Choosing a show puppy - Page 1

Hi Folks,

Whats the best things to look for in a puppy when chossing from a  litter, for the purpose of the show ring! (hopefully if it makes it that far)

Milly

two choices....pick the one with the traits that the judges like or pick the pup with the overall best traits that include nerves,drives and working ability. This is usually not the same pup so you have to make a choice.

I have bought one show pup and had first choice of litter. The breeder showed me the pup with the best conformation, movement and color that would have easily received a v rating.

i picked pup number two because imo it had the better nerve that i wanted. it was close in show qualitites to pup number one but i preferred the overall package.

this is the opinion of a working dog person....

Assuming you are novice.

Choose a good breeding, where both parents are nice. One that you are really excited about. Not the one where the grandfather is “from Schutzhund bloodlines” but that’s about it.

Then, choose the most outgoing, crazy, rambunctious puppy in the litter. Trust me, it is important for a novice to have a “fool-proof” puppy when it comes to drives. No SchH title – no shows after the age of two. DesertRangers said it from a working dog person perspective, but it’s true for show people too.

Then, look at things that are easy for everyone to see: dark red color, black mask, dark eyes, strong bone. Take your time and look at each of these.

Even if you end up getting a puppy that doesn’t go VA, you will have a gorgeous dog to have fun with and learn at numerous shows and trials.

Choosing by structural details of puppy’s conformation comes with experience, IMO. You can trust a good breeder to give you advice on structure.

choosing a pup -- before you even look at thepups see or know the parents.. i don't mean the pedogree --that gives to me limitted and i mean limitted information -- titles . they are helpful -- but to me really don't mean much --WHY ..... because it is tha parents that contribute the genetic material -- i aprent may be titled -=- but i want to know about the stress levels, degree of agression , the hardness, as well as structure .. --i want to know is tto what degree is thier  retrieve instinct  innate , are they more pack oriented , do they have the predisposition to please/work with owners. get the point .. paper tells me so little. IF THE GENETICS [behavioral triats /structure] is not present in the parents .. i am not looking back 4 generations .. but in the parents-- then it will never be in the pups! if they are .. then i will consider the litter .. and i want to see the whole litter.