# Picking out my puppy on Thursday or Friday! :D



## Tulip (Jul 31, 2012)

I'm so excited! Haha . The litter was of 10; 6 girls and 4 boys. I got third pick for a male. He will be either black or black sable, depending on what the first two people choose. There are 3 solid black males and 1 black sable male. I'm fine either way (but my parents and sister hope I get the sable!). I'm definitely picking for temperament over color, Haha. Speaking of which, any ideas on how to determine which would be the better puppy?


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

the better pup is the one you train and socialize to be the
better pup.



Tulip said:


> I'm so excited! Haha . The litter was of 10; 6 girls and 4 boys. I got third pick for a male. He will be either black or black sable, depending on what the first two people choose. There are 3 solid black males and 1 black sable male. I'm fine either way (but my parents and sister hope I get the sable!). I'm definitely picking for temperament over color, Haha. Speaking of which,
> 
> >>>> any ideas on how to determine which would be the
> better puppy?<<<<


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## Tulip (Jul 31, 2012)

Well, yes, but I meant since I will be able to choose between two puppies, how should I choose? Like, how should the puppy be acting?


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## FlyAway (Jul 17, 2012)

My preference would be a curious puppy with interest in people. If its a good breeder, he will know the temperaments and characters of all the puppies from watching and interacting with them daily.


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## Konotashi (Jan 11, 2010)

A reputable breeder should match puppies to the buyers. They know the puppies. They've spent two months with them, 'round the clock. They know more about the puppies than a buyer could perceive in a visit. 
They should also know a buyer's goals with the dog. Working home? Sport home? Service home? Pet home? They should base the puppy's temperament with what the buyer wants to do with the dog, as well as match the puppy's personality to the person's lifestyle.


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

How old are the puppies going to be when you pick?


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## vomlittlehaus (Aug 24, 2010)

With breeder input, you can make an informed choice! Someone else has pick ahead of you and the breeder should be guiding the decision based on matching puppy personalities with buyer plans/needs/wants. So until they pick, you can play and see them and get to know them a bit. Spending time with them to see each ones personality is key. And if they are not very old, that will be difficult to do.


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## 1sttimeforgsd (Jul 29, 2010)

Congrats, I know that you must be very excited. No matter which pup that you get I am sure you are going to be very happy with it.


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

A good breeder should not let a novice pick a puppy. I am hesitant about picking puppies in a certain order. Every puppy should be matched with its owner not in order of who paid the first, second, etc. deposit.
I am a trainer myself but a novice to GSDs when it comes to picking out a GSD pup. I knew my breeder was awesome as I had seen and met his dogs so I trusted his and my judgement combined and I ended up with a dream dog.


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## Tulip (Jul 31, 2012)

FlyAway said:


> My preference would be a curious puppy with interest in people.


Thank you, FlyAway, this is what I was looking for.



Konotashi said:


> A reputable breeder should match puppies to the buyers. They know the puppies. They've spent two months with them, 'round the clock. They know more about the puppies than a buyer could perceive in a visit.
> They should also know a buyer's goals with the dog. Working home? Sport home? Service home? Pet home? They should base the puppy's temperament with what the buyer wants to do with the dog, as well as match the puppy's personality to the person's lifestyle.


The breeder told us she would tell us about the puppies personalities and temperments etc., I'm just asking for a few tips for how the puppy should be acting when I meet them. Also, we aren't quite sure what we want to do with the dog yet. We are thinking about Schutzhund or Conformation, as this will be our first AKC dog.



Castlemaid said:


> How old are the puppies going to be when you pick?


They will be a day or two over 8 weeks old 

Honestly guys, I have NEVER heard of the breeder picking the puppy until now....


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## WVGSD (Nov 28, 2006)

When you say that you want a possible Schutzhund dog or possibly a conformation dog, you are asking for two totally different animals. While I will never say that it can't happen, most conformation dogs are not used for Schutzhund and most Schutzhund dogs are not shown in AKC conformation rings. In addition, if you get the dark sable, you will not see these in the AKC rings. 

What is the pedigree of the litter and what does the breeder say in terms of what the dogs/litter have/has been bred for? Perhaps you should start with breeder input as to what your dog is geared for?


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## martemchik (Nov 23, 2010)

This sounds like a working line litter, you can pretty much say good bye to the AKC conformation ring if you even want to come close to competing for a win. Some places won't even let you show because you'd just be making majors for the other dogs. If you're looking for Schutzhund you should be asking the breeder to pick the dog with higher drive and if the breeder has a history in Schutzhund they should be able to pick the best working prospect for you. Sadly...this dog might go to the first or second pick of the male and you might not have a dog that would be as easy to train in Schutzhund as the other ones would be.

Don't be discouraged, I picked my dog also, and he turned out great. We do AKC obedience and rally, I'm thinking about doing UKC conformation. But it would just be a waste of money to go into the AKC ring. My dog also has the drive for Schutzhund, and if I had that goal he'd be able to do it. Probably not at a national level, but if I knew what I was doing he'd definitely be successful. Maybe you'll get lucky as well.


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## Tulip (Jul 31, 2012)

I have been leaning more towards Schutzhund, which probably would be a good idea considering the sire is V ScHH3 FH1 and Kkl 1, and the dam is SVV1.


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## damaya (Feb 1, 2011)

Tulip said:


> Honestly guys, I have NEVER heard of the breeder picking the puppy until now....


While there is excellent advice to be had on this site the consensus of some will be telling you to show up with a blindfold on at your breeder, knock on the door, and hold out your arms. They will put the pup you need in them.

I agree that the breeder should be instrumental in the selection process, but yeah I liked the idea of sitting down with 8 pups bouncing off each other, and how they would react to me. Which one would check me out first, what they did around my kids, pack behaviour that kind of thing. We spent probably 30-45 minutes with the pups when checking them out the first time. 

Have a good time in this. You are getting a new family member, and should be involved in the process, but at the same time heed the advice of your breeder. Listen to their expert opinion and don't hesitate to ask questions.


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## Tulip (Jul 31, 2012)

Thanks for the advice- the breeder already told us she'll help us pick out which puppy would be best for us and tell us their personalities and such. 

Also, we are actually picking up the pup tomorrow! The breeder emailed us saying she was setting up appointments and wanted to know a good day for us, so we just told her as soon as possible. She suggested Sunday afternoon so of course we said yes! . He'll be 7 weeks and 5 days old .


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## Billie (Feb 13, 2012)

Well did you get the pup?! Where are the pictures...


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

there's tons of show dogs with Schutzhund titles.



WVGSD said:


> >>> When you say that you want a possible Schutzhund dog or possibly a conformation dog, you are asking for two totally different animals. <<<
> 
> While I will never say that it can't happen, most conformation dogs are not used for Schutzhund and most Schutzhund dogs are not shown in AKC conformation rings. In addition, if you get the dark sable, you will not see these in the AKC rings.
> 
> What is the pedigree of the litter and what does the breeder say in terms of what the dogs/litter have/has been bred for? Perhaps you should start with breeder input as to what your dog is geared for?


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## Germanshepherd-101 (Aug 14, 2012)

If you want a fun and energetic dog pick the one that looks energetic if you want a laid back and calm one pick one that matches that, the colour should be the last thing on the list to choose and make sure you ask the breeder if the mom and dAd GSD have been checked for any health issues the puppies could have and make sure the puppies have been vet checked. Ask witch ones are the runts we had 2 in previous years and both runts they only leaves through there puppy year with their horrible conditions, we did everything we could and if you do want to pick a runt and save it you would give it a wonderful life I'm sure but if you would like a healthy dog it's best to know. 


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