how do you all pick a pup

[singleshot12]

I also believe any pup can be turned into an excellent hunting dog. The master just needs to recognize the qualities and weaknesses and work with them accordingly.

[pens fan]

There are a lot of great thoughts on this. I agree with trying to see he pups early and playing with them and see if any bond with you. I used to put quail scent on my pant leg and hold each pup. I any of them noticed it, I was interested in it. If you can’t get to the pups, talking with the breeder a lot, and I mean a lot, helps them choose a pup for you.

As a small time breeder, we spend much of our time watching the pups closely. From the moment they are born we collar them with a colored hair ring, and as they get older, and bigger, we switch to shoestrings, and eventually really tiny collars. We typically name each pup the color of their collar, unless the new owner tells us its name. Right at birth they are weighed and every other day are weighed. We keep track of this on a sheet of paper until they are 8 weeks old or picked up. The new owners get copies of this sheet. We keep track of everything they do, from the third day of the vet visit for docking and dewclaw removal, to eyes opening, walking, temperament, etc. We actually put them on a paper towel with pheasant scent on one side and duck on the other. If they notice either or both, we annotate it. This is done at ten days and then some time later on. We start banging on pots when they are about three weeks old, and then every time they are fed. Any of them that show noise shyness is duly noted. At about 5 weeks we start with a .22 at a good distance away. In a week we are next to their feed bowl and we graduate to 410’s. If any of the pups are gun-shy, and some are just born that way, I believe, we hold them while we shoot for their comfort. We handle them constantly, and let them sleep on our laps while we pet them and watch TV. They are always around kids.

When a potential owner calls, I ask them a lot of questions after I let them ramble on a while. Some people just want family dogs. Most want a combination family/hunting companion. The gun shy pups go to the family dog home. Some of the more timid pups do also. The raging hard driving pups are usually the real hunters. You can guess where they go. But I get a good idea of the new owners, and sometimes I tell them to look into other breeds.

I agree you can make any dog a hunter given the time needed, but it might not be a happy dog. My one pick of the litter for myself I ended up giving away after a year. He would not hunt for me. Not even interested. We never bonded that way. I picked him for traits and not connection. His new owner had no problems with him hunting.

I don’t know if other breeders do what we do with our pups, handling and playing with them and such. But I have not had a problem getting the right pup for the owner. Any issues with any pup invariably were created by the new owners, and that was usually because the pup was left to roam with an older dog.

So, it’s really up to you. I would try and find a very fresh litter and visit the breeder a couple of times. Hold those pups, roll on the floor with them jumping and peeing on you. One of them will stand out. And talk to the breeder a lot. Call him every week for an update. He’s supposed to be there for you. I just know what I would want from a breeder, and I try to be that person for all the new owners. It’s a long term decision, make it wisely and good luck!

[wildweeds]

Pick the breeding not the pup,a good breeding of two excellent individuals will net a better than average chance for great pups.I had an older fellow who at a time was breeding/training/handling AF pointers..............his theory which is a good one is " Kid,no matter how hard you try............. you'll never get excellence from crap,breed based on performance............... not paper".

 What really helps is if you have firsthand experiance with both of the parents in a performance setting in so much as seeing them work in a variety of different covers,areas and situations.

  I sold a setter pup to a guy who has had them for 40 years,he had been braced with me and the pups sire at a FT where my dog won.He had seen the dog win on more than one occasion and the report and picture he sent me is very favorable,she looks like her daddy on point and at a year old next week is standing and watching birds fly away.

[andersonjk4]

I heard this from somewhere when I was looking for a pup a few years back: "If you're looking for a good pup.  Pick the parents and let your wife/kids pick the puppy." That pretty much goes with whats already been said about picking the breeding.  Pick good parents and you will most likely end up with a good pup.   

[CAMPMEAT]

I've only bought Rotts. I ALWAYS picked the one that was laying on top of the others, dominate, and always picked a good, loving dog with zero problems whatsoever.

[Special T]

You might be looking for this test... http://www.volhard.com/pages/pat.php

I used this aptitude test on my first chessie and it worked pretty well. I didn't use it on my recent pick because he was the runt and the only one left so i chose him... I would have waited for another litter but my wife said if i didn't pick him (Because i was a miserable *censored* after having put my last dog down) She would get some kind of Yappy kick me dog for the family pet... I quickly shelled out the cash for a hunting breed. 

[ctwiggs1]

What we learned by talking to a lot of other gun dog owners and by talking to breeders was that it really came down to our personalities and trying to match them with the pups.

We both want a dog who isn't too high strung, because we have a small house and we both work.  We want to come home and have that best friend who we can fetch with, train with, play with, etc., but also one that knows how to chill out when we want to watch a movie ;-)

We went to the breeder last night and spent an hour with the pups to decide which one was ours.  We at first were going to pick a female, but the one we settled on was a male because his personality was what we were looking for.  A very obvious strong nose, a fun little guy to play with, but also a much more relaxed pup than his sisters.

just my 

ctwiggs1

[Cascade_fisher]

I heard this from somewhere when I was looking for a pup a few years back: "If you're looking for a good pup.  Pick the parents and let your wife/kids pick the puppy." That pretty much goes with whats already been said about picking the breeding.  Pick good parents and you will most likely end up with a good pup.