new owner choose between the two, either would have been a great choice. My daughter had spent countless hours with the pair and they were more than suitable for a fmily with 4 kids. They came from a litter of 8 but they sought my daughters company beyond what the rest of the litter did and there was a certain calmness about the two of them, where the kids were concerned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starkehre Posted November 13, 2010 Share Posted November 13, 2010 IMO a "good" breeder will not allow an inexperienced puppy selector to choose their own puppy. Going by your previous posts, if I was you I would be disappointed in a breeder allowing me to choose my own puppy, unless you had spent many many hrs with the breeder and puppy on ,any occasiona prior to puppy selection... and this is probably unlikely. I would be going to a different breeder that could tell I did not know what to look for in a baby puppy and hence would do the selecting for me based on what I wanted to do with the pup/dog, my experience and my life style. All that said, I would choose a puppy that was outgoing, friendly, affectionate, recovering well to surprisea and fear and yet also showed some independance and not the roughest little bruiser in the litter, but that is what I personally like in a pup. Everyone's requirements are different. So, it really comes down to being mostly about you and getting the right pup for you. Best of luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shazzapug Posted November 13, 2010 Share Posted November 13, 2010 is the one saying look at me, you must be here to get me!!!! Is this one u describe necessarily the most dominant one? Isnt it the case that the most dominant one, is the one least shy? Or not necessarily? Each breed is different....my examples are PUG puppies, no dominance at 8 weeks of age, balls of bouncing little clowns. ☻ Specially if someone has come to visit them. Also litter sizes are different..Pugs of mine average if I am lucky 5, so there may only be 3 pets to choose from, and I know the temperment of my Pugs and they are all the same. They will all have different personalities of course, so would be good to meet mum and dad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giraffez Posted November 13, 2010 Author Share Posted November 13, 2010 thanks all. very insightful information provided Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corvus Posted November 13, 2010 Share Posted November 13, 2010 I think it comes down to what you want. If I had the opportunity to choose for myself and was after something in particular, I would be looking at a few things. Personality in puppies is notoriously unstable, but some things tend to be more stable than others. For example, shyness and boldness exist on a continuum. There is some evidence that bold dogs are more trainable than shy dogs and tend to excel at sports. Traits that are related to a high level of boldness include interest in playing with people and what's termed "non-social fear", which basically means wariness towards novel objects but not so much towards novel dogs or people. There is some talk of a natural retrieve and desire to tug being good indicators of boldness. Also possibly curiosity. A shy dog is not necessarily a dog to avoid as long as you have some idea how to manage it. A very bold dog could be a right handful. Proactiveness versus reactiveness is another personality element that is thought to be at least partially genetic. We know that we can breed proactivity and reactivity into lines in rats, but it's never been tried in dogs. IMO, reactive dogs make easier pets, although maybe proactive dogs are good for sports. In this sense, reactive just means they respond to the environment. You can tell a proactive animal by what they do if they are faced with a novel object or situation. They tend to quickly do something, usually attacking (or approaching) or running away. A reactive animal is more likely to freeze until they feel they have to move. Some puppies could be totally traumatised by any test of proactivity/reactivity. Lastly, stress reactivity, which refers to how quickly an animal recovers after being stressed. I don't know that it's ethical to test this on puppies, but it would be so good if there were a low-stress way to do it because I think it's really important. Possibly there's a behavioural indicator that doesn't depend on upsetting puppies to see it. Get back to me in about a year and I might have one. :D Anyway, this is all about an animal's ability to get riled about something and then get over it when that something is no longer there. My little guy has terrible recovery and often stays wired basically until someone does something to help him calm down. In contrast, my other dog has excellent recovery and is back to normal within moments of the upsetting situation going away. Drivey dogs tend to be a bit on the high stress reactivity side, anecdotally. If you combine proactivity with high stress reactivity in dogs you could be in for a wild ride. I knew an extreme example of this kind of dog and he was a whole world of trouble. My little guy is a less extreme version and he certainly has his challenges. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tay. Posted November 13, 2010 Share Posted November 13, 2010 Like other have said, I'd let the breeder help choose off topic a bit, but does anyone else have an issue with litters of puppies being described as 'batches'? .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parkeyre Posted November 13, 2010 Share Posted November 13, 2010 Like other have said, I'd let the breeder help choose off topic a bit, but does anyone else have an issue with litters of puppies being described as 'batches'? .... Absolutely. But I also dislike breeding bitches being referred to as brood bitches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newfsie Posted November 13, 2010 Share Posted November 13, 2010 For our last puppy we selected her with the Volhard system.......we saw the puppies three times. At week 5,6 and seven. i was very lucky as I had pick of the litter and was allowed that much time to pick. We first saw the pups at four weeks, but that was to early to interact. I was also lucky in that the pup came from a four puppy litter, which was well socialized with lots of other of the breeders dogs from four weeks on. Katy has been the most amazing puppy to train and deal with. She is very happy, has such confidence and is very polite with other dogs. Confident and polite with people and just a joy to own. I think it is very important to pick your pup and to have it well socialized early and that can only be done by the breeder at that very early age. i wish you good luck in your selection. here is a link PS our breeder did help with the conformation selection as she was much more experienced, but I am very interested in training, so I chose the Volhard system http://www.workingdogs.com/testing_volhard.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shazzapug Posted November 13, 2010 Share Posted November 13, 2010 Like other have said, I'd let the breeder help choose off topic a bit, but does anyone else have an issue with litters of puppies being described as 'batches'? .... Batches are for chickens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giraffez Posted November 13, 2010 Author Share Posted November 13, 2010 Like other have said, I'd let the breeder help choose Batches are for chickens. hahah my fault sorry! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crisovar Posted November 13, 2010 Share Posted November 13, 2010 What is wrong with the term brood bitch? A bitch is a female dog, any female dog. A brood bitch has an important extra purpose , the choice of a brood bitch is not to be taken lightly what is wrong with them having a name? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WreckitWhippet Posted November 13, 2010 Share Posted November 13, 2010 What is wrong with the term brood bitch?A bitch is a female dog, any female dog. A brood bitch has an important extra purpose , the choice of a brood bitch is not to be taken lightly what is wrong with them having a name? I agree and good brood bitch is worth her weight in gold. It's not a derogatory term. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erinonthefarm Posted November 13, 2010 Share Posted November 13, 2010 I am going to the proud new parent of a puppy in a couple of weeks. The breeder made suggestions for which out of the litter would best suit us and we went with that. They have gone above and beyond my expectations with the level of help they have offered with future training, as I am interested in tracking, and I know that they will be happy to help with our new baby in the future. I enquired with five other breeders and I definately knew when I found the right people I think from this experience, if you pick the right breeder, they pick the right puppy for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tapua Posted November 13, 2010 Share Posted November 13, 2010 (edited) What is wrong with the term brood bitch?A bitch is a female dog, any female dog. A brood bitch has an important extra purpose , the choice of a brood bitch is not to be taken lightly what is wrong with them having a name? I agree and good brood bitch is worth her weight in gold. It's not a derogatory term. I agree that the term brood bitch is appropriate - however they are not puppy factories. IMO the quality of my kennels is based on the quality of my brood bitches - obviously not just in conformation but temperament , whelping ability, milk production, how they treat and handle the pups as they grow. So much of this has a genetic link and I need to keep track of these behaviours. My girls live like princesses and I only keep bitches - I dont keep a stud dog on the property - I can find sperm and I dont mind paying for it. For me bitches are much easier to manage. As for picking a pup for a buyer - for inexperienced buyer I will suggest I pick for them, they are given screeds of information and encouraged to visit the kennels. As for the experienced buyer who wants a pup for a particular purpose - I like to know what they are looking for and what they are planning to do with their pup - breed, show, obedince, service dog, hunting. The more I know what they want the better I can identify the traits needed in the pup with them. Almost all want the similar traits - out going, friendly. Behaviourly the time between 6 & 16 weeks have the most influence on future temperament so whilst it begins with the breeder the new owners need to conitinue the socialisiing, training etc. Experienced buyer tend to know this already the inexperienced puppy buyer needs to be learn about the early training/conditioning of pups. Edited November 13, 2010 by Tapua Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greytmate Posted November 14, 2010 Share Posted November 14, 2010 Corvus, maybe the tests should be done on the breeding animals, instead of the baby puppies. This would give us less accurate information, but if recorded on pedigrees would build up a good picture over time. In a way, showing a dog, or trialling it, or working it, is a kind of stress test. Those activities will at least rule out some of the extremely nervy dogs that should not be bred from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra777 Posted November 14, 2010 Share Posted November 14, 2010 Like other have said, I'd let the breeder help choose off topic a bit, but does anyone else have an issue with litters of puppies being described as 'batches'? .... Batches are for chickens. Or Scones Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bedazzledx2 Posted November 14, 2010 Share Posted November 14, 2010 Thanks for the link newfsie. Did you find much difference in your pick puppy at week 5 to week 7? For our last puppy we selected her with the Volhard system.......we saw the puppies three times. At week 5,6 and seven. i was very lucky as I had pick of the litter and was allowed that much time to pick. We first saw the pups at four weeks, but that was to early to interact. I was also lucky in that the pup came from a four puppy litter, which was well socialized with lots of other of the breeders dogs from four weeks on. Katy has been the most amazing puppy to train and deal with. She is very happy, has such confidence and is very polite with other dogs. Confident and polite with people and just a joy to own. I think it is very important to pick your pup and to have it well socialized early and that can only be done by the breeder at that very early age. i wish you good luck in your selection.here is a link PS our breeder did help with the conformation selection as she was much more experienced, but I am very interested in training, so I chose the Volhard system http://www.workingdogs.com/testing_volhard.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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