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So you have decided to get a puppy, you’re probably feeling excited and a little nervous at the same time getting everything prepared for their home welcome and thinking about names, tricks and house training that you have not thought about the picking process yet. It’s easy to get overwhelmed when you are introduced to the litter of puppies so in today’s blog we will be giving you advice on how to properly pick the right puppy for you. keep reading for our guide on how to pick a puppy from the litter.

Things to consider when picking a puppy

although they may all look the same when see them each and every puppy has their own individual personalities, strengths and weaknesses. And you want to be able to observe them and get more information about them from the breeder so its helpful if you spend time talking to the breeder letting them know what your lifestyle is like and what kind of pup you are looking for.

here are the things you should be considering when picking a puppy

• Are you home all day?
• Would you prefer a male or female dog?
• Do you have children in the household
• Does the colour of the coat matter to you?
• are you a very active person ? would you want a dog with high energy levels?
• Do you want them to be independent or more codependant ?
• Does a shy puppy over a super confident alpha one suit you better?

When picking a puppy from a litter you need to check what order you are in, if there is already people ahead of you waiting to pick who have already secured a deposit.The first come the first get is usually the rules breeders follow so if you are thinking about buying one of their puppies I suggest you get in contact and secure a deposit if need as soon as possible so that you can have first pick or else you will be left with which ever puppy got left over. It is in the best interest for both you and the breeder that the puppies go to the correct homes so when it comes to choosing your puppy you will need to let your breeder know about your lifestyle and what kind of puppy you are looking for . The breeder will be able to better guide you as to which puppy they think is best for you as they have spent plenty of time with the puppies and know what characteristics each of them have and will also be able to give you information about their parents and what their attitudes are like in adulthood.

You may let your breeder make the decision for you if you are indecisive and don’t want to be holding that responsibility of if you feel better picking the puppy out yourself then breeders will also give you that option. Here I will be giving you my top advice on what steps to take in order to pick the perfect puppy for you.

How to pick a puppy from the litter

1. Bring a friend with you

its very probable that you will get swept away in the cuteness overload of meeting multiple puppies at the same time, you may have difficulty concentrating and analysing each one of them. Bringing some one else from the family or a friend will benefit you as they will be also analysis the puppies and may be able to notice things you might have missed. It saves time too as the other person can hold and interact with one puppy while you interact with another and then you can both give each other feedback about the puppies you interacted with.

2. sit back and observe

observe the litter as they play and interact with each other for a while so you can get a better understanding of how each of them are , during this time their personalities will shine through and you will be able to recognise which puppies are they shy ones and which are more the dominant ones.

You should look out for certain behaviours that may indicate their personalities for example are they very friendly? do they play with all their litter mates, are they curious approaching you to sniff you or lick you? this shows that they are confident and sociable and may get along well with others in the household these puppies usually speed through the socialisation process. It could also show dommiance though if you notice a puppy initiating rough play, stealing toys from other puppies or trying to get out of the enclosure forcefully. This could indicate that this puppy if the alpha of the litter meaning they may want to take control of certain situations and will not be afraid to lash out asserting their dominance with other animals or people they may need a little more training than the others to teach them to be obedient.

The shy puppy will usually be the one that distances themselves they may be in a corner not interested or too nervous to approach the guests if you notice hesitation in the puppy when you try to interact with them then they are probably timid this can be good in the way that they usually won’t grow up to be the type of dogs jumping up on people and annoying other animals in the park however it could mean that they will need extra time to adapt to socialisation.

3. physical touch evaluation

Cesarsway suggests that after observing the puppies you should narrow your favourites down to three so once you have narrowed it down to three puppies you can start testing out how each of them responds to be alone with you and being touched. You can first try the craddle test, try holding the puppy in your arms and see how they react do they struggle and try to get out of your grip or do they happily lay there and lick you to please you?

Touch different parts of their bodies such as their ears, paws and nose to see how they respond. Idealy you should get no response from them they should be accustomed to being handled by a human if they nip at you or whine and move away from you when you touch them it could mean they do not like to be played with which may be a concern if you have children. Children will most likely want to approach the puppy and touch them, and you do not want a puppy that going to react negatively to that.

Likewise if you notice the puppy can’t seem to get enough of your affection, they climb up on you to snuggle with you they lick your face off and follow you around it suggests they will grow up to be very loyal companions that aim to please you and want to be by your side at all times. However the downside to that is that they may lack independence will suffer from separation anxiety if they are left alone in the house.

in conclusion the decision is up to you, remember that a lot of the behaviours that puppies exhibit at first can be trained and corrected by you the owner so there is never a puppy that is a lost cause.

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