New puppy, fireworks and a show for the neighbours!

zebidee1

Been off to view the litter we are getting our new lab pup from. There were 4 boys and 4 girls and as we want a boy we had a choice of 3 as one had already been picked.

After reading just about every pup book there is, all the advice was to pick a pup in the middle...not the most boisterous (as it will be harder to train) and not the most timid (as it will be scared of it's own shadow half the time, lol).

Anyway, there was a very clear cut trio left.....obvious runt of the litter which didn't show much interest in anything, middle pup which came to say hi had a quick lick and a chew of our hands, then ambled off for a look around and then and sat down....and psycho pup which threw itself into everything it did....sniffing/exploring/chewing our shoes etc.

Their Mum came in and middle pup and runt went daft trying to get near her to try their luck for a quick suckle whilst psycho pup never bothered his behind. Obviously the most independent pup. Middle pup and psycho pup looked the most alike although psycho pup was cuter, softer and had the most georgeous face. (I think Mother Nature knew the work would be cut out with this one so made him extra cute to offset...:D )

In the end we picked middle pup as I was concerned psycho pup would be too headstrong and difficult to train (I've just finished reading Marley and Me ). He was also having a good gnaw at the kitchen unit doors and trying his hardest to tear my son's trouser leg as we left.

Now I'm home though, I dont know if I've done the right thing. Psycho pup was real cute and would without doubt be playful and interactive. I'm sure middle pup would be playful too but not as much. I keep thinking I could train him well...but there again do I really want the training to be harder which I suspect it will be. This pup looked completely self assured, lol.

Talk me out of phoning the breeder to change my mind please?

stacey21_2

Hi,

I don't beleive in all this 'pup picking' stuff as dogs personalities are unique the same as humans - if we could choose babies that screamed all night or ones that slept what would we choose? It doesn't mean that the babies who scream all night will grow up to be wayward teenagers or worse..

You will only get out of a dog what you put in.. So if you are prepared to train a dog, show it plenty of attention, be firm when needed etc, the dog will have its own personality but will also suit in with your life.

I say go with your gut - if you are drawn to one particular puppy go with that one, don't do it from a book.

Hope this helps a little

System

Our previous 2 dogs were the runts of their litters and they both turned out to be excellent.
Current dog was 'chosen' for us by the people at Battersea based on a questionnaire and interview. He is a soft psycho who loves nothing better than a cuddle with his 'Mum'. It's a bit of a shock when a Staff/Lab cross decides to leap on to your lap without warning!

Sharra

Any pup is going to be playful, I don't think you will have a worry there tbh. Also how he develops will depend to some extent on his environment. Once you've had him a week you couldn't imagine having any other pup.

Errata

Sounds like you made the right choice. Middle pup uses his brain, he's interested in what's going on but self reliant. Wise choice, the thinkers in my litters of pups always turned out to be the best ones.

Raksha

Sounds like middle pup is people orientated, and that's going to make training easier. From what you've said, I think you've gone with the right one.

affordmylife

We had a choice of two boys lovely quiet one that laid in my arms and gazed up at me and a mad one that licked everyone and ran around like mad into everything. Guess what we picked - yup you guessed it the mad one with personality!!!

He was a horror for the first six to eight months but now at two years is the most well behaved devoted little treasure you could ever wish for. It was the right choice for us but I dare say we would have loved the quiet one just as much as you will yours. After a few days whatever you have picked becomes yours and you will love it dearly. Good luck.

Keldin

Psycho and Labrador in the same sentence? I think it's all relative. You could have picked the craziest Lab and still ended up with an easily trained and obedient adult dog.
Look at the parents and the history of the breeder and their other litters if possible, pick a healthy looking dog and go with your gut (pick the runt if you like - someone has to be the runt).
Get yourself an EBT - then you'll know crazy :-)

K

zebidee1

Cheers everyone!

Still a bit unsure if I've done the right thing or not but I'm going to leave it as it stands. The next person to pick from the litter will be doing so this morning so I would only have until around 10am to call the breeder anyway.

I took a camcorder with me and taped the pups playing for a few minutes and something I didn't notice at the time but do now, is the fact that although the middle pup did interact with us and had a right good lick at our fingers and tug at our clothes and shoes etc, he didn't ever seem to look directly at me although psycho pup did. Maybe it was just because of everything that was going on but this isn't some sort of warning sign of a dog problem is it?

Yeah I know, I'm becoming paranoid now......do you get autistic dogs?

On the up side, the family all thought psycho dog was great but they all thought middle pup was beautiful too...I got a shot of him sitting himself with his head tilted to the side and he was just adorable.

I thought welcoming a dog into our family would be simple! Huh! I wouldn't mind if it had been a unanimous choice of pup (then we'd all have been to 'blame', lol)....but it was really mainly me who picked. :rolleyes:

We did see the parents btw, Dad was a big sturdy looking thing who made sure the pups got out of his way, there was no messing with him! I think psycho pup was more like Dad, big body/head with big paws. Runt of litter was more like Mum, she was small, with a more pointed thinner appearance, was calm and made sure all her pups were ok and middle Pup seemed exactly like a mix of the two, both in looks and temperament, although the breeder did say their personalities are just beginning to come out now and they can change.

Our family is a mixture of opposites. Lord knows how we get along, lol. One son is loud and outgoing and he wanted psycho pup, youngest is quieter and was taken with middle pup and the rest of us swung from middle pup to psycho pup.

Oh well, as long as no-one comes along to tell me I've picked an autistic dog, I guess the decision stands.

Thanks again.

Errata

I've never heard of autism in dogs, any neurological problem would probably display as learning difficulties eg not being in charge of movement, unable to feed properly etc. That kind of 'brain damage' is sometimes found in lambs and they're put down as soon as it's noticed.
I think you're worrying too much. An adult psycho lab, weighing 6 stone, would be unmanageable. Don't forget, dogs aren't human beings so different rules apply. Your pup sounds fine but if you're so worried about your decision it might be useful for you and the family to revisit your decision rather than end up with dissatisfied owners and a very unhappy dog.

zebidee1

Yes you're right...I am worrying too much. I think that's what the problem is....more than the issues with the pups perhaps. Unfortunately, I always agonise over every decision I ever make (about anything) and go too deep into reasons for and against.

As for the pup, I'm much more settled about it now. 10am has long since passed, as has my opportunity to change my decision. Now I no longer have a choice, I'm happy with my choice (if that makes sense). Also, if I had gone today instead of yesterday and middle pup had been the only one left...I would have been delighted with him. He seemed to 'pick' my youngest more than the other two did...psycho pup just launched himself around the kitchen and only stopped to jump up to chew the odd passing jumper or trouser leg, lol. He wasn't fussy whose it was, whereas middle pup seemed happy to be with my youngest and spent a while in one place.

I always feel unsure when I'm dealing with new things I don't know much about (puppies for one, lol) and feel the need to ask those who are much more informed about things than me for their opinions. I'm always happy to be told to shut up and that I'm being unreasonable/unrealistic/just plain stupid with my thoughts, if that's what's necessary.

We're all just excited now and can't wait to get the little fellow. If I can work out how to post a picture taken from a camcorder, I'll put him on show so you can see how cute he is. If not, I'll post a pic when we get him.

Thanks again to everyone for the replies and the reassurance. :beer: