right! i'm probably going round to a breeder's on monday, to look at some lovely little rottie pups. now i need some advice.
what should i look for in the pups, and how do i choose the right one? my main fear is that there are only a few left that havent been picked, so they may not be the "best" ones. having said that, theyre only a couple of weeks old, so surely its hard to judge who the "best" ones are.

if anyones got any advice for me, please reply, and if anyone knows of any sites that could advise me further, please post them here.

Thanks,
Kully

Decide whether you want a dog or bitch first, that eliminates something like half of the puppies. Unless you have plenty of experience I would miss the "Independent" one, you don’t need a battle of wills! By the same token try to avoid any nervy ones. If after that you can see nothing which takes your eye then I would look for another litter. After all, you are going to spend something like 15 years with your dog so it pays to be choosy. Sometimes we don’t pick our puppy, sometimes they pick us! "The Flower" was not my pick, I picked her litter sister but she would not take no for an answer so that was that!

I do things all wrong. I know what I should be doing but I look at all the bitches then my heart takes over and it all goes out of the window!

Regards, John

is this the unregistered litter-hope not----if its a well bred litter, and registered ,youd need to know the parents have been hipscored-if so whats the score-??/ do you know anything about the pedigree-lines! of the pup- is it a carefully planned litter, the breeder has gone to a dog that will compliment her bitch--or a dog and bitch someone owns that have mated- theres usually a world of difference- get back to us and tell us what you know about the pups

no this isnt the unregistered litter, its another litter i have been informed about. theyre all KC registered, and the parents have been hip-scored, although i dont know what the score is. the breeder was reccomended to me by carolyn, and she said that the mom and dad are there to be seen.
I'll definately ask more questions when i go and see the litter.

Hi
The pups will be kc reg
both parents are there to see as is the sister to the mom of the pups.Dad is Upend mom has fernwood,debrinka,to name a few in the pedigree.
If i remember rightly arent you local to the pups?
If so dad is showing tomorrow as is my male which is the uncle to the pups,why not come to the show and meet the pups dad,owner and other rottie nutters.
Its at Bingley Hall Stafford starting at 10am
If you need directions then let me know and I will tell you.
The pups although most are sold no one has picked one so you can have 1st pick of the bitches,I have spoken to the breeder and he agrees its ok :-)

any other day and i wouldve attended, but not tomorrow, i have a family do :( hence me going to have a look at the babies on monday. oh well!

"Dad is Upend mom has fernwood,debrinka,to name a few in the pedigree."

hate to sound stupid, but can you explain what the heck that means??? :)

upend is a well established kennel, producing quality dogs--fernwood another whove owned many excellent champion dogs, -debrinka too is now a well known kennel-the names are the ones the pedigree of the rottie pups contain-sounds good to me,

oh i get ya now! :)
thanks!

It is like Surnames, most breeders have an affix, and this is part of the name of every pup they breed. Th KC requires at least two words, totalling no more than 26 letters. All mine have just my affix with one other word.

They are affixes (Kennel names) of dogs and bitches in the pedigree. It will be meaningful to people who know Rotties. They will understand more about the health, temperament and quality that is behind the puppies. It means nothing to me because it's not my breed, but that's exactly why we keep banging on how important it is for people to KNOW the dogs behind the dogs before they breed! :)
Dizzy and the others who know Rotties will say "Oh right!"

Sounds good! :) Tell the breeder what you are hoping for and trust them to guide you! Have a lovely time on Monday. :D

If the breeder is experienced, be guided by her/him. I would have my doubts though if this is the unregistered litter. At a couple of weeks they're not even steadily on their legs yet, so to choose by quality or temperament would be difficult.
I invite all owners along to view the whole litter at 4 weeks, but no choices are made until after 6 weeks, although they all get at least a weekly picture of the whole litter.
Having chosen the puppy that I'm going to keep, I make suggestions to the prospective owners as to which may be most suitable for their lifestyle once the pups are 6 weeks+ and have begun to develop their own personalities. When you visit you only see a snapshot of the litter.
A good breeder will spend hours and hours and hours watching their babies and so will be in the best position to tell you what the 'true' personality of each one is like.

vals got it in one--a breeder should know a lot about the pups-their natures etc, if you do a lot with them you soon work out the different ways they have---but!!!then you have to trust the breeder, and know that theyre telling you it as it is- if carolynes put you in touch they should be ok, -i still think youd be better with a bitch-drop me a line to tell me who theyre by.

After having done all appropriate checks or whatever, and decided on sex, the heart does really rule the head i am afraid - i got the "independnet little miss" puppy from the litter i visited, but she was adorable so there you go! The breed itself, in my case, is not particulalry independent so its worked out fine - she loves me!! Awww!! :)

The best dog I ever had, my dog in a million, was the last pup from a litter - I asked the breeder why, and she said there was no particular reason, she just hadn't been picked. I had originally wanted a male but being a rareish breed years back, "gave in" and bought her. I even got them to knock £10 off 'cos she had a nick on her nose ..... just can't believe it when i look back, at how I nearly didn't get her...Fate had a hand that day. I was so lucky!!! :)

Good luck for Monday, you will have such fun looking at the litter....

Lindsay

Hi,
Just a thought to help you out a bit more. So many here have given such good hints :D
Take some time, sit down, relax, and observe. There's no rush to decide. Many times, puppies "pick" their owners. Is the puppy interested more in you than in its litter mates? If there's one that falls asleep on your lap...well ;)

I turned away from getting a puppy once, because not a single one decided to leave the pack it was in to come investigate me or my husband. Came in a wave, left in a wave, if you know what I mean. I wanted one that would look to me, not to other dogs. Just my personal preference and I've never regretted making that decision, despite my husband's pleas. Had to harden my heart and all that.

The next place we went to check out, Samma walked directly to him and wanted up. She was content to stay in his arms for the next 20 minutes. That's how simple it was. He never complained again about not taking one of those puppies home :D

Good luck tomorrow & tell us how it goes :D
toodles

My first elkhound came to me at 11 weeks. i saw about half thelitter of 6 as some had gone. As I don't drive a doggy friend came with me. tjhere was no chice as only one bitch and a dog were available. The dog later became a champion, and my girl chose my friend. when we had been their a while this pup had curled up in my friends lap. On asking which one was mine, it turned outto be thatone. I think she still loves my kids more than me! :D

So, unconciously, she might have been telling you something way back when on your friend's lap. Should have left the friend with her car ;) :D Still you love her and she loves you.... so it was a happy ending after all :D :D :D
toodles

So much so, that she is now a grat grandmother, and I have found the breed of my heart! Elkhounds are now my Passion!! :D :D