ness Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 I am not sure I would put 100% faith in a puppy who necessarily tugs in a new environment as being a sure bet. My youngster would have fallen into that definition as a baby - jumped straight out of a crate after 5 hour flight, home to a place she had never been and within 10 minutes was happily tugging (baring in mind she also needed a snack so that is what happened in the first 10 minutes ). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mason_Gibbs Posted July 13, 2011 Author Share Posted July 13, 2011 I am not after the naughtiest in the litter thanks lol!! My current dog is very relaxed at home so will need a dog that compliments him infact thats the most important thing, they need to get along. Saying that his best mate is a hyper lab and he loves her to bits and they always play so well, seems to bring out the energy in him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
**Super_Dogs** Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 This is so hard!! I think you want a puppy that is people focused. You may say all labs are people focused, but some are more than others. My recent litter, of labs, it was always the same pups that would come to me first and would 'hang around' me. Others where more focused on their litter mates and would say hello, but in their own time. The breeder will be able to help you with this. The food driven shouldn't be an issue. My female lab, who had this litter recently, is excellent in obedience and agility (we focus on agility) and as a pup she was rather timid - I had to socialise her alot with people to build her condifence. IMO it is because of this she is so focused on me. I have kept a puppy this litter, a very confident puppy - very different to what her mum was like, but she is proving to be great also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huski Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 The only problem with that huski is finding a breeder who'll let you take a pup that's not fully vaccinated to the neighbours front yard - I'm pretty sure Indi's breeder wouldn't have allowed me to take her to their own front yard. They did allow me to spend time with the three girls I was interested in (without the rest of the litter around to distract them), but in the end I trusted their pick and couldn't be happier with her I found my breeder was more than happy to find the right dog for me when I said I was thinking of doing obedience with her - it's their name that's going to be out there so they want the dog that's just right for that particular competition ;) That's true, though you'd hope the breeder would be a little flexible, even if it's just the front yard or somewhere on the property the dog hasn't been before. Even the vet surgery where they have their injections etc. Thats basically every labrador out there You could say the same thing about beagles though I can say with confidence I see quite a huge variance in drive just within the breed... I would never assume that because my puppy was X breed it would be guaranteed to be high in food/pack/prey drive. I am not sure I would put 100% faith in a puppy who necessarily tugs in a new environment as being a sure bet. My youngster would have fallen into that definition as a baby - jumped straight out of a crate after 5 hour flight, home to a place she had never been and within 10 minutes was happily tugging (baring in mind she also needed a snack so that is what happened in the first 10 minutes ). I never said that it would be the deciding factor or that would be all you look at, that's just one thing I would look at - but I am sure you agree with me Sally that you wouldn't take a puppy that shut down in a new place home with you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sayreovi Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 I would look at the Pat Hastings STRUCTURE IN ACTION book. To do obedience you want a good mouth, and good conformation. Definately recommend this book, I never thought that certain things could affect a dog so much so it was definately an eye opener! Try and get your hands on it! I would want a puppy that is focussed on me, drivey, confident in a new area (or bounces back quickly) and has good conformation. It's interesting how things work out as I wanted the above in my recent puppy and had all these tests ready to use and turns out she was the only one in the litter and not only had all of the above but has extra as well! Guess that comes from having such an awesome mum and dad! :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RubyStar Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 I am not after the naughtiest in the litter thanks lol!! I'll take it then!! Ruby was the naughtiest and bossiest pup in the litter. Always the one to start jumping on the litter mates. Now that I have a bit of a better idea of how to handle such a pup, I am looking forward to a Ruby all over again in the future to train! And for the record, she has matured into the most well behaved young lady I could have ever hoped for. Such a joy to live with :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jumabaar Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 At 6 weeks i am going to go and see a puppy I am interested in, i picked my current dog as he was keen on interacting with me by retrieving toys sticks etc. I do obedience with my dog and i would be keen to do it with the pup too so i was wondering what traits people who compete look for in a pup?? I would look at the Pat Hastings STRUCTURE IN ACTION book. To do obedience you want a good mouth, and good conformation. Temperament- I would be relying on the breeder for this. Ideally you have gone to someone who has already produced pups that are involved in dog sports, so they will have a good idea from previous litters what pups are likely to have the right personality and temperament to do what you want. OT sorry, but why is a good mouth neccessary and what do you mean by good mouth? Good luck in choosing you ne wlittle one Mason!!! In the higher levels of Obedience you need to do retrieves on the flat and over jumps. A dog with an overshot or undershot mouth will have more difficulty than a dog with the correct bite (this is covered in Pats book and I think in a thread discussing some of Pats ideas), so training a dog with a bad mouth is only going to make it harder for you and the dog. and lets face it Labs are retrievers so I it will most likely enjoy holding things in its mouth - so you may as well set it up for a pain free life by getting a pup with a 'good mouth'. I guess having correct bite would also impact on a dogs ability/desire to tug. I had a pup that was a reliable tugger at 6 weeks, that now will not even look at one- but she Looooooves food so I can condition the tug easily. Like others have said pups that bounce back well and will investigate new things after a short period are probably a good bet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mason_Gibbs Posted July 13, 2011 Author Share Posted July 13, 2011 Mason was a very bouncy pup but i dont know if he was the naughtiest but definately not the bossiest! I dont mind bouncy and playful but i would not like dominant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 (edited) Mason, you could always read up on the Volhard Puppy Aptitude Test and offer to test the whole litter at 7 weeks. Besides being a lot of fun, you do get to learn a fair bit about a pup's social confidence. And do go for the demon!! Howie was an absolute monster at puppy pre-school, tearing around, playing smack down with 3 boxer pups and having the time of his life. I nearly died of pride.. an outgoing, socially confident Whippet is a joy to live with and manners and self control can be taught. However, if you've not got the basics of very sound, resilient temperament AND an inate interest in people, many things become a struggle. If you are deadly serious about obedience, you could consider going for a Lab from working lines. It would also give you the option to branch out into retrieving ability tests and perhaps on to retrieving. Edited July 13, 2011 by poodlefan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuffles Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 I don't know whether this is valid because Ava didn't come to us until she was about 12 weeks old, but one thing I noticed from the moment she arrived was that she was super interested in training and learning. If you got some food out she would work her little butt off to do the right thing and get that food. Some puppies at puppy school wanted the food but didn't really have any idea how to get it except jumping up at it, whereas Ava was always thinking and offering behaviours. I would think at 7 or 8 weeks old puppies would demonstrate that kind of behaviour? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jumabaar Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 I don't know whether this is valid because Ava didn't come to us until she was about 12 weeks old, but one thing I noticed from the moment she arrived was that she was super interested in training and learning. If you got some food out she would work her little butt off to do the right thing and get that food. Some puppies at puppy school wanted the food but didn't really have any idea how to get it except jumping up at it, whereas Ava was always thinking and offering behaviours. I would think at 7 or 8 weeks old puppies would demonstrate that kind of behaviour? Yes they do, although interacting with a stranger may squash that a little. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RubyStar Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 (edited) If you are deadly serious about obedience, you could consider going for a Lab from working lines. It would also give you the option to branch out into retrieving ability tests and perhaps on to retrieving. Labs from show lines are quite capable of the retrieving side of things, too ;) Even rescue BYB Labs show potential. Edited July 14, 2011 by RubyStar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 If you are deadly serious about obedience, you could consider going for a Lab from working lines. It would also give you the option to branch out into retrieving ability tests and perhaps on to retrieving. Labs from show lines are quite capable of the retrieving side of things, too ;) Even rescue BYB Labs show potential. Perhaps but its the usual story - if you want a dog for the job, buy from proven lines. Customs, the AFP etc all use dogs from working lines for scent detection. They are gorgeous Labs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RubyStar Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 If you are deadly serious about obedience, you could consider going for a Lab from working lines. It would also give you the option to branch out into retrieving ability tests and perhaps on to retrieving. Labs from show lines are quite capable of the retrieving side of things, too ;) Even rescue BYB Labs show potential. Perhaps but its the usual story - if you want a dog for the job, buy from proven lines. Customs, the AFP etc all use dogs from working lines for scent detection. They are gorgeous Labs. Problem is she wants a laid back pup. Working lines is probably not going to give that to her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mason_Gibbs Posted July 14, 2011 Author Share Posted July 14, 2011 Yeah i dont mind if pup is more active than my current dogs but i am not interested in working line labs that i have seen advertised atm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 Problem is she wants a laid back pup. Working lines is probably not going to give that to her. Very true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussielover Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 If you are deadly serious about obedience, you could consider going for a Lab from working lines. It would also give you the option to branch out into retrieving ability tests and perhaps on to retrieving. Labs from show lines are quite capable of the retrieving side of things, too ;) Even rescue BYB Labs show potential. Perhaps but its the usual story - if you want a dog for the job, buy from proven lines. Customs, the AFP etc all use dogs from working lines for scent detection. They are gorgeous Labs. They also recruit from guide dogs and show line dogs as well, as well as BYB labs owned by members of the public. Whilst training a high drive dog for obedience and retrieving would be awesome- you also have to live with the dog, can be a bit testing with a high drive working line dog. It all depends on what the OP wants- a top level obedience/retrieving dog that needs hours of training and exercise a day or a pleasant companion dog that has the potential to do well in obedience or retrieving. Personally i think if they want the second dog they'd be better off going for a show line or guide dog line where the parents/relatives have achieved obedience/dog sport titles. There was a thread in puppy forum recently about working line dogs and most agreed that high drive working line dogs are a lot of work but worth it if you're after a dog for a job or really competitive dog sport dog. If you're not up for all the work, then a good all rounder would be preferable. But as I said, its up to the OP and what they want in a dog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 (edited) They also recruit from guide dogs and show line dogs as well, as well as BYB labs owned by members of the public. This is less and less the case. More and more dogs are sourced from proven scent detection lines - dogs specifically bred for function and commanding big prices. Customs has its own kennels. Working line English Springers are now also being brought in and bred - by NSWPOL. Given the huge training investment each dog represents, law enforcement agencies the world over are increasingly breeding and buying from proven lines, often bred by agency kennels and buying dogs for particular purposes. Wonder what the RSPCA will have to say about THAT. :rolleyes: Edited July 14, 2011 by poodlefan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparkyTansy Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 Bottom line, Mas, is to find something that suits Mason. Give your breeder as much information as possible on what Mason is like, what drives him, what makes him unhappy when he meets and plays with other dogs. A dog good for obedience is all well and good but you have to live with it first and foremost and so does Mason. If you also tell your breeder (I am sure you already have) that you have an interest in obedience as well, then they will find something that suits Mason and has potential for obedience. I found with my puppy buyers the more I asked them about what they wanted in their puppy, the easier it was to select the right puppy for them. no one who bought one of my puppies got a choice... and they all came from different situations and wanted their dogs for different things (but being a companion first). Best thing to do is trust the breeder to help you make a decision - ask lots of questions about what puppy is like in different situations. You will find that from about 5-6 weeks old, the breeder generally has an idea of which puppy would suit based purely on temperament by watching their interatctions with littermates, other dogs and people... at least, that is when i had the best ideas about placement! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huski Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 Personally whilst I think some breeders are great what one will think may make a puppy suitable for obedience can differ completely from what the owner may think is suitable or what a trainer would think is suitable. I wouldn't rely solely on the breeders opinion when picking my puppy. I agree Mas first and foremost needs to get a dog she can live with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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