EAST TEXAS HOG DOGGERS FORUM

How do you pick out a puppy from a litter?
I have had one opportunity to pick one out
and the one I picked sucks! The other litter
mates came out to be good dogs so far! The
mother and father are proven CD . I don't
under stand how somebody picks a puppy and
knows it's going to be something. I bought an
ugly puppy at the trade days and it turned out to
Be a good strike dog but would not load so I got rid
Of her!
What I want to realy know is what do you look for
in a puppy when going to pick one out?
I personally don't care about picking one out just
get it and hope it works out if not on with the next!!!
I

http://www.easttexashogdoggers.com/forum/index.php?topic=34534.0

There's a couple theories in this thread

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Close your eyes and grab one!!!

Or leave em open and grab the one with the most eye appeal. In a quality breeding, they should all be good, but even then its a crap shoot.

I personally look for the one that gets out and explores.  I like independence.  I don't want one that is shy but not one under ur feet wanting attention I want the one that just does not care about u and is doing its own thing if u pat it it is happy but if u stop it is off exploring.  I do NOT want one that cowers though.

I don't go by the bump on the head or size of ears or position of ear. I watch the pups for awhile and look at their interaction with the littermates, see if they try to smell anything in the air or on ground, if you want grit watch for a rough playing pup. Besides all that it's still a crap shoot, the pup could but raised wrong or hurt to young or just a POS.

I'm with purebreed, I also try and take some hotdogs and see if any of em are inclined to use their nose to look for em. But it's still a shot in the dark.

i sit with the pups in my lap and the one that fights the most to get out is the one i want

Black mouth yellow body (j j)

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Very much agree with all

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x2...but I like picking pups from my own back yard the best, this way I can watch them every day and do some checks on them.

when the pups get old enough to ween, hide the pups, move the mom, and see witch one can find her first

I am with Purebreedcolt. I want one that lets me grab it buts wants to look around more then be petted. I have had all kinds of ways and now it is just go with my gut. I could just put pics on a board and throw darts. I like to think I have system but really it is just the luck of the draw.

been my observation over the years that it's not acctually the picking of the pup but whats done after you pick it that determins the results

If your picking from someone elses pups this is as good as any way to pick one!But this is the way I prefer to do it also.

I look for the one with the most energy...

This post is always a good one I find it funny when a guy says I pick the one with the most energy! I sit here and watch em grow then ppl come to pick one. The pups that have been playing for hours are now napping, the ones that have been napping are now playing. Some ppl flip them over in there hands a pick one that doesn't wiggle. Some ppl get a rag out and whichever one grabs and holds they pick it. Some go for the runt or the uglydo, Blackmouth inside or majority black mouth.
Myself I watch the litter grow. The ones who show intelligence and curiosity seem to strike my fancy. The eyes in.a dog can be different I like the ones who look intelligent not goofy or off looking. It's a hard thing to describe but if you look into enough dogs eyes you might understand what I'm talking about.
I like to go to.someone else's yard and get all the pups laid out, close my eyes and grab one.

 When I picked up my plott pup the other day I didn't want to be there very long. Long drive. We went to the puppy pens and they were all good lookin little suckers. All were friendly and playful. Nobody cowered. Everybody was in good shape too. One pup stood a couple feet back from the gate and looked at the handle. Then he would look at me. Then at the handle and back at me. The other pups were climbing on the fence and wrestling and looking at us and bumping into this pup that was staring at the gate handle and back at me. So I picked him. The pup before him I ordered from Colorado. I told the guy to pick the darkest one and put it in the crate. Then it rode a plane to Austin. If you can't be around them for any amount of time I try to find an excuse why I picked the one I did. Makes me feel better if it doesn't work out.

My system never has failed me. But I also agree with what halfbreed is saying. We don't have to spend long hours training but enough contact and exposure to keep them at their peak or at least meet the minimum requirement in the learning/social curve.

I never pick a hyper pup or an aggressive pup that wants to be reminding the other pups he is the boss. I don't mean one that is playing rough but one that does it every day. I like a pup that is laid back but not lazy. I test for winding and trailing at 8 weeks and a few more times until 12-14 weeks. I find out who rolls out in the woods at 3.5-4 months. I keep about 4 pups to this age before I cull down some. The older the pup I get rid of the higher quality it should be.
I am not saying I will pick the best pup in the litter but more than likely I am picking a hunting dog. Hasn't failed me yet and that is why I prefer picking from my own back yard.

I pick and cull extra hard because I do not have a lot of hunting places so have to keep the very best because the very best do not need as much exposure or conditioning as the average pup.

Like someone said earlier, it also depends on the breed and strain of dogs as to when a pup can really be tested.

I also have my favorite colors but I do not let it interfere with picking a pup...or at least I try not to. ;D

Picking a pup from someone elses back yard is more or less mainly luck because we do not have enough time to test them. Just have to go with how the paents and grandparents hunt and some quick checks just to make me feel better. 8)

With grown dogs I have always studied the pics in the full cry magazine to see if there is something special I can find/see in the winningest dogs... :D They say a pic is worth a thousand words and I try to read into it.. I usually see a regal dog that is above it all and can hunt with the pack or alone because it doesn't matter. The dog has confidence written all over it and I "try" to read the same in a pup but of course in a smaller version. ??? :)

If the breeder has had a line going for a long time and also hunts hard and trains his own dogs ask him or her to pick the best puppy, afterall he has already picked the sire and dam of the puppy, or else pick the runt, when I had litters for sale usually i get stuck with the runts and 6 months laters they be same size and mental developement as the remaing littermates, sometimes a dog can sense when somebody care or loves him more than the other dog in the dogbox, kinda like rooting for the underdog,

x2, that is why I really try picking one that I like because the dog can sense how much I like/dislike him. It is nice hunting with dogs we really like and take pleasure in... 8) :)

I have seen many runts grow up to be normal sized dogs.

 I'm not a vet but I remember reading that pups, while whelped usually at the same time, can be a couple days younger or older than their littermates due to order of development inside the mother. The article I was reading was meant to disprove the theory that the ideal time to get a puppy is 49 days old. Historically, 49 days old is when the pups are struggling to determine who is who in the pecking order, and removing them at this time also removes that identity before it completely develops. This is supposed to be instrumental in obedience training and their overall place in the yard. However, the article went on to read that no one observer knows how old a pup really is. They may be 47 days old, or they may be 51 days old. The point is, I wonder if this has anything to do with the observed "pecking order" in a litter of 56 day old pups. I also wonder if it could be why there is an obvious runt that ends up the same size later. A lot of breeders stress that they will NOT hand a pup over until it is 8 weeks, but they can never explain why, other than the standard "proper socialization" statements. In over my head again...