Choosing puppy from litter (GSD)

[11bluewolf]

Hi, just wondering if anyone has any advise on choosing a puppy from a litter?

After many months we have finally chosen the perfect litter which we are very excited about and we are in the fortunate position to have 2nd pick.

We have always gone for the puppy that tends to ‘choose us’ in a sense by coming over to play/ sleep next to us leaving the rest of the pack and the one that seems confident.

Does anyone have any other tips aside from this for choosing a puppy from a litter.

Breed is GSD and we will be dabbling in some obedience and working trials but we really want a well rounded, family dog.

TIA!

 

[CorvusCorax]

Depends what you want/are intending to do with the dog.
I picked my most recent one, first pick of females, a few weeks back from a large litter on the basis of her being bold/wanting to be around people, high food drive but yet eating and drinking calmly (not burying her face in the bowl and slopping about in a manic fashion) being willing to hold something uncomfortable in her mouth (bunch of keys or balled up tinfoil) happy to bs lifted, elevated, held still, comfortable on a wobbly surface and with loud noises.
Any that wandered away or were off doing their own thing or prefered rough housing with siblings, I discounted.
I picked out three on my first visit, identified her on my second visit and even though her collar had come off I was able to pick her out the third time/day of collection (confirmed ID by scanning microchip). And I don't normally get pups so young lol.

It's early days but she has yet to be car sick, is clean in the house and is fine spending short periods of time alone yet is into me when outside, stopped crying at night after about ten days, comes to the office twice a week. Excellent motor skills. Only thing that concerns me is that she would prefer to take things off/away from me and run away with them rather than engage with me but that's father typical and I can fix it.

Environmental soundness is the most important thing for me in a GSD. I live a busy, noisy and frenetic life (or I did, lol) and I travel a lot so anything shy/nervous/skittish/sensitive is washed.
KC obedience and working trials can present more environmental challenges than what I do so I'd go for something very solid.
One of the ones the breeder liked ducked away from my hand so that was a flat nope.
But might be fine for a sporty person as a bit of nerviness can make nice energy and speed.
What was also important for me was that at six or seven weeks, they were sleeping and toileting in separate areas of the puppy pen. Toileting for me denotes how clear in the head a dog is.

 

[11bluewolf]

Thank you for such a great advise, once again! I have sent you a pm

 

[CorvusCorax]

No worries, you're more than welcome

 

[Bellasophia]

Excellent post from one who really knows the breed.
From the advice above I would pick the one the breeder first suggested for Corvus,the one she refused,as in a less hard work /drive environment it could be the one for you.

 

[CorvusCorax]

She was actually crazy drivey, more so than the one I picked, running around with a ball at 7 weeks old...just didn't like the hand shyness and she preferred being off on her own and was a bit of a scrapper. I did try her on the wobbly chair and she wasn't as happy.

I already have a loony tune, I don't need another one lol!!

 

[Bellasophia]

Ah ok..maybe not that pup..as your post suggests you really have to be there in person to evaluate if it’s suitable for your needs and also take the breeders suggestions onboard .

 

[Moobli]

Exciting! We need pics of said pup when he/she arrives of course. Do you have a preference for sex as obviously that will discount some.

I had first choice of dog pups from a litter of ten pups, 8 dogs, 2 bitches. I knew the parents well (I owned the father) and the litter was very evenly matched in that all were similar in size, energy and none were shy or appeared anxious so I literally picked the dog pup out that appealed the most to me the two times I met the litter. He happily came up and climbed all over me, wasn't at all phased by the other dogs (breeding and boarding) in the surrounding kennels barking, he showed determination when playing with a tuggy and a rag and chased a ball I rolled on the floor for him.
I live very rurally and my dogs are first and foremost my companions but are also expected to be farm, family and watch dogs so I want them to be strong nerved, social and balanced. A real all rounder. I actually think choosing the breeder and a specific litter is more important than which pup you actually choose. If all are fairly evenly matched then you can just about close your eyes and take your pick. At 8 weeks it is almost impossible to know how that individual will turn out as an adult.

Good luck!

 

[GSD Woman]

I've been lucky in that the breeders have picked out most of mine and they've been great.

 

[Cinnamontoast]

I picked the one that wanted to come to me (tricky, springers are velcro dogs!), ignored his siblings, allowed me to snuggle him into my neck, didn’t mind being held up and didn’t panic, let me manipulate him into various positions.

 

[FinnishLapphund]

I look at the puppies behaviour towards me, their environment, and I square them up to look at their proportions/conformation. I also look at how they interact with their siblings.

For example, as I recall it, I went to view Jonna, and her siblings when they were around 4 weeks old. Jonna had a sister, X, who I thought seemed over energetic. When a sibling tried to sleep, X tried to get them to wake up to play with her, and it was just something in the way she did it on, she sort of recognised their signals, but she didn't really care, and only gave up because they were boring, is probably the best way I can describe it on. In a way that is just usual puppy behaviour, "I want to play, come on, play with me, come on..."
But it was just something in the way she did it on, which I didn't like.

The breeder basically told me I was imagining things, and tried to make me choose X, but I chose Jonna. Some week later I talked to the breeder on the phone, and she said she had just taken in the litter from the puppy pen in the garden for them to go to bed for the night, except X.
X had to be loose in the kitchen + living room for another hour or more, to let off steam, or she wouldn't let her siblings sleep...