Tips on picking a new puppy

[smoothbean]

Does anyone have any tips on picking a new puppy or deciding which one should be the pick of the litter.

[gar-dog]

It's a bit of a crap shoot. It may be best to talk to the breeder and let them know what you are looking for, and let them help you pick one. When I got mine, I tried to go middle of the road - not the most aggressive, not the most shy.

Do a search on the forum here - there is a lot on this topic.

[tfbirddog2]

Just get them all out and watch or narrow selection, by color or male, female.I go to get our new pup next weekend, wanted a female and one of the all black in the litter.I didnt care for the white and black one markings so that helped me out, breeder is also watching to help me too for what I need.

[kninebirddog]

If a breeder spends the time they should with the pups they will know a lot more of how the pups are over all

talk with the breeder and what your looking for in a pup if your looking for a companion hunter the middle of the road pup in the litter will more then likely be the best choice

one that isn't the bossy one

litter that aren't handled will ahve a tendancy to be more extreme in temperments where litters that get more handling and intercation will be much more even in out going and social

so if you ahve a well handled litter for the comapnion watch for the one that is interested in you will go play but is also curious as to where you are and what your doing

the pup that doesn't care may present more of challenge specially for someone starting out

[ezzy333]

There are probably more good dogs that were the one noboby wanted and ended up stying home than any other pick. Pick a good litter and then just wach and pick the one that appeas to you. My choice of my own litter has changed a couplke of times already and they are only 6weeks old. Over the years I have looked at many different methods and the one thing I can guarantee is none of them work. When I picked Time there was one pup that was extremely aggressive and bold. It went to a trialer as a can't fail pup. Time would run circles around it by the time they were 1 year old. And like Isaid many times a handler have a litter and will have one that nobody wants and he will make a FC out of it.

I lie a pup that wants to explore but wants you to tag along. I think you get the best of both worlds and its always nice if the pup is well marked too.

Ezzy

[bobman]

the same question was asked on another site and Gone hunting posted this, I thought it was pretty darn good.

Heres his method for picking pups

PICKING A PUPPY
You'll get a lot of conflicting views on this, but I would never buy a pup without being able to pick it myself. First, the age. Pick it no sooner that 8 weeks and it's better if the breeder holds it until 10 weeks. You can really tell a lot about them then.

You know you want a female, so that's half the battle. You've gotten some horrible advice on them though. First, they are not smarter than a male. They are equal. Not stubborn........hmmmmmmmmm. Are you married? Is your wife stubborn? I rest my case. Females are temper mental dog's to train. If you lose your patience with one, you'll end up apologizing to that dog until she decides it's time to forgive you? Tough? They can be
tougher than any male God ever created. Having said all that, I'd never own any other dog.

Before you pick the pup, you have to mark the pup. Take different color electrical ties and put a different color tie on each pup's neck. Separate the males and females. You're not interested in the males. Test only the females. They'll always fool you at this age; the females will always be ahead of the males but they'll catch up later.

Testing. Sit on the kennel floor and see which pups crawl all over you. They probably all will. Note which ones stay with you the longest and which lose interest and wander off. Now roll one over on it's back. It'll fight and squirm around. Time it and see how long is fights before it plain gives up. Record the color of tie and time. Have three puppy
bumpers with you. Test each pup alone. Throw one bumper and see if pup retrieves it. If it does, hold the pup and throw two bumpers 180 degrees from each other. Does pup bring one back and immediately leave to get the other one? Make a note of it. Don't throw the bumpers more than 10-15 feet. If it get's two, try three. Throw them like an inverted
T. One straight out, one to each side. Turn pup loose. See if it remembers all three or only two of them. Make a note. Now introduce a clip wing pigeon with it's wing's and feet taped so it can't move around. Throw the bird and see what the pup does. Does he go right out, grab it and return? Is he afraid of it? Does he ignore it? Make notes.

See what we've done? We've found out which one is the people dog. We've found out who is the most tractable (by holding it on his back). We've found out who's the most intelligent by seeing who remembers the most bird's. We've seen who loves birds. In a nutshell, that's it. Pick the highest scoring pup and make him a great gun dog.

Last part is this. Save every cent of your money and buy the pup with the greatest field trial lineage you can find. Expect to pay $800.00 to $1000.00 for him. He'll be worth it.

[AZ Brittany Guy]

There was a very successful and well respected Brittany Field Trialer by the name of Jim Holman. His method was very simple. He decided on the litter he liked, he decided if he wanted a male or female. For example if he wanted a male, he would have the breeder put all of the males in a cardboard box, close the lid and reach in a pick one.

Very scientific and much thought was put into it.

[Casper]

What about the pup that remembered 3 bumpers on day one doesnt even retrieve the first one on the next visit (if there is one) and the one that showed no interest in retrieving made 2 retrieves than wanted to ruff house a bit on the 3rd visit? Or the one pup that was shy of the bird the first time is now trying to eat it or at least is very excited about it?

[tfbirddog2]

Wow, I got lost about not picking female.I never been around a male between 2 to 3 years old that didnt try you every minute.I dont think that is a reason not to get a female all I have is females (3 I'll make 4 next saturday morning).I really like the cardboard box theory, heard it done before.When I got my heeler I reached in the males and grabbed one,had to give him away about four years later cause he didnt like my choice in a female for me now I still have her and she gave me two more females a couple of years later.Im drowning in estrogen here.

[Don]

I am almost in the caedboard box theory. I seperate the genders then pick the one I like to look at. When I got Squirt and Bodie, Squirt was the left over male and Bodie was the only O/W male. My only demand of the breeder was that they be male and O/W. Working out pretty well too, but they come from very good bloodlines.

BTW. Though the breeder only lives a couple hours from me, I never saw either pup till I picked them up.

[bobman]

hes was saying you should pick a female, and its acut and paste so its context is not exactly right and thats my fault.

Personally I pick the litter not the pup but I'm am into pointing dogs nowadays, for labs I thought GH's post was a pretty good system, made sense to me.
I would try it with a lab litter.


I also prefer males dogs, so as usaul I guess I'm the odd man out

[Ricky Ticky Shorthairs]

There are many different methods out there. I think the best thing to do is pick the right breeding. Let me give an example, I got a pup from Robbi Gulledge about 5 years ago. (Strike's Flash of Gold X BDK's Fire in The Hole) I had the last deposit sent in, basically I got the one that everyone else passed over. Robbi kept one (BDK's Tubad), Woody's kept one (Flash's Somethin' to Talk About). As far as I know (correct me if I'm wrong Robbi) there were 4 or 5 that were trialed. Two of these dogs are FC's. My dog, (Flashy Ricky Ticky Rocknfire) finished first at 3yrs 3 mos, Tubad finished a couple weeks later, and Tim Heiner will probably finish Rumor sometime.

My point is, that the one that nobody else wanted, is probably the best dog in that litter (I may be a little kennel blind) :roll:
Go with the best breeding you can afford, and the rest is just pure luck and a good trainer.

When I have a choice I basically go for looks.

Doug

[Vizsla Vince]

Delmar Smith said to pick the parents first, after that, its a crap shoot. I did the smart thing... I let my wife pick. That way, when he misbehaves, he's "her" dog
Seriously, though, when we picked Zoomie, the breeder put out all the males, & told us that as soon as we eliminated one as a pick, put it back in the box. The breeder told us which one was the "boss", & we put him away first. At that point, my wife picked the one who spent the most time in her lap on his back, knowing he would be the most "trainable" or at least less of a chance of being belligerent. I didn't have much concern about natural abilities, because I knew the bloodlines and the breeder's reputation for producing "bleep" fine gun dogs.
Pick the breeder & bloodlines first & you probably won't be sorry with whichever pup you pick.

[Vizsla Vince]

I also prefer males dogs, so as usaul I guess I'm the odd man out

I'm with ya there, but maybe for different reasons... I went w/ male because:
A: $300 cheaper than female
B: No heat cycle to worry about.

[tfbirddog2]

Looked through and old note pad of notes from the vets my wife used to work for.They all agreed with the 49 days old and flipping over on the back too.Wow Vince $300 bucks seperated the price in boys and girls, that is the most Ive heard or seen of around here its usually about $100 or $150.

[1vizsla]

$300.00 difference is typical for Vizsla's. We picked the one that picked us too. We sat on the floor and waited and watched. I am certainly not disappointed in our selection. I definitely agree with pick the bloodline and breeder first , then the rest shouldn't matter.

[markj]

My next pup I have asked another to pick out, one wit lots of show exp and field exp. This person will have a better understanding of what I am after/ conformation and field run. I dont care if it is a male or a female altho I would prefer a female this go round to go with my Ginger who is a house dog now 2 girls inside and 3 boys outside will make me a happy camper. I like both females and males, each is different and have qualities I love. I guess I just have a strong love for all dogs. My son is so looking forward to teaching another pup as he is doing great with the male pup I kept out of my last litter. I picked the boss dog, first one out of mom, came out clawing andkicking, he broke out of the sac by himself and went right to the feed bag after the cord was cut by moms perfect bite (hadda throw that in) Every time I moved him away he got right back on her. He also is ticked up like I like, hs to look good as well as perform for my tastes.

So let someone else pick for you that has the exp you can appreciate and you wont go wrong. First pick the parents then go from there. Blood makes the pup, training makes the champ Dad said in horse racers, I think it is good advice for all animals. Sold the last 3 horses, now taking down the shelters and selling off most of the stuff. Kinda sad for me, been kinda cranky lately. Sure do misss him, give yer loved ones a hug and let em know how much ya love em. When they is gone ,they is gone.

[Buckeye_V]

We had an abnormal experience in that we got to watch the entire littler develop from birth day until take home day. Every week we talked about our choices and the one we picked was in the final 2-3 every week. He actually picked us my being so outgoing and smart and handsome...... Can you tell we were smitten?

Pretty much everyone is right in that you pick the breeder, breeding and then swing away. Never look back!

[TrueBlu Shorthairs]

Decide on the litter, make sure the parents are pretty darn close to what you want in a dog, 'cause the apple doesn't fall too far!!!!!! if the parents were hard to break, had to be force broke, hard handling, not much of a birddog, or any combination of those types of traits, leave the litter alone. When I pick a pup, I look for independence, boldness, conformation, overall looks, if pup comes when called, but wants to seek out the world, if he's skittish or not afraid of much, if he is confident but not aggressive/hackles up, etc. Won't have aggression of that type. Might bring out a pigeon and see if the pup is interested or if he recoils or goes the other way.

However, I've picked first in litters, others breedings and my own, and been thrilled with the end result and been sadly disappointed. Pup I have now came from Gulledges. He was the only pup left but I liked the breeding. He has more style, more bird sense, more point, more boldness, more natural back and retrieve, than any dog I've had. He ain't much to look at, but that is his only detractor that I can see at 6 months.

It's a huge crapshoot in reality.