Assessing a pups potential at 8 weeks - Page 2

Out of say a litter of 8....how many good pups do you think you will get out of the litter.  I hear many say that if they don't get the 1st or 2nd pick from the litter they would pass and look at another breeding.  Meaning the quality of the pups goes down.

What is everyone's view on this?

IMO "pick puppy" is a bit overrated.  When I bought my foundation bitch as a 7 week old puppy, I found a litter /breeder I liked and contacted them.  There was ONE female still available.  I took her.  Couldnt have been happier!!!  In my B litter there were 8 puppies and FIVE people got their "first pick" puppy.  Each of the five people choose a different puppy!  

I have heard of old time breeders/handlers saying that they pick a litter they like and just pick a puppy at random, or keep the "left over" puppy.  I never quite understand why people put so much emphasis on pick of the litter.  Obviously if there is a puppy that is lacking or if the litter is not deep in quality, then that is different.  But if it is a well bred litter that turned out the way it "should", there should be several puppies who are close to equal.  The females I have kept from my litters were not any "better" than their littermates overall, but usually had a personality that I clicked with.  There was "something" about them that attracted me to them.  But I honestly feel I could have kept a different littermate and had the same results as they grew up.  

It also depends on what the puppy buyers want the puppy for.  I have had litters where one pup goes to a SchH home, one goes to a SAR home, one goes to a service dog home, one goes to a Police K9 home.  Each one was nice, but just slightly different and fit into their new homes well.  

"It also depends on what the puppy buyers want the puppy for. I have had litters where one pup goes to a SchH home, one goes to a SAR home, one goes to a service dog home,one goes toa Police K9 home. Each one was 6nice,butjust slightly different and fit into their new homes"..........wasn't your first sentence about the first pick being overrated? People like to pick because they don't want to waste their time with a dog that isn't suited to their venue. Yes, the ideal litter is uniform, but I've seen way too many litters where it looked like the dam was allowed the roam the hood in heat.

Ace, to answer your question, go see the litter. I'll take pick all day long. Not all litters are uniform. Why wouldn't I pick? The only reasons would be if they were far away, there were only 1 left, and I trusted the breeder. That doesn't mean I wouldn't be interested if I arrived ant there was only two left. I'd test and assess. Then I'd take a recess. If your buddy called and said, "Ace, I'm having a hot tub party and I invited 6 supermodels for you to choose from." Now, are you gonna tell Yuri to call 5 of them back to cancel because you only need one and theyre all hot?

If your buddy called and said, "Ace, I'm having a hot tub party and I invited 6 supermodels for you to choose from." Now, are you gonna tell Yuri to call 5 of them back to cancel because you only need one and theyre all hot?

Super LOL

Geez Chaz, Superb way to illustrate the point. So I guess the takeaway here, at least for me, is if the pup displays the desired charachteristics for what is needed, it is very unlikely to go bad, unless the handler/trainer messes up. That's good to know, from a buyers perspective.

Depends on the person testing and what is being tested. It's not fool proof, but if a puppy has good drive, grips and nerve, your odds are better that this is your dog. Is the dog going to all of sudden lose drive? Outside of shitty training/handler, would the nerve and grip go bad?

at six weeks old they can be a bit hard to predict,but at 8 weeks its gives a more clear picture of potential,the older they are the easier it gets of coarse,thoses that can come up with a uniform litter is great,but even with a somewhat uniform litter there always seems to be a few in the litter just a little more special, thats why i am a believer of say first, second or third pick,it kind of depends also whos doing the picking though, a beginer might miss the pup in the litter that I may be after or they could be looking for a triat that I have no desire for,everyone has their own taste on what they seek. I like a well designed puppy temperment test with a written score the problem is though in some top litters they can be presold at an earley age before the test are even completed.

LOL@Chaz's analogy.  Very true.

Solid info in here, thanks.

You can predict at most  a small fraction (far less than half) of an adult dog's behavior from its genetics and puppy tests combined.  We are all tempted to believe you can know more, but you really cannot.  Guide dogs go into training after both careful breeding and puppy testing, yet many do not pass their training.  As it is quite expensive, a lot has been invested in trying to do better in breeding and selection, but the limits are inviolable.

See Malcolm Willis.

A great breeder admits this to you when you buy a pup.

it's all a crap shute to me at times, I am learing so many points of views....

I am so overwhelmed by reading this all... I am really learning a bunch on this site

THANK YOU ALL SO VERY MUCH!  ;)

ok, now going to raid the kitchen for hot cocoa....lol