I will preface this article with the following these are my personal opinions based on my own experiences over the years of seeing puppies through vet tech work, breeding sport dogs myself, and my years of training. My opinions are just that and should not be taken as “set in stone” recommendations. There are always exceptions to every rule and that is true with my ideas on how to pick a puppy as well.
If you are allowed to pick a puppy and have several puppies to choose from this is my general rules for picking a puppy for the average moderately active family.
First off, I am assuming you have already determined what breed would be a good fit based on what you’re looking for energy wise, whether you want a shedding dog, size of the dog, general temperaments of the breed and so on. If you haven’t had a family discussion about this that is the first place to start.
The ideal time to pick the puppy will be after 7 weeks of age. Puppies go through many mental growth changes and one of them is around 7 weeks of age. At that time some of their personalities can change a little bit while other personalities change a lot. Generally, what their personality is after 7 weeks is what it will stay within reason. So, if the puppy is super outgoing at 8 weeks unless something tragic happens the puppy will continue to be outgoing. If the puppy is very fearful at 8 weeks, the puppy will continue to be fearful into adulthood.
Everyone always talks about genetic vs environmental and how that makes the complete dog. Most articles are about how to environmentally help the dog be the best it can be. This article however is about how to pick a puppy based on genetics. I am assuming that all the puppies have been exposed to the same treatment and that they have been socialized to some degree with people before you come to pick your puppy.
My suggestions are for picking a puppy that will be well rounded, moderately active, ideal family dog that will require (in general) the least amount of work to keep as a balanced dog.
There are some puppies that I feel ALL the general public should stay away from. These are the puppies that with all the training in the world, no matter how much love, positive experiences, and socialization will always struggle to some extent. They may look normal 90% of the time but there will be at least 10% of the time where they struggle. Some of these dogs however are 90% of the time abnormal and only 10% of the time normal and you are never going to know where they are going to land on that spectrum when you are picking.
Therefore, stay away from the puppies that are fearful, sitting off in the corner, does not like physical touch, and run away from you when all the other puppies run towards you. These puppies are genetically more fearful, and you can tell that because you have the other puppies in the litter to compare with. These puppies generally catch your eye because they are off hiding or sitting off in one area and not by the other puppies or near you.
From personal experience and seeing so many other fearful puppies and dogs over my years of training these puppies and their owners lives the least normal lives of all. These puppies tend to be more likely to be fear biters, unable to live a normal life on and everyday basis, and generally are the ones that are most likely to be euthanized later in life because of behavioral issues.
It is so easy to want to take these puppies home because you feel bad for them however the uphill battle that many of these puppies will face is something that only those 100% committed to and knowing that your life might be completely changed by the puppy for the next 15 years should take.
Not all puppies will have severe behavioral problems however you will never know the extent of the problems while you are picking the puppy which is why I suggest staying away from them for the average person.
The second group of puppies I would stay away from for the average family would be the second group that catches your eye. These are the puppies that are super outgoing, running around playing with everyone and everything, bossing their littermates around, continually playing, chewing on everything, and never laying down. What you see is what you are most likely going to get. These are the puppies that are go, go, go, don’t have an off switch, and get into lots of trouble. These are awesome puppies for what they were bred to do hunting, herding, search and rescue, and dog sports so if that is what you are looking for great.
However, for the average family these puppies are just too much and tend to cause problems in a home not suited for their high levels of energy and extreme smart genetics bred in for the jobs they were supposed to do. If you really fall in love with one of these puppies know that more than likely you are going to have to step up your game regarding physical and mental exercise. If you do not there is a high likelihood that the puppy will extend its extra energy in negative behaviors like chewing on furniture, shoes, getting into garbage’s, jumping on people for attention, barking at people for attention, playing catch me if you can, and so much more.
SO, what exactly does that leave you ask?
The puppies I suggest most families look at would be the ones that do NOT catch your eye. These are the puppies in the middle of the road and because of that generally don’t catch your eye.
- These puppies should be friendly to you when you come to visit however, they are not clingy, and will move off to play with the other puppies at times.
- These puppies may not be as bold as the other bold puppies, but they should not be as fearful as the “scared” puppies.
- When these puppies play with the other puppies, they will rough house and play BUT they generally are not bullying the other puppies around.
- These puppies generally play for a period then will go lay down and take a nap. These puppies are more likely to have a natural “off” switch.
- The best of these puppies are the ones that will also engage with you by either working for treats or playing with toys with you. These puppies generally want to please or at least be engaged with people thus making training easier.
My suggestion is when you first meet the puppies have the breeder take away all the puppies that are very fearful and do not like physical touch or run away from humans and contact.
Second is watch the remaining puppies. Start to watch for the overactive, bullying puppies that never lay down. Have the breeder take these puppies away from the remaining puppies.
Then pick from whatever remains. From this group you are more than likely to pick a puppy that is friendly with people, is moderately active, and generally are good family pets no matter which one you pick.
Sometimes the above guidelines are a little harder to follow based on the breed you are choosing from. If you picked a high energy breed like some of the hunting breeds or terrier breeds, you might see ALL the puppies play and roughhouse the whole time you are there.
That doesn’t mean that all the puppies are over the top it means that the breed is that energetic. Again, if you have done your homework before picking the breed you will know this is normal and you will have to look for other subtle differences between energy levels and temperments.
Having a breeder that also knows their puppies and has been with them interacting with them from day one will help. They will know and see things that ultimately don’t show up on the day you are there. Good breeders will want to fit the puppy with the home and many good breeders will not allow owners to pick their puppies but instead pick for the owners based on the owner’s needs. This is were being honest with the needs of your family is vitally important.
This article however is more for people that are given the choice between several puppies in a litter either at a breeder or at the shelter and they truly have their pick with little help from those that have raised the puppies.
If you want more information or help picking your next puppy, feel free to contact us.
