5 Things You NEED To Consider...
When Picking A Puppy!
A lot of people, when they set out to bring home a new puppy, try to do as much research as they can in regards to what type of dog will fit in their household. This article is not only about finding the right breed that is suitable for your lifestyle but about all of the factors you need to be aware of BEFORE you pick your physical puppy.
2. Temperament
If you get the opportunity, go visit the litter and take a friend with you! There is a lot that you can tell within the first few minutes of meeting a litter and taking a friend gives you the chance to view how multiple puppies interaction at the same time.
Keep in mind that what you see may not necessarily be how that puppy will act for the rest of his/her life, but depending on what you want in a dog it is good to watch for things like:
Approach - Did a puppy run up to you as soon as you got into the pen, did one casually greet you or did one shy away and stay in the corner?
Interaction with the other puppies - Watch which puppy is possibly getting picked on, which puppy is being a bully or even which puppy doesn't care to play with the the other puppies at all.
How they react to being handled - Is the puppy you are holding cuddling up to you, is it comfortable with being on its back, is the puppy squirming to get away, why is the puppy squirming to get away, is it just excited or is it nervous?
These are all signs of what kind of temperament they may have throughout their lives. If you don't understand what a lot of these things mean, there are many types of temperament tests that you can do to evaluate a litter of puppies. If you have found the right breeder, they will already know about temperament testing and be able to help you figure these things out.
3. Drive
Even if you are just looking for a puppy as a pet it is very important to consider the level of drive you want in your dog. There are many different levels and types of drive in dogs and more often than not, you can find a dog with a level of energy that will suit your lifestyle.
4. Structure
Structure is what I think is the most over looked factor when it comes to picking a puppy. Most every day people don't know a whole lot about structure but without proper structure your dog may not be able to function the way that you want it to. Your dog needs a good structure to be able to live a happy, healthy and pain free life. Not all structural defects are visible at a young age, but your breeder should know what risks there are for the breed (or mix) you are looking at, the history of the puppy and even provide test results to show that the parents are clear of any possible defects such as hips, elbows, eyes and heart.
5. Connection
Lastly I am going to talk about the connection. Just because you are excited to get a puppy and probably bought all of the necessary things you need to bring him/her home, done all of the necessary research and found a good breeder this DOES NOT mean that you HAVE to bring a puppy home. Sometimes everything can seem right on paper but that does not mean that this litter has the perfect puppy for you. Although hopefully there is more than one puppy in the litter that passes your criteria of what you want in a pup and you can let your heart decide which one is for you!
Summary
In conclusion, I know this may seem overwhelming at first but, I just wanted to say that when I do decide to add a new dog into my family, with all of the experience I have from picking the wrong puppy (we all learn the most from our mistakes) that I would NOT take a puppy home if it does not pass my criteria on ALL of these topics.
These topics were not listed in any particular order because I find that they are all EQUALLY important and you cannot make up one quality for another. Sure, if I had two puppies in front of me, one with amazing structure and another with just good, I would choose the puppy with the best temperament BUT I would never ever choose a puppy based upon only one of these factors.
Ashley Hoedel
Owner & Head Trainer
InFocus Dog Sports
1. Finding the RIGHT Breeder
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If you decide to purchase a puppy from a breeder what you need to know is that there are actually many different types of breeders. You need to consider what purpose you are wanting a dog for (Sport, Companion, Therapy) and choose a breeder that is experienced in that field.
Once you have found a breeder that aims to place a puppy with you of similar interest, go and meet the breeder. A responsible breeder should have at the very least, good references, the mother of the puppies on site, along with the puppies in a clean and safe environment.
