How do you determine 'picking order'? - Page 1

I have many breeder friends and everyone seems to do things a bit differently. First of all....do you have 'pet price' and 'full registration' price? Now...how do you determine which pup goes to which family? Other than temperament and desired expectations? If there are more than one pup in the litter that will suit their needs, do you let them choose or do you just hand them the pup of YOUR choice? Or...do you let people choose according to the order their deposits were received? I can see the latter way becoming an issue if you have two set prices....pet vs full registration. What do you do if first reservation was for a pet? Yet the second person wanted to breed or show? You've already promised pick pup to the first deposit received. What if they choose the one the potential breeder/show person wanted? And the others aren't show quality? Then....WHEN do you allow families to pick? Obviously you don't want them picking by mere looks alone...after all, personality & temperament are key in this breed. After temperament testing, do YOU just decide who gets what pup? When they come to look at the litter, you only bring the one YOU'VE chosen for them out? Just wondering how you all handle that. I've seen it done many different ways.

Well I started out letting first deposit pick 1st, However since then I have gone to drives.. separated drives, 1st deposit gets first pick of group A which is high drive, and that's what they wanted, 2nd deposit received wants a pet so they get first pick of group B which are lower drives. and so on, However my last litter I decided which pup would suit the buyers as some of them were not able to come look at all the dogs so after hours and hours of talking on the phone I chose the dog for them based on they're needs, wants, desires, and color prefference. When it came down to it sometimes that was the difference, as 2 pups fit sex desired, temperament wanted, and expectations to be met, but one was darker and one was lighter, so it came down to color pattern. That's my expeirience, But I'd love to hear others answers as well, cause what a nightmare LOL.

Soothersmaylive, the criteria for picking order with me depends on the results of two (2) things-the evaluation results from the temperament test, and the conformation stack. Past this are coat markings, head shape, etc. that place certain puppies over others. Long hair, missing testicle, or missing tooth-definitely a pet with limited registration and lowest cost. Decent conformation and decent temperament to excellent conformation and temperament-different show price (depending on quality) but still with limited registration until the hips are proven sound and the puppy is old enough to obtain the final judgement of what he/she will look like as an adult. Maximum show price-full registration for $ 35.00 (A.K.C. registration change fee) upon meeting criteria. Minimum to middle show price-full registration for one-half (1/2) of the puppy's original purchase price, but negotiable. Bob-O

I should have added that I spend a long time interviewing/educating a prospective customer, especially if this is their first GSD. From this I usually guide them towards the puppy that is most correct for them. Bob-O