Choosing the Right Puppy - Page 1

Hi all! Hope everyone's new year got off to a great start!! I am having this discussion with a friend of mine and would like some feedback from this list since most you are very knowledgable GSD owners and /or breeders. I will explain a bit first as to how this discussion came about.

I have two gsd, one is a male, west german showline mostly and one is a DDR /west. german show/working line female. I am having some training issues with my female(she is one year old). In my opinion, my female is just tough dog with very different lineage than my male, there fore harder to train. My male has always been a softy and doesnt like scolding.

Now, I picked my male from a picture that the breeder sent to me. The breeder of my female picked my female for me after I told her what I wanted to do with my dog. My friend says that since the breeder picked my female pup that my female was not the pup for me. My friend believes that the puppy should pick the owner and thinks that is the reason my female wont behave for me and Im having these training issues. In her way of thinking, since my female will take off chasing things and wont recall , then she was not meant to be my dog. I had these same issues with my male when he was a young dog ,too and I did pick him myself so, to me, my friends thoughts are washed out. Thoughts, anyone?

Oh , yeah, both my dogs have a strong bond with me!

Donna

http://www.volhard.com/ 

You should always test  pups IMHO.

the link above should help, I test all my pups at 5 and 8 weeks as it gives me a rough idea of what potential they have and it helps me decide on where they go.

I don't think the issues you are having are to do with having chosen the wrong pup but rather your training technique.

no offence.

kind regards, 

Tracie. 

Tigermouse, I take no offence and yes, I know i need to take stronger training methods with my female. I always appreciate any help I can get with my dogs. I do agree with you that the training is the issue and not whether it was the breeder or myself who picked my dog. Well, i think too that the lineage has to be considered also. I expected my female to be more stubborn with  her being working lines and all. Also, not sure if the difference is in the male/female difference either. Either way, my female definitely keeps my life interesting, to say the least!  I just wanted others take on this whole discussion. My freind and I agree to disagree on this matter and probably always will. She wants me to pick my next puppy myself so I can see the difference. Not sure what kind of difference she means. Maybe that if I pick the next one instead of the breeder, then the dog will listen better?? Anyway, thanks for your thoughts.

Donna

In her way of thinking, since my female will take off chasing things and wont recall , then she was not meant to be my dog.

*lol* By that logic I can think of lots of people who don't have the right dog.

It sounds like your female just has a lot of prey drive. There are a wide variety of different methods for teaching recall, all based on making the act of returning more enjoyable than chasing whatever it is she saw. You'll just have to figure out what catches her attention, and make a reward out of it.

you can only work with what you have got

when i choose a pup i like to see the litter at 3 5 7 and 8 weeks i like too spend time watching all the pups and how they interact with each other and then with me. i will then pick out the pup which most suits my needs i like V high drive dogs so i choose the the pups that score 2's and 3's on the volhard's test. spend some time reading about the test as its a very useful tool. and really easy to do.

people tend too want the pup that comes to them first and this is usually a pup that is V confident . its not the best way too choose a pup, as the confident pups are IMO harder to train for an inexperienced handler they are more independent therefore they need firmer handling. 

pups don't choose you ....you choose you best match using the tools available

Do you mind sharing what type dog you told your breeder that you wanted.

Also, I think you do well to seek out a more experienced opinion than what your friend has given you.

Rik

Rik,

 I dont mind at all. I told her that I wanted to do AKC type competing. Rally Obedience,regular obedience,agility and possibly schutzhund.  I did want to get other opinions on what my friend told me and that is why I posted this thread. I have no problem with the breeder having chosen my puppy for me. I wanted to see if anyone else had a puppy that they let pick them and a dog that they let the breeder pick for them and if they noticed any difference in how the dogs listened to them or if either dog bonded more/less than the other.

Donna