Best advice to give a new buyer... - Page 3

Hodie, I'm intrigued; please elucidate on your previous statement: "1 or 2 pick of the litter is absolutely meaningless and is the WRONG way to choose a pup." You're ripping at one of my core beliefs, but I'm willing to listen and learn.

Spook101, By my statement about pick of the litter being meaningless I mean that it depends all on what is meant by that statement. For example, is the pup the pick for temperament? Or for pigment? Or for Pigment and temperament and bone structure? And who is doing the evaluation? Too many people are not really good observers and if you and I were close together, we could go see some litters and see how often, or if we agreed on "pick". Based on a lot of what you write, we might agree. But we might not. I would bet however that we did not often agree with the breeders' pick. As well, it is my opinion that all too often pups really do NOT show enough at an early age to have that designation applied. I decided long ago to keep pups much longer than 8 weeks before I sold them. And, in fact, I sold very few because I could not find homes which I felt were appropriate. But in keeping pups longer, I learned something very valuable, or at least I think so. Pups, more often than not, do NOT exhibit much of what they really are, either in temperament or conformation until they are much older. There are exceptions, but in my experience, this is rare. I will give an example. In a litter I bred I had a male who was very quiet and very laid back. In fact, this was so pronounced that a friend suggested I name him "Chill". Today, he is still in my household and he is the most lively, in your face, intensely interested in me and all that is around him pup one could ask for. I still remember that between the age of about 10 and 11 weeks, it was almost as if someone had turned on a switch. The change in him was that dramatic. I have seen it other times too, and in this same litter, the female who was named "Cuda" (after Barracuda) is far less confident than she was at 8 weeks. Just like with working ability and whether it is there or not, I think many people make judgements that are often not correct. This is often the case with breeders who do not have the experience or ability to self evaluate what they are producing. We see examples of this in shows. At many of the shows I have hosted, people get upset when they dog does not place as well as they would like. In fact, often what is said by the judge is, in my opinion, correct. When a judge speaks, I listen, if only to learn and compare and UNDERSTAND what faults my dog might have. I cannot improve something I do not see or acknowledge. As for choosing a pup, I choose pups for a variety of reasons, one of which is strong retrieve drive. For me, this is going to be a critical component of my ability to successfully train the dog. From a conformational standpoint, I choose quite different parameters to evaluate. So this is what I was talking about. Finally, what is pick for someone else, meaning a lively and in your face temperament, might, in fact, be absolutely NOt the pick for someone else. Do you understand what I am trying to say?

I absolutely understand what you're saying. I recently picked up a pup; my first in about 11 years. (Why would anyone raise puppies?) When I went to look at the dogs I was immediately emotionally involved. I liked this, I liked that, this one came right up to me, etc. (I hate car shopping, I want them all.) I had observed the litter for a few hours and thought I knew what I wanted. (I know it is very hard to make a choice based on that short a time.) Fortunately, I had brought one of the most versed people in GSD and schutzhund that I know and their choice was not the same. This person didn't want the big bruiser, 'I want to be top dog,' he was looking at things like a dogs ability to solve problems, carry, bring items back to you. I was looking at some of these items too, but I was letting my machoism get in the way. (Hope thats a word.) I did take the dog he liked better because it, logically, better suited my needs. I'm not saying that any or all of the dogs may have been better, but it was apparent that my idea of first pick was probably not what was best for my needs.

Hi Spook, It is natural and correct to be emotionally involved immediately with puppies. And making a choice can be a very difficult task. Whether what you actually got is what you really want, only time will tell. As I said, I think all too often we see only a small piece of the puzzle when we look at a litter for a very short time. The best way in my opinion is to look at the pups over a long period of time, and also choose from a breeder who knows the pups and adult dogs well and has lots of experience with dogs and hopefully understands your needs. In any case, yes, raising puppies is a lot of work. Hopefully your friend helped make a pick that will serve you well. Best of luck with the pup.

After 5 weeks I am even happier with this pick. I think the one constant everyone needs when choosing a pup is; will this breeding have a high percentage of producing the type of dog I want? There are no guarentees and quite honestly there was not a pup in the litter that I wouldn't have like to have had, but one is enough for me.

Good to know Spook101. What will herald your success is that you love the dog and will do all the best things to bring him/her to live a healthy and productive life. Best of luck.

I have a 4 year old female from Hauswalder-bach kennel in Germany. Daughter of Kevin Murrtal. Love her temperament. Their foundation bitch is Ina Jahnhohe, (1997 BSZS V3, litter sister to Idol Jahnhohe) I like the type that they are producing, medium size compact. They have a 2 year old female for sale. See appended below an email that the breeder sent to me recently: "Ginga was mated to Janos Noriswand, the V2 male of the BSZS show, several days ago. Everything worked out just fine, and we have every reason to expect her to be pregnant. Ginga ist just 2 years old, so far she has taken part in one exhibition, in the working dogs class, where she was rated V2 of a total of 17 participants. She was born in a defect-free litter. If confirmed pregnant, Ginga might be sold on January 22nd at the earliest." You may contact him directly at: wolfgang-feldbinder@t-online.de or visit his website at www.hauswalder-bach.de Good luck!

Laris, She is very beautiful. Too bad she isn't here in the states.... T-