# So many variables



## wastlandER (Feb 2, 2017)

I'm looking to get a puppy soon and it's my first time using a breeder. I want one bred for working more than show. I have an active lifestyle and am getting better at training and doing more advanced stuff with that. I may do sportwork in the future. 
I want a happy, healthy, social, affectionate pup. I'm looking at all these breeders and reading forums and talking to IPO people, and it's a lot to take in. There is so much to consider reading pedigree, temperament, etc. I'm having trouble figuring out what really matters. I don't need a nerves-of-steel Navy Seal dog. And while I want a healthy pup, the genetics of things like hip dysplasia are multifactorial and unpredictable. I have so many thoughts and questions, and would appreciate any input.

What drive level do I want? I want my dog to be a fast learner who enjoys games. I want to wrestle and dance and throw balls. I want play drive, which is, I assume, closely related to prey drive. But it's also important that I can train my dog to do well off leash for our wilderness excursions and a dog obsessed with small animals makes that very hard. My 6 yr old shep mix loves rabbits and squirrels and chases balls, but isn't the nutcase type I've seen in others.
I don't want a lazy dog and I don't want an overly aloof dog.

How much of this stuff matters anyway? How much is nature vs nurture? I've got a lot of nurture!

When I got my boy at 12 weeks, he was a total coward. He was afraid of people, animals, inanimate objects. But he followed me around like a little duckling, so I took him everywhere and exposed him to everything. I slowly habituated him and trained him. A little over a year later, he was a certified therapy dog volunteering in hospitals. He hated being touched and coddled, but I wanted to cuddle, so I trained him to like it (in a fun way of course) and now he can't get enough! It took a lot of effort, but I molded him into the dog I needed and more importantly, a super happy and spoiled pooch. So sometimes I wonder, after all this research and worrying about which breeder and bloodline is best, does it matter (other than not supporting malignant breeders)? Even it I get a "dud" of a pup, it's still a a baby that I can help develop into a well-adjusted dog right? Or is that too much wishful thinking and I just benefited from my current pup's neediness. Is that why he was so easy to shape? He still has his quirks, but I'm going to work with, love, train, spoil my next dog too despite whatever their flaws are. 

And even if I get the pup with the best parents, the best genes, who aces her temperament test, that doesn't necessarily translate into the adult she'll be.

Thoughts?


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

> And even if I get the pup with the best parents, the best genes, who aces her temperament test, that doesn't necessarily translate into the adult she'll be.


You are right, there is always an element of unpredictabillity, even with pups from the best parents, and the best breeders with a solid track record of producing healthy dogs with good temperaments. It is a risk we must accept. But you sure can stack the deck in your favor, and up the chances of getting a what you want by getting a puppy from a good breeder who understands what they are breeding, and what they are likely to produce. 

I remember a number of years back going through what you are going through. Having a good idea of what I want and don't want, but being overwhelmed with the amount of inforamtion, and the difficult choice of selecting a breeder. 

My advice would be to find a breeder that has a track record for producing what you are looking for: dogs that can work and do well in IPO and other sport and work venues, but are also great family dogs that are easy to live with and a joy to own. 

A breeder that will listen and match you with the right pup. The kind of description you gave is exactly what breeders will be wanting to know to find a pup with the right drives to meet your wants and needs. 

The puppy you had lived up to its genetic potential thanks to your good handling and the trust he had in you, so it is a combination of gentics and rearing - but only so much. That puppy would probably not have done well in bite-sports, no matter how much drive-building you would have done from an early age. 

I think that if you find a breeder that you like, and develop a relationship with them, through their questions and conversations, you will be able to zero in and identify the traits that are important to you.


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## WIBackpacker (Jan 9, 2014)

Personally.... I think sometimes the terminology used online (including forums, websites, Facebook) gets so convoluted you could drown in it. And everyone's definitions are different.

Rather than worrying about approaching breeders with the "right" words: "I want XXXX-much prey drive, XXXX-type of nerve strength, XXXX-level of civility, XXXX- bloodlines but only XXXX-type of line breeding", and so on.... 

Just describe in regular conversational English how your ideal dog would act, and how you like to spend your time. A good breeder will understand the nuts and bolts behind your wishes.


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