Gun Dog Forum

I was wondering if you guys would be comfortable with a breeder picking your dog. I have a setter now and will be getting a second dog within a year, do not know what I am going with yet, I am trying to get a good start on my current pups training. One of the breeders I contacted said that they take your information and the breeder will pick your dog for you. Now I have always picked my own dog, and feel satisfied with the choices I have made. The only one I have not picked up in person came from canada, but they sent me videos and pictures. I guess I just like to have the final say, since it will be my dog, how do you guys feel about it.

IIf distance was an issue , I would allow the breeder to pick the dog for me after some stipulations - sex I wanted, not the most dominant pup or a shy pup, not the runt ( although i have a great runt ).
If it was the breeder's habit to always pick the dog for the customer, as you seem to be saying, I would consider that a red flag. I could be wrong.

PS I would have to have a lot of confidence in and respect for the breeder. There are folks on here who could pick a pup for me any time.

I have picked pups for guys and just did for 4 guys that came and picked them up last weekend, I usually pick probably 3 to 4 pups per litter I have raised, I have had 2 picked for me but that is cuase it was a distance thing and I was telling the breeder what I wanted. But puppies are a crap shoot too, never know what you will roll!

On one hand, no one knows those pups as well as the breeders do, but like someone of the questions asked above, is this a distance issues or just a seller issue?
I mean if you find a top rated (insert breed here) breeder 800 miles away it might be better to have them pick and ship, but I like to find a breeder closer so I can pick, but to each their own. The only thing I have ever worried about with the breeder picking is what if you send in your money and you should get say second pup and you specify a male, but they sell off all the males til the very last one and then send it to you saying it would be perfect for you.

Corry

Personally i have no problems with it as long as i know what is going on up front. Obviously i want to pick the sex of the dog, but after that i am fine with the breeder working it out. The last pup i bought a couple of yrs ago the breeder picked the dogs for the buyers and it seemed to have turned out well for everyone....

I have come to the mind set that i pick the litter/mating and the breeder and if i did my homework i should end up with a dog i will be happy with....

I think that the average litter can be devided into three groups. Competitive, working and pet. Most field bred liters won't have any that solely classify as pets. It's the breeders job to evaluate the litter for potential and be able to match the buyer's situation with the right puppy. Depeding on litter size, this could leave the buyer with one puppy that matches their needs or a few to chose from. Personally, we prefer to narrow it down between a few, but that isn't always feasible. If there are 3 trial homes on the list, 2 hunting homes, and a pet home, the pet home is going to end up with the lowest performing puppy. If you are looking for a working dog, and did your homework on the breeding, you shouldn't have anything to worry about.

We buy a lot of puppies. We always let the breeder pick. We can't go to see the litter twice and we don't like to hold up the other buyers that have later picks. We let people pick their own but we can point them in the direction we like. picking at 6 weeks is basically a waste of tme, as is picking by color. Cj

I've always let the breeder pick pups for me. So far I've gotten:

1. A great house pet and intro to the breed (what we were looking for)
2. A Dual Champion
3. A show champion (best of winners at Nationals so a really NICE show champion)
4. A gyp that placed at Nationals, has another hour classic placement, and who we expect to finish her FC this year.

These dogs were from 4 different breeders, and all did right by me.

As a breeder, I place all my pups with buyers, but I welcome their input when they come see pups too. I am pretty thorough about asking what they like, dislike, what kind of hunting they do, training experience, as well as the usual gender/color preferences. Often times it comes down to a couple dogs that fit someone's requirements and I will let them choose between them, but narrowing down the field based on my knowledge of each pup is very useful. This process has been very successful so far and my puppy buyers have all been grateful for the 'fit' of puppy to buyer, even if they got a different pup than they initially wanted based on looks, etc.

Though I agree it's difficult to really know what you're gonna get at 6wks of age, there are personality traits that you will see at that age that don't change much. My experience has been the pups on the extreme ends of the spectrum (really bold or really timid) seem to keep those traits - it's the middle of the pack pups that I've seen change significantly once they move to a new environment.

I am fine with the breeder picking the pup. Your visit to see the pup, even if it's twice, will tell you very little about the pup. The breeder is there 24/7 and if they're good (why would you buy from them if they're not) then you should be able to get the pup you want as long as you communicate your desires well. I'm hoping that the pup is chosen for you at 8 or 9 weeks, not 6 weeks - but that's another topic totally.

I've had two dogs selected for me by the breeders - both have exceeded my expectations. With one, I've seen 5 others in the litter as they've grown and couldn't be more pleased with the one I ended up with. Good communication is the key - and picking the right litter is a must!

I posted a "pick of the litter" type question on one of the field trial boards. These guys all said there is no way to determine the best dog out of a litter at that age. These guys go through alot of dogs, i wouldnt worry about a thing if the bloodlines are strong.

Thank you guys for all the advice, I feel more comfortable with the decision now.