CockersOnline Forum
Cocker Specific Discussion => Puppies => Topic started by: Danni and Freya on June 11, 2010, 09:57:13 PM
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I am thrilled to bits that I have been given the pick of the dogs out of Freyas breeders new litter. However, this means I have to choose one now, whilst they are not a week old yet. Does anyone have experience in doing this? Obviouslly ideally you would choose based on personality when they are a lot older, but the breeder needs to advertise so needs to know which one I want. Ive got a choice of three colours so i'm going to have to bite the bullet and choose one. Has anyone done this before? I trust the breeder and am thrilled to be able to have another of his pups, they are raised in the home with kids, and Freya is the most wonderful little dog. I suppose its not much different to when I got Freya as I wanted a bitch and she was the only one! And thats worked out well.... :-\ lol sorry sort of thinking out loud here, any thoughts much appreciated :blink:
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I picked Murphy pretty much on colour alone and that was the night he was born.. Worked out well for me, but I think I was lucky and fate chose well for me!!
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If you're picking at a week old, then you can only choose on superficial things like colour & markings (and even those can change). I really can't see why the breeder needs you to choose this early - I wouldn't even consider asking people to do this - apart from anything else, it's tempting fate a little as so much can go wrong with a litter when they're so young.
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Most breeders I've dealt with wont let people see the pups until they are 5-6 weeks old anyway.. Could she not just take interested names then let first come choose first when the pups are a bit older, if that makes sense?
Unless they're solids, the colour and markings could really change too so not sure what to suggest really!
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This is so tough, I would rather not choose now but I also dont want to rock the boat and lose favour with the breeder :-\ I dont know what to do :huh:
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Couldnt the breeder still advertise them even though you havent chosen yours specifically?? We werent aloud to see Alfie until he was 6 weeks old, we had 1st pick of the 3 boys and even though she had people lined up for all 3 of them, she waited until we had chosen ours then the others got to chose theirs. This way we could chose our pup on personality, temperament etc., not just colour (although they were all blue roan anyway). Just a thought, as you may have a favourite now but you might change your mind once they have got older and by rights you should have first pick of them all :dunno: xx
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Im really not happy about this, to the point where im thinking im going to have to walk away if they insist I choose now. I want too get the right dog to be a companion for Freya, and personality is a huge part of that. Im thinking I just need to start looking out for another home raised working cocker :'( not happy but this just doesnt feel right
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Why not speak to the breeder first? See what he says? If you just explain to him that you would rather choose in a few weeks when the pups are a bit older and are showing personality etc, he might understand, as if he is a decent breeder he will want his pups to go to a decent home ;). Dont back out without speaking to him first, if he is still insisting you choose then you might consider backing out ;) xxx
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Yeah I know thats logical Emma thanks, i'm really worried about it, bit of a knee jerk reaction to want to back out as it just feels wrong :-\ I will email him and see what he says but he seems pretty insistant, I dont want to get this wrong
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For our first boy Jake, the choice was easy - it was just him (blue roan) and a black boy left and we wanted the blue roan so no problems. However on choosing Alfie it was far, far tougher as had three dogs to choose from, an orange roan and two blue roans. Serious thought was given to the orange roan as it would be distinctly different to Jake but we couldn't resist the blue roans so decided to pick one of them. We were sent photos and both boys were similar but one had a spot on the side and the other didn't so we said we'd take him. I went for the first visit at five weeks and all was fine but then my Mum went to see him and was split over which one to go for as the other pup had been a lot more interested in her while the other one hadn't. To make it tougher, neither had been sold...eventually we said to the breeder we'd go and have lunch and phone him in an hour to confirm which boy we'd take.
That was a tough hour spent looking back and forward through the pictures and videos I'd taken of both the potential pups, we'd read advice online about choosing pups but a lot of it is conflicting. In the end we decided that we may as well stick with the arbitrary choice we made initially and we chose Alfie because of his spot on his flank although my workmates were running a spread with the odds favouring coming home with both pups. I've no idea how Alfie's brother has turned out (although we have tried to find his littermates) but never regretted the choice, if any of the three had been the only ones left I'm sure we'd have been happy and had a lot less stress in the first place!
John
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My Vizsla was chosen because he was one of only two pups left - one of each sex and OH wanted a boy.
For my cocker Lillie, even though I knew I was getting a girl from the litter, I did not know which one she would be until the other people had chosen - though I did get the quiet one that I wanted - not - she is full of life, an eternal comedian, and gobby :luv:
For my next little bundle - only a few weeks old - I was only interested in an Orange Roan girl. The litter is boy heavy, and she is one of only two girls, the other being blue roan. She was going to be kept by the breeder, but luckily for me I got first refusal.
My view is that, what will be will be. I love all my dogs, and would love them 'whoever' they are or turned out to be. There is no such thing as a perfect dog, they are loved for all their traits ;)
After all, we don't know what sort of personality our children will have when older, we just love them :005: :luv:
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After all, we don't know what sort of personality our children will have when older, we just love them :005: :luv:
Very good point :lol:
Is this pup directly related to Freya? How did you choose her?
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I had pick of litter with Poppy, the breeder took names of people interested and they were allowed to see the pups.
I didn't choose until 5weeks, I saw them at 3weeks and indicated an interest in one so the breeder had an idea, but didn't choose for definite until Poppy was 5weeks.
The breeder was happy to wait for me to make my decision.
x
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I wouldn't be able to choose from my own litter at a week old, can normally pin it down to two/three, but always wait until I'm certain. To be honest at a week old there's not really much to 'see' so to speak. I certainly wouldn't expect new owners to choose at this age.
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I once had a similar experience. I was told I could have choice on a litter after the breeder. I did not know whether I wanted a boy or a girl; I was just hoping for a dog that would enjoy obedience/agility/working trials (Border Collie). When the pups were about 4 weeks old the breeder started pressurising me into making a decision over a boy or a girl as she had had enquiries for boys and wanted to know if she would have any available (no, she hadn't decided which pup to keep herself yet). I ended up not getting a pup from the litter partly because the breeder had gone back on her word (that I would be able to go and see the litter and make a choice after she had made her own choice) and partly because I didnt want to commit to a boy/girl and then find out I preferred one of the other sex when I saw the litter.
I think the only time I'd be happy to pick from a litter at just a few hours old is if I wanted a pup left undocked from a working (docked) litter. Otherwise I would like to see the pups and get an idea of their characters before making a choice.
I hope if you spoke to the breeder he was understanding. I know how hard it can be to walk away from a nice litter.
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I'd never pick a puppy either at a week old or based on its colour. I bought both Ro and Caoimhe at just over 5 months old so I could judge their working/trialling potential and character but even if I was picking from a younger litter there's no way I'd want to choose at a week old, the pup I chose then could turn out to be noisy/shy etc. by the time I picked it up. I don't know why they want you to choose so soon, they can still advertise the litter particularly as they know which sex you want, surely they're not going to let people come to look at the pups for another good few weeks anyway?!
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I'm surprised that the breeder is letting people have access to the pups when they're only a week old - isn't it usually not till they're 3 weeks old, to avoid the risk of infection? Or is she expecting people to do it from photographs?
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Hi everyone, thanks very much for all of your comments and advice, this place is a godsend :lol: The breeder got back to me and has come up with a fair comrpomise. Hes going to sell the lemon boy, and leave the two black boys until there is interest in one of them, then I will choose which of them I like whenever that time comes. So hopefully I will have some time before I have to go and choose. I think thats fair and so im going to stick with him. Like people have said on my other post thats similar, if im happy with the breeder, living conditions, the pup I have now, I dont have a lot to worry about. Cant thank people enough for thier advice as I am so new to all of this, its very reassuring :blink: thanks guys
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Good luck :D
I have to say, I wouldn't pick a puppy at the age he'd asked you, to BUT I did pick out both my boys when they were about 6.5 weeks old. I picked the first because I wanted a black boy but the big golden pup was SO cuddly and calm and just had these wonderful eyes that gazed into my soul, so I chose him instead... he turned into a big dog and was always really cuddly and sweet with a wonderful wonderful temperament, but was a completely hyper loony with a massive hunt drive as an adult.
Dave I picked because he was also calm and the biggest in a litter of 9.... he was still a very big pup when I collected him at 8 weeks but today, he still looks quite puppy-ish and didn't grow into a big dog :lol:. His character didn't turn out how I'd guessed he would either but I still love him to pieces :luv:. So although you have a bit more to go by when the pups are approaching 8 weeks in my experience, you really can't judge too much from their characters or final appearance even at that age :005: Plus if you are only after a pet rather than a dog you want to compete with or work... and you're happy with the Dam and sire and the breeding conditions then your nurturing has an awful lot to do with it too :luv:
Good luck :luv:
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i picked my puppy on colour alone when he was 1 week old. The parents,grandparentd gg grandparents where all seen as were some older dogs from the same parents who all had wonderful temprements, needless to say Jarvis now 11 weeks is just as we thought super intelligent and gentle