Next week I am going to choose my puppy, the litter will be four and a half weeks old. I am very excited about it but don't want my excitment to get in the way of choosing the right puppy for me, can any of you offer me some advice on picking the best puppy from the litter, is there anything in particular that I should be looking for, I have read a few books and they mention "testing" the puppy, I am also taking a friend with me who has experience of dogs and breeding. Any advice you can give would be so helpful. The puppy is a chocolate lab and I am having a boy. Also want to say that this is a great site, I have picked up loads of tips for when I finally get him.

I would say it very much depends on your experience and what you are hoping to do with your pup. For instance I wouldn't suggest that a novice owner picks the most forward and outgoing pup, or they might find themselves with a real handful. On the other hand - the pup that sits at the back of the box and doesnt' want to come forward is either unwell, or going to be tricky to socialise. The one that's somewhere in the middle is usually best for most owners - if you have a young family then the slightly pushier one may cope best - if you live alone with elderly parents, then the quieter one might suit. Try taking some small pieces of a simple food like chicken (check with the breeder before you start giving the pups food) and see which ones can be lured using the food - these will probably take well to training using a lure method. Alternatively - try applying gentle pressure and seeing which puppies push against it - these probably won't train too well using physical methods.......

HTH

I went to choose my puppy (Golden Retriever) last weekend. I had read beforehand all the advice about choosing. But when it came down to it, I went on the advice of the breeder. I was after a male and there are 4 in the litter. She said that puppy 1 was going to make a lovely dog, calm, gentle, but quite large; puppy 2 would be more boistrous and was naughty and she recommended that someone with more experience take him; puppies 3 and 4 were both going to be lovely and with temperament in between the first two. I let that guide me and I took puppy 1. He was quite happy to sit on my knee and be stroked whilst I was there, which I took as a good sign! At the end of the day, the breeder has spent weeks with the pup, whereas I have spent a total of three hours. She knew what I was looking for in a dog, so that was that.
Hope this helps a bit.
Sarah

I would advise ths method too. the breeder is the one that will have studied the pups over several weeks, not just on a single visit. sometimes the pups are sleepy when visitors come, or some that are normally the ringleaders are asleeep while it would appear the others are more lively, and this is not in fact the case.

Sarah - sounds like you have found a really nice breeder who looks to match the puppies and new owner - great to hear this:D

Pam n the boys

I too have just picked my pup out of the litter.

I contacted the Schnauzer Club of GB to give me some detailed signs to look out for.. You could do the same for your breed.

I was also given the advice of the not too in your face but not at the back puppy. Eventually the breeder suggested that 3 of the top males would suit us (we already have an 8 yr old dog) and we instantly eliminated one and were left with the choice of two. We picked the bigger and more confident one as we want him to be a good companion for our dog and also we thought he was cuter :)

Mostly its up to you but do take the breeders advice as she knows the pups and make sure you are happy with your choice dont feel pushed in to taking one and not the other.

good Luck!

Roxanne

Very good advicce on letting the breeder guide you. Well done on having a chocolate lab.

I picked my first puppy because he was a watcher. He sat back and watched the others rushing around with a toy, weighed up the situation, then nipped in and nicked it.

The second one was chosen because he was the first (at about 5 weeks) to wobble over to my small son and chew his collar.

Not very scientific but I two super dogs who do the job I got them for very well

Good luck

Julia & holigans

Philippa chose which puppy would be right for us when we went to see the beardies for the first time. There were 3 b/w girls and 1 r/w girl to choose from. As we already had 1 very submissive dog we didn't want another submissive dog, but neither did we want a really bossy one :D This ruled out the r/w girl straight away as she was a right bossy little madam!!

One of the b/w girls was more interested in exploring the house than playing with the children so she was put back in the puppy pen which left us with 2 to choose from. I wanted one and Chris wanted the other one so we asked Phil to choose for us. Phil suggested the one that I liked as she was slightly more dominant than the other one and would probably be happier taking the role of top dog.

It was the right decision as Lara is definitely the top dog and Holly has settled well into the role of under-dog.

Fiona
x x x

Thank you for all the advice. I will let the breeder guide me, she is a lovely lady and has lots of experience so hopefully I will be ok.

He will be my first dog and we have talked about having him for over a year, we wanted to be sure we were doing the right thing for us and the dog. I am finding it very hard to control my excitement, I can't believe he will be with us soon, I just want to get everything right for him.

Hi

I would say the same as the others, let the breeder guide you.
When we went to get Sal there were three bitches and three dogs we wanted a bitch, the breeder was keeping one and that left two. We saw them first at 5 weeks and decided then anyone of the three would be perfect. The breeder choose his one by only a few days before we collected ours, they were so similar (a sign of the good breeding)

Of the two remaining I asked her breeder to choose the one that would suit us best the other people did the same. And both sets of owners are now convinced we have the RIGHT stafford for us, but both of the homes are totally different. Odd eh.

So be guided is my advice. Karen