Question about an experience I'm having with picking a puppy - Page 2

A lot of people probably won't like what I have to say about choosing a puppy...And of course it depends on what you want the puppy for...but...
You should choose a puppy with your brain...another words choose the one that shows you everything you want in a puppy...but in the end if all the puppies are basically equal then something that should be put into the equation is how the puppy reacts to you and what kind of a reaction do they show you...
You want a puppy that is independent enough to be confident to do things on their own but you want one that shows a connection to you...
If this puppy is really a "pistol" when you're not around...but is absolutely great with you in person...She will have that same energy later on...and you can't ignore the connection she shows...It's very important...I think she's a Keeper...

Sooooo....Choose a puppy with your Head (Brain)...But take the one home that has your Heart...

~Bob~

I agree with Hexe and Jen -- pick the girl that caught your eye from the first. Perhaps you could get someone else to video her running wild just to make you feel better? Also, 4.5 weeks is still super young--if she's showing drive already (even if it's when you're not there), she's going to have plenty of drive to work with later.

Christine

What else is there to chose from?? So far she is the only one you have mentioned anything about. Out pf 10 puppies, surely there is another female to talk about.

There are 8 females in the litter, but I've only talked about the one here because she is the one I keep going back to. As I said in the original post, though, there are a few, 3, possibly 4 to be exact, that I'd be very happy to bring home. The others all act the same with me as they do with everyone else. I think 1 is going to turn out to be way more dog than I really want to deal with, 1 barks, whines and howls constantly (although she has quieted down some as she's getting out and explorg the world some), and 1 I think is going to be a bigger female than I would really like. Looking forward to the next 4 to 5 weeks of emerging puppy personalities to see if things play out the way they are looking like they will. They are changing so rapidly right now; time will tell, but based on what I feel and all the comments here, I have a suspicion I know how it will end up, lol. Thanks again, everyone!

Always go with the one that picked you, if you have the choice. I went with a family member to pick out their puppy, and they chose the one that picked me (climbed into my lap and fell asleep, and wouldn't move for anything... even when 3 more of her litter-mates saw and decided to join the party - the bottom of a puppy pile is the best place to be <3)... anyway, it drives said family member nuts that whenever I'm around the dog hangs off of my every word, while she is quite unruly with them on an every day basis. I think she is awesome though, wish she was mine permanently.

OP , stay away from the howler unless you have a very high tolerance for noise makers because that is a behavior that in my experience NEVER changes.

Dawulf, I think you have to make them an offer they can't refuse. See the last line of the post where I talked about Remy.

LOL, TIG, I like a dog to be quiet unless and until there is a reason to alert or I've asked them to say something so howler is the lowest on my list of considerations for that exact reason. She has something to say about everything all the time! Other than her noisiness, which has gotten slightly better as she is getting older, she is a nice pup, but I don't think I could stand her if she was forever yelling about something.

How was she very very early on? I find that while they change a lot week to week, they typically end up how they started out. Any of them can go through a phase. I look for consistency over time. Sometimes, when I am having a hard time deciding because pups are changing a lot, I go back to their earliest tendencies and factor that in my decision. I have yet to have one turn out totally different than they started out....of course, you have to know what to look for, ie, what is indicative and what is not.

Jen - when you say look at a pup's early tendencies to get an idea of what they may become, how early are you talking about?

All of it- I time and make notes on how long it was from birth to feeding, how hard they fought for a nipple, what they did when picked up, whether they were content to lie where set down or if they were crawling all over the box, were they loud or quiet, etc. Then, as the weeks go on, I make mental and actual notes on how consistent their developing behavior is with their behavior from their first days. As they age and go into different phases, which can throw you off at times, I note who remains most consistent in certain traits and those are the ones I use to differentiate if I end up with 2 or 3 that I'm having a hard time choosing between. "Tie-breakers" so to speak. Say 2 pups are 5 weeks old and acting very similarly, and I'm trying to decide who goes where. One has been that way their entire lives. One has only been this way for the last 2 weeks or so. I will send the one who has been most consistent to the home who most needs those traits. Sounds like overkill, but it's served me well in terms of placement success and how happy the owners are with the pups.