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Pick Of Litter

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Karen

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I would like to know from all you breeders how you pick your best puppy.

What age, and what you are looking for and why.

How often are you right, I know we sometimes dont see our second pick or it has gone a bit domestic but have all your must haves lived up to your expectations?

Lastly what advice would you give to someone picking a puppy for showing from thier first litter.
 
Have only one in the litter then you have no choice :- "

Mine always is 'gut feeling' you seem to have a bond with certain one
 
didnt know in my first litter. went all feminine and girly and went for the one whos cord i cut :b but having raised them, and following the advice from the stud owner, i now know what i'm looking for, so next litter i think i'll crack it :D

ps my 'pick' has definately turned out to be best dog, but overall he was about third in the entire litter :D
 
This is a really good question Karen .

First I like to see them when still wet before mum cleans them up . And unless she has them when I out (w00t) I do see them wet . Then as they are paddling around the box im looking for plenty of length na d agood strong backend . As they sart to play , I look for an out going one , not a shy one in the corner , but one who is `up for it , .

Then when they come out of the nest and into the house , the one whose inquisitive . Libbee stood in front of the washing machine at full spin and didnt bat an eyelid . that sort of thing

Then when they are runnning about I try to watch their movement , up and down , Its difficult with tiny pups I know ,

Of course I will be standing them from about 4 weeks ( I know one or too peps who think this is a silly idea but it seems to work for most of us . and I know alot of the top people do this ) By doing this I can see how they are shaping up ( literallly ) Marking can make a great differance too , as in my last litter was a super bitch IMO, but she had really unfortunant markings that wouldnt have help her in the show ring :(

At the end of the day Im hoping I have an `eye ` for the best pup :luck: . I have seen my 2nd choices a couple fo times ,and Im sure I ve picked the best but who knows if I d kept them they might have been the best ;) . as I think different people rearing dogs for different reasons ( pet as opposed to show ) does have a major effect on how they look IMO

I always seem to be drawn to one or two in particular and like Dolly also go on a `gut instinct too . For me ( and other people ) India stood out in her litter from the word go .

Its handy if you can get other peps to see them and give you their opinion , but dont let them sway you too much :b Many years ago i was after another bitch to buy in and went to view a breeder who had more then one litter for me to see , Every time I said` I like that one` the reply was ` oh thats the one Im keeping`

I came away with nothing as all I think he wanted me for was to help him pick his next show prospect, :rant: , Which I would gladly have done. but it was a complete waste of a journey for me :rant:

In an ideal world I would run on more than a couple . but Im afraid I get too attached :- " and I have difficuly parting with them once they are in my heart :blink:

I regulary went to view Roma Wright Smiths pups ( Silkstone ) and more often than not we would go for the same pup , but all `lines ` are different and develope at differant rates
 
I think best way is not to be in a hurry. We seem to go through a litter at about 3 months & pass up what are the ones that are not good to the eye. That is type, soundness, mouths, testes etc.

Then look at what you have left, about 6 months. If these dont come up to what you want then off they go too. Try again. We never try to sell to show homes if not happy to keep it ourselves. If we get 1-3 show dogs in 2 litters we have done very well. But be prepared to only get 1 in 3 litters.

To quote Jax in regards new born pups, "good strong back end". I can just see her mum just after birth saying, " OMG!!!! Look at the size of that back end on that bitch". o:)
 
Yes Dolly, can thoroughly recommend the litter of one and keep the best :D :- "

What do the rest of you look for on the table, things that lead you to believe that this dog will be good as an adult?

Jax, I also went to look at a litter where I assumed I had pick of bitches only to be told after Id picked that that one was staying at home. :angry:
 
220 views and only one opinion ( you cant count Cartman :- " I would love to run them all on to 6 months , but space and loving them to much stops me :teehee: )

I sure other people must look for different things than I do ,,,,,,,,,,maybe not
 
at about 4 weeks, imo anyway, you have an idea about a pups proportion and posture, as well as character. you can have the best everything pup, but if its personality is withdrawn, it'll not show well :( whereas a less perfect pup, if its outgoing and happy go lucky, will show better.
 
JAX said:
220 views and only one opinion ( you cant count Cartman  :- "  I would love to run them all on to 6 months , but space and loving them to much stops me :teehee:   )
I sure other people must look for different things than I do ,,,,,,,,,,maybe not

Click to expand...

Yes, i was hoping to see more opinions too. I think it is a very good question Karen, and i was looking forward to seeing some answers.
 
JAX said:
220 views and only one opinion ( you cant count Cartman  :- "  I would love to run them all on to 6 months , but space and loving them to much stops me :teehee:   )
I sure other people must look for different things than I do ,,,,,,,,,,maybe not

Click to expand...

By 6 mths you should only have 1 or 2 left.

The point I want to get across is instead of trying to find the pick of litter. Look for the worst one first, out it goes. Last man standing has then got to be pick. That is if it is good enough. This process could take many litters to find a good one. but worth it.
 
being in a different breed obviously id look for different things.but id usually pick when first born and still wet.after that id usually just confirm my first choice and keep an eye on the pup to see if its got 'attitude' which i think is really important in a show dog.it can carry a dog far where a timid or shy one wouldnt go.at about 8 weeks the rest would be going to their new homes so id have to be pretty good about picking the right one ,there isnt much margin for mistakes unless you can run lots of pups on and have the time/money/room to keep them and of course find good homes for them at a later age which is always harder then finding good homes for baby pups. :)
 
I look at angles, proportions, length of body.....

When they start moving around I spend lot of time on the floor, often with my camera, look how they move and look for faults. I also first look for those I do not like, they can go to pet homes at 9 weeks, and i can concentrate on the rest.

I also stack them, well try to :b , as soon as they can stand up, and I compare to pics of previous litters, and pics of other pups.
 
Karen said:
I would like to know from all you breeders how you pick your best puppy.
Breeding RR's for many years, I used to pick them wet.  Then along came whippets with lots of colour and pattern.  Now I follow Pat Hastings Puppy Puzzle.  Had a bit of trouble applying it to whippets but now feel more confident and believe in it.  Pat says have an outsider stack your puppies in front of a mirror and grade them according to the standard.  Temperament test as well.  Then when finished, place each puppy in order in front of you and you should see an improvement with each pup.  It does work.  :thumbsup:

What age, and what you are looking for and why.

8 weeks - give or take 3 days either side.  (As per Pat Hastings advice.)  Have done last 3 litters at 8 weeks on the dot and am very happy with choices.  :)  

How often are you right, I know we sometimes dont see our second pick or it has gone a bit domestic but have all your must haves lived up to your expectations?

In most cases.  I'm happier in my own lines or where I've bred a bitch before so know what to expect.  Every line develops slightly differently but the basics should still be there.

Lastly what advice would you give to someone picking a puppy for showing from thier first litter.

I value the advice of others - from those within the breed and those outside.  Often an outsider is more objective as they don't get hung up on colour or things they have been striving for.  For example, if you've had poor heads and suddenly you get a litter with some stunning heads, it can be easy to focus on the heads and ignore the rest of the dog.

 

Like others, I still take pictures but I definitely make no choices or have favourites under 8 weeks.  In addition, there's a vet check to get through and testes to worry about. 

 

It's fun and you'll learn heaps.

Click to expand...
 
Thanks TC, probably the best answer yet!

Those of you picking WET puppies. What are you looking for apart from length? A lot of novices seem to think they SHOULD know what to look for when a puppy is just born and see it as an expierenced breeder thing so justify your replies. What can you see wet that you cant see later?

More questions. What about toplines? what about necks and feet?
 
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