What do you look for when picking a puppy?

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#1
I do know that personalities can change with age, training and different events that happen to a dog.

In my life, we've only ever gotten one dog directly from a breeder and that was when I was in middle school and my dad picked the dog out. Do you tend to pick the pup that is crawling all over you, the one one who is bowling over his litter mates, or the one hiding in the back hoping no one sees him?

I come from a horse world and I swear we have a checklist for EVERYTHING and I have all of those checklists bookmarked in case I ever need them. I don't have anything like that for dogs (not that I'm going to be in a position to get a pup for a while yet). So i was just curious.

Thanks
 

milos_mommy

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#2
In the past, I've looked for the puppy manically racing from bowling over littermates to climb on me, to destroy furniture, to chase his tail, to knock over the water bowl....

I don't think I'll ever be picking a puppy from a litter ever again, so don't give it much thought anymore. It would also depend on what I wanted the puppy for and my lifestyle at the time....I might have a different attitude towards it if I wanted an agility prospect, service dog, dog for my kids, or just a pet...
 
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#3
Well, my breeder picked my pup out for me since he was in Australia but hypothetically speaking I want the most tenacious puppy there. I want confident, afraid of nothing and ready take over the world but still very loving and focused on people. I want to see very curious and quick recovery time if startled by something.
 

Cat Condos

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#4
I personally would never buy from a breeder. All those dogs are going to sell but the ones at the pound might be killed. You can find a good puppy at the pound :)
 
B

Blue_Dog

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#5
I pick the one that feels right. Blue, I didn't choose. My sisters outvoted me and I am glad that they did. Sam however just felt right when I held him. There was just something there.
 

Aleron

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#6
I sometimes joke that I choose dogs just based on tug drive. Puppies and young dogs who are willing to tug with anything and anyone tend to be the sort of puppies I like :)

Of course, there is a bit more to it. I also look for forwardness and being oriented towards humans. I like a puppy who will explore but always check back to see what the people are up to. Whimsy brought the tester the umbrella used for the reaction to a strange object and the spoon used to make a sudden noise. When I saw that, along with her interest in tugging and in people I knew I had found my puppy!
 

AdrianneIsabel

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#7
Do you tend to pick the pup that is crawling all over you, the one one who is bowling over his litter mates, or the one hiding in the back hoping no one sees him?

Actually none of the above. lol

I like a puppy to check in but be comfortable moving away, checking out the surroundings and by no means playing overly rough with their litter mates.

I want a dog that is alert and eager to play and maintain a strong prey drive. If I bring out a flirt pole I want the pup focused and moving.

Also I want a dog with strong retrieval drive. If I toss a toy, will they investigate? Will they bring it back? Dogs that blow off thrown objects or pick up and drop or pick up and wander off are that much harder to shape a retrieve with later.

Strong nerves are vital when looking for a puppy. If I drop a pot a startled dog is normal but what happens next tells me about them. Do they panic? Do they investigate? If I drop it again does the startle remain or ease up?
Observe the mother in particular. The first 6-8 weeks of the pup's life are spent with the mother. Everything it learns in terms of dealing with the world, it learns from its mother. If she spooks easily, the pups will learn to startle easily. If she runs to avoid a situation, the pups learn to run away. Their basic responses to life are learned from their mother. Even if the pups inherited good temperament genes, early life with a schizo mother will undo most if not all of that through learned behavior.
Environmentally sound is also important as well. The dog in question should be comfortable leaving their littermates. I want a pup to follow me confidently and not easily spook at various environmental changes including but not limited to ground textures and sounds.
 

skittledoo

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#8
Well... I didn't meet Cricket in person until I had already decided I wanted her.

What can I say... Grace posted a picture of an amazing tiny little puppy and my heart completely melted. I'm definitely happy I ended up with her.
 

Shai

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#9
Kim I picked by her pretty face. Turns out the rest of her (mind and body) are awesome too. Lucky me!

Webster wasn't a puppy when I got him so...

Mira was picked for me with my input. This is probably the way I will go in the future. I liked her structurally and so did the breeders. We talked quite a bit about what I wanted and they, with their combined ~century of experience, told me which one was best suited temperamentally. Considering Mira is perfect for me I can't argue. The joys of having knowledgeable breeders you can trust :)
 

HayleyMarie

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#10
well the breeder will probably be picking the puppy out for me. But what I want in a puppy and especially a mastiff puppy is a confident take on the world kinnda attitude. I would like the puppy to be curious and alert and proud. I also like to see a puppy with a independent streak.
 

kady05

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#11
I tend to go for pups that are more reserved.. the sit in the back, while their litter mates are trying to eat each other type LOL. That's how Wilson was.. he was 1 of 12 and when I went to see the litter, he was passed out asleep while his siblings were romping around.

I also go for more submissive pups.. I'm not into dominant dogs. So I always hold them on their backs to see how they react. I also look for some toy drive, so I throw a toy and see what they do with that. I clap my hands really loud (or make some kind of weird noise) and see how they react.. I don't want a terrified dog.

Wilson & Piper I picked myself. Sako was a spur of the moment "oooh he's so pretty!" (then his breeder & I started talking) decision and I didn't meet him til the day I picked him up at 9wks.
 

elegy

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#12
When I picked Steve, I only had two to choose from, so I picked the more outgoing and into everything of the two. His breeder had taken a bunch of videos from hamster-size on up, and Steve was totally an instigator. He was the one getting into things and then the other puppies would be like "ooh cool look what he's doing!"

Steve turned out to be a total reactive weenie once I got him home. Doh.

My next pup will probably be, for the most part, chosen by the breeder.
 

Laurelin

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#13
Of our dogs we've gotten from reputable breeders, they've all been picked for me. Beau, Nard, and Mia were all picked for us based on the breeder listening to what we wanted.

Mia was not the puppy I inquired about at all when I talked to her breeder. I asked about a red sable, actually. The breeder steered me towards what she felt was a better pick for me based on what I told her I wanted in a dog and I ended up trusting that she knew the pups better than I did. From how awesome Mia is, I think she did a good job. I've followed where the other pup ended up and I think she was much more laid back and is probably better suited to who she ended up with. I did meet Mia before bringing her home but by that point had already pretty much settled on her just based on what the breeder had said about her.

So my advice is be specific and talk with your breeder and listen to them. They know the pups better than you could.
 
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#14
Well Squash is the only dog I've gotten as a puppy. Honestly I did fall for his looks at first, but then emailed back and forth with his mama's person about what qualities I like in a dog, the types of activities I was interested in, etc. It so happened that she felt he was a good match for our family (and she was right) so it all worked out, but if she had thought a different puppy would have been better personality-wise, I would have believed her and taken it instead.
 

thehoundgirl

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#15
I tend to go for the ones that have tons of personality and outgoing.
Buster in his litter was more reserved, but still had a fun outgoing personality and that's why we chose him and he will be 8 in January. He is a derpy dog, amazing and full of personality even if he is dopey. :)

Rudy wasn't with his litter when we got him, we got him from a bad situation where he was abused, so that's different but he was more of a reserved puppy since he was living with a boy that hurt him. I am not used to having timid/reserved pups so he was different but he is a good boy, very very sensitive but I love him and he is almost 3 now.

Dixie was at the shelter I work at. She didn't come in with littermates as she was abandoned but I picked her because of her personality and because she was cute, lol. But I mainly adopted her because of her boisterous personality, I mean who could have resisted her? I sure couldn't and she is amazing. :) She's almost 2 now, can't believe that seems like yesterday we just got her.
 

SizzleDog

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#16
I let the breeder pick the puppy for me.

That said, the last three dobes I've had have come to me as adults... but I did know Jayne when he was a baby. I remember him being OBNOXIOUS - I could tell he'd be a handful - and when I got him as an adult, I realized my predictions were correct. ;)
 

mrose_s

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#17
Quinn was the most reserved pup in the litter, I'd already fallen in love with her picture and I really just wanted to meet her to make sure.

This time I really wanted something on the quieter side to mesh well with Buster. I don;t think I'd pick like this again. I knew then at 4 weeks that she was shyer than her other litermates which were all hanging off my pant legs.
Its carried over to her adult personality but its nothing I can't work with, she's still drivey, intense and insane but she's not as sure of herself as I'd like. I wanted a soft dog this time around but I probably don't next time.
 
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#18
It depends on the breed. I'm going to look for something entirely different in an APBT puppy from what I'd look for in a Fila puppy, for instance. I want the Fila puppy who stands back and sizes me up and makes strong eye contact before coming to me. That's the opposite of what I'd want in an APBT.
 

Southpaw

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#20
I would take a "middle of the road" puppy. Not the most active one, or the eager beaver of the bunch; but not the quiet, shy one either. Somewhere inbetween.

Juno was the only puppy left, so there was no question. And when we went to visit her, I didn't pay any attention to how she interacted with her littermates or other surroundings--probably because at that point it didn't matter, she was going to be mine regardless. It turned out fine, but I wouldn't be shocked if she was one of the more obnoxious pups from the litter.

Lucy we picked because my mom was drawn to her for some reason lol. I actually wanted her sister, just because I thought she was cuter. :eek:

I don't know how FuturePuppy will be picked. Too far for me to go visit, so I'll just have to go on breeder's description, and photos. But again, I'm pretty much looking for "moderate" when it comes to all behaviors.
 

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