How does a breeder tell about a pup

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by shepherdpal on 22 November 2009 - 15:11

I was looking at websites of various German Shepherd Breeders last night while Benny and Annie were happily playing at my feet and DH was incessantly channel surfing. I noticed a few sites that rate the pups in the same litter with words like as "pet, show, exceptional or ultimate" quality and price them accordingly Most did not list prices but a few sites went from $1500 - $2000 for pet, all the way up to $7500 for ultimate.

My questions is how can a breeder tell in the pups first 8 weeks of life? What do you look for? Do you just get a sense?

by SitasMom on 22 November 2009 - 16:11

Puppy temperament testing @ 7 weeks

http://workingdogs.com/testing_volhard.htm

At bottom of page, here's a bit about conformation.

I'd like to know how many of theses "exceptional and ultimate" puppies actually go on to become champions.

Puppies are such a gamble.

by darylehret on 22 November 2009 - 19:11

But knowledge will reduce your risk, so don't rush in.

by SitasMom on 22 November 2009 - 20:11

I stress out so bad, that I will most likely never buy another puppy.

There are plenty older puppies that have had prelims and yearlings that already have their hips and elbows certified. Many times they also have basic training and socilizing tool and at a cost that less then buying a puppy and raising it to a year.

by steve1 on 22 November 2009 - 21:11

That is easy of how to tell a special one from the rest of the Litter, however you do not always see that special one in litters
I know for sure i have picked three Pups that were something special from the litter mates all from different litters and one of them was not a German shepherd but a Border Collie,. and it became a great working dog
You watch them at play etc that will tell you a lot the actions of certain Pups are as different as from chalk and cheese it is just having the gift of spotting them, most times you cannot say excatly what it is but there is something inside you which tells you if there is such a pup in a litter,
Same with Pigeons i know by the time a young bird is 16 days old if it is going to be a fairly good one they react differently from the nest mates and others the same age, some years you do not see it another time you may get a couple or three but they are pretty rare in a season
Steve1

by Ryanhaus on 22 November 2009 - 22:11

I believe a dogs pedigree has lots to do with how a pup will turn out, if you were to get a pup which had a pedigree with generations of titles, of anything from simple to outstanding, then you can tell that the relatives have been out in the public and have been petted and touched by strangers, and have had to have been around other dogs, and not acted odd and attacked any people or other dogs, the titles in a pedigree show a stable well balanced dog.

Although, some dog owners can have an exceptional dog that he has not invested the time nor the money to prove that dogs worth, when I see a dog I really like and he has no titles, than I seek out his littermates or if he has offspring, and see for myself what they could be capable of acheiving, sometimes with a good trainer any well bred dog can show it's true potential, and the other way around too, any crappy bred dog will eventually be noticed in a negative way.

I had a litter of 12 pups that I had bred and one of the dogs got returned back to me at the age of 7 months, I took him back and was going to rehome him, after taking pictures of him I could see how handsome he was, so I decided to keep him.

After he was with us for about a week I started noticing his quirky behaviours, eveytime my husband stood up from the couch, the dog would run behind the couch and shiver & shake and pee himself, he was terrified of men.

So seeing I had bred him & knew his pedigree, I knew this was not right, and I was determined to make him feel more secure & stable.

I took him out & socialized the heck out of him, he was interacting with so many strangers that his head spun!
It wasn't long till he became a very well balanced stable boy, I had also found out he had been abused by a mean alcoholic.

He is now a Therapy dog, has his Companion Dog title, is Temperament tested, goes sheep herding and has earned his Herding Instinct title, and is now being trained in Schutzhund, he has come along way, but I knew from his pedigree it was possible for him to do anything and everything a German Shepherd can do!

No one pup is special, they are ALL special, and the time & effort you put towards that training and socializing will make it possible for you to own an exceptional dog!

   Good luck with your research!
   Nice post!!!

                 Paula

by muldoon on 22 November 2009 - 22:11

I can't speak for breeders as I'm not one, but I do wonder how they can tell. I don;t really belive they can be as accurate as they might like to believe as so much depends on the mother and the early socialisations experiences set up by the breeder and others. I imagine the breeder's experience helps a lot, but it also depends what they're looking for. I've rescued a few GSDs and to be honest you could tell not a lot about their potential from their initial behaviour or even the details provided re their history. They all turned out great and I think that's to do with building 'good-enough' secure attachment experiences. This is not easy with some dogs depending on their temperament, but I think that if the owner can accept what is realistic to expect from any given dog they will have a great relationship and a well-balanced dog. I think it is a blessing to see a dog as a young pup in action, because then you have a head start with information as to what you are working with.

I have a question. Do you think breeders can accurately match young pups to prospective owners?

by shepherdpal on 22 November 2009 - 23:11

I have a question. Do you think breeders can accurately match young pups to prospective owners?

I think yes if the prospective owner is honest about themselves and their situation and the breeder truly knows and cares about their dogs and not just making a sale

I got Benedict from the same breeder where I got my Eli nine years ago. My biggest priority was a heathy dog with a temperament that would be good with all types of people, would be intelligent, a good hiking companion. I was prepared pit in many hours of training anf socializing. Eli turned out to be a great family dog who was never sick until he died a few monts before his 9th birthday. He was fine when we let him out and a few hours later he was dead under the tree. It looked lke hewas just sleeping. Still don't know what happened. The breeder said she never lost one like that . She still has Eli's mom at age 15 and one of his siblings.

Eli was all I wanted in a dog that and more and I think Benedict will be the same. I hope i am the owner my dogs need me to be.

I am starting to get involved a bit in rescue and some rescue places do as much, and maybe even more screening of prospective owners then breeders ,

by SitasMom on 23 November 2009 - 00:11

I think that to a point a breeder can identify certain aspects of a young puppy's personality. It could be extremely interested in chasing a rag, or overly out going to people. It could be very dominate to other litter mates or the most submissive pup in the litter. It could be the one that the discover setting out on its own to explore its environment......or the one that wants to stay close to its mommy and other litter mates.....some get frustrated more quickly then others..

With reasonalbe treatment, I have a feeling that these basic personalities are the foundation of a puppy.

If a breeder listens to and watches a potential new puppy owner, they may be able to match puppy with new family with a great deal of sucess.

by muldoon on 23 November 2009 - 01:11

Sitasmom,
I agree wholeheartedly with what you say. I just think it must be so difficult for a breeder to really know the 'new puppy owner's' traits as few spend more than an hour or so with them..............but I know you can pick a lot up from someone in a short space of time. But it must be so difficult for them. I do agree though that what you see early on is the foundation of the puppies' personalities. They are not so unlike humans really.

Our last dog was very timid as a puppy in the litter, and although no major problems because of his socialisation etc, his fear could express itself under extreme stress like a visit to the vet when in pain. I think it must be fascinating to observe potential owners interact with puppies, and to be able to use this to make the right decision.

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