pickin out a pup. what do you look for?

[mutt hunter]

what do you look for when pickin out a pup? 6-8weeks. is there anything to look for that early?

[Noah]

Had good luck with the runts.....

[coach]

I have had luck with the ones that are the most outgoing take a drag let them trail. The fighters. Those are my picks. Mostly a crap shoot at the best though.

[dgdawsonBMCs]

Depends what you want.  It depends on what that line or parents typically do.  If for instance you want a long range dog, and that line produces them then go for the most independent dog..If you don't want that go for the one who is the one that hangs around at your feet.  If you want gritty, then pick the grittiest one.  That being said, there really is no way to pick at 7 weeks old, but that is probably the best advice there is (imho). just ask yourself what you want in a dog and pick the one that closest matches that in the litter...I am sure that others on the board have their opinions as well..

[McCoy]

 I like the one that wont let anything eat until he or she is done!

[mutt hunter]

I like the one that wont let anything eat until he or she is done!

you can only have one of those in a pack

[duece24]

it's a crap shoot. when i started coonhunting i bought the book walk with wick. he bred walker hounds and he made it a point to follow pups he sold. he would track the runts, the biggest ones, the most out going, the most shy, the ones that turned on late and the ones that turned on early. he said there is no rhyme or reason. just some dogs turn out better than others. some are trained harder and they don't make as good a dog. others are started later and they don't turn out as good. all you can do is take a good healthy pup from two proven parents and normally the dogs will be good and there will be a couple that are outstanding. but being able to pick that out at 6-8weeks is virtually impossible.

[mutt hunter]

thats what i was guessing. i just wantted to see what other ppl thought

[Silverton Boar Dogs]

I keep my pups untill they are at least 12 weeks old. I have had good luck with picking the first pup to leave the nest.

[cantexduck]

   Get more then one to better your odds.

[Critter Catcher]

I bought two 2 Cats at 8 weeks the gritty one (female) stayed gritty and the independent (male) is now a house shoe (always underfoot). They will go out but that male is first back and I have to run his a$$ off.

[Bryant]

When I had the litter of AB/Dogo pups a while back, I messed with them all the time (something I won't do with curs) and constantly made mental notes.  I would do silly little things like take a 2X6 and lean it up againt my shed door (it sat off the ground about 18") then stand in the shed and call the pups to see which would figure out first how to climp up.  Some would stand under and wimper, some would try to climb on the board from the side and others would quickly figure out how to start at the bottom and crawl up.  I would take a piece of rope with a knot in each end and throw it on the ground.  Watch who would grab it first, then watch who would win when the tug-of-war amongst pups began.  I would open the kennels and take off walking.  See which pups came out right away, and which would stay back.  I would take a wad of food and sink in in a shallow water bucket, then see which pup had the determination to eventually stick it's head in to get the "treat".

Continually, I tried to put them in situations where they would have to figure something out.  It was VERY interesting to watch, and usually it was the same pups time after time that would pick up things the quickest.

As for buying a pup, I like for the owner to turn them all out where I can watch them interact.  Me personally, I like the pups that don't come to you right away.  I like one that after a bit, will venture off by him/her self not necessarily paying attention to the rest.  I like a pup that is interested in sniffing around while the others are wrestling and playing.  When I have it narrowed down to a few, I get on a knee and call the pup to me.  If one in particular perhaps looks up, then goes back to what it was doing without much regard..then that's my choice.

There is no fool-proof method, but these little things I look for just make me personally feel a little better about what I'm fixin' to feed for the next year! 

[Hog stalker]

   I agree with silverton boar dogs I've always had good luck with chooseing the one that leaves the dog house first. Maybe that's crazy but it hasworked for me, with my personal bred pups...

[parker]

the  best  way  to  get a  good  pup  is to get  one  out  of  proven  lines that hunt  like  you  do ......line  bred  is  even  better ,,,,,, your  just  increaseing  your  odds ......but to  just  pick  whats  in front  of  me by  looking .......there's  no  way to  know  what  pup  is  the  best  in the bunch and  thats  basically  what  your  trying  to  do  ...and  if  the  dogs  there  out  of  isn't  really  what  you  want  chances  are  non  of  the  pups  are either..even  if  you happen  to be  lucky  enuff  to get the  best  one  of  the  bunch   ..    so  my  advise  is  get  one  out  of  proven  line  bred  hogdogs that  hunt  like  you want  ....then  pick  the  one  that  catches  your  eye  and  you'll  be  in  perty good  shape ......

[texasboy4456]

noahs onto something with runts. knew a guy that had a beagle runt. it died when it was 2(health issues due to being a runt) however it was an incredible 2 year old dog. his body size was a little small but he was the most athletic dog i have ever seen. he also had incredible bottom.

[sfboarbuster]

I usually just pick the one the catches my eye. I dont have any real science to it.

[yellowdog]

No way to know. I like the pup that wanders off all the time and the runt.

[BigAinaBuilt]

When I am looking into pups that young the first thing I like to see is its feces. Healthy feces are always a good sign! Second, I like to just sit back and watch the pups interact with each other and hopefully get to see them feed. I then like to get in the pen with them and see how each reacts to my presence and usually go from there. At a couple months old it really is difficult to "see" what you are looking for in a hog dog so my decision would be based on interaction with the pups and what is appealing to my eye.