Would you be happy for a breeder to select your pup for you?

[Jeanette]

From my previous thread about looking at other breeds, I've been browsing websites and there was one particular website I liked the look of until the part of picking the pup.    Apparently you give a deposit and can view the pups at 5/6 weeks old but not to choose a puppy, the breeder does that for you based on what she feels would suit you and your family's lifestyle.    You can make a preference on two of the puppies and she will try and accommodate one of those but not guaranteed, you find out which puppy you've got when you go to collect.

This seems strange to me but the reasons stated on the website were that she knows the puppies best and is a better judge of character to find the ideal pup therefore preventing dogs from being returned or ending up as rescue etc. 

Would you be happy for a breeder to pick your pup?   Has anyone ever heard of this type of arrangement before, maybe the breeders on here would be best answering the second part.   

[JaspersMum]

We relied on the opinions of the breeder and the stud dog owner to point us to the pup considered to have most likely show potential as they were both much more experienced than us.  It happened to be the one we'd chosen anyway   

[6thSense]

I can't say I have ever heard of this, but I suppose it does kind of make sense,  but I would definitely not be happy with this arrangement personally as I would want to make that choice myself. I would need to be 100% sure before I took on a dog and in this scenario I'm not sure I would be.

[Jeanette]

We relied on the opinions of the breeder and the stud dog owner to point us to the pup considered to have most likely show potential as they were both much more experienced than us.  It happened to be the one we'd chosen anyway   

Can understand from a showing perspective but for pet owners.   

I can't say I have ever heard of this, but I suppose it does kind of make sense,  but I would definitely not be happy with this arrangement personally as I would want to make that choice myself. I would need to be 100% sure before I took on a dog and in this scenario I'm not sure I would be.

It seemed strange to me but the more I think about it, it does make sense as the breeder has spent 8 weeks with them so whereas you can normally choose at 4 weeks, their true personality might not have emerged - the logic is there but I guess its human nature to want to choose.   

[Top Barks]

Certainly would not be happy anyone picking a dog for me

[SkyeSue]

Certainly would not be happy anyone picking a dog for me

Me neither 

[Coco]

I wouldn't be 100% happy but i'd rather that than hainvg to pick befor say 6 weeks as they changes so much and it's so difficult at that age to see what their personalities are like in an hour's visit 

[Annette]

Our breeder suggested doing this and we, as first-time dog owners, felt that her experience would be useful. She seemed to have a lot of knowledge and experience, and a genuine love for her dogs.

She spent time getting to know us when we visited twice and asked us lots of questions. She then watched as the pups developed and told us which one she felt was most suited to our family and experience.

I am certain that she made the right choice for us.

However, if I had more experience, then I would expect to be able to judge for myself.

[little_jack]

Our breeder suggested doing this and we, as first-time dog owners, felt that her experience would be useful. She seemed to have a lot of knowledge and experience, and a genuine love for her dogs.

She spent time getting to know us when we visited twice and asked us lots of questions. She then watched as the pups developed and told us which one she felt was most suited to our family and experience.

I am certain that she made the right choice for us.

However, if I had more experience, then I would expect to be able to judge for myself.

Although I chose Jack, as a first time owner I really valued the breeders experience and opinions. However, I would always like to feel I could have say in it as it is such a big decision you make.

[Harveypops]

We chose Harvey, but his breeder had already guessed which one we were going to pick  Good choice all round 

[Nicola]

It depends on the breeder - some I would trust to pick a pup that would suit my requirements and others I wouldn't (and I probably wouldn't buy a pup from those breeders anyway!). Obviously I'd still want to see them myself but if I'd picked the right breeder then I would trust their judgement - they know their pups and their lines. This hasn't really applied to me though as of my lot one is a rescue and the other two I bought at 6 months old so there was no litter to choose from in any of the cases, just a specific dog that I wanted. If I was looking at a litter though I would be happy to take a steer from the breeder although if there was a particular pup I felt a strong pull towards even if they didn't 'recommend' it I would go with my gut instinct unless there was a major reason not to, like it was the only noisy or non-retrieving pup in the litter or something

[Jane S]

We have chosen puppies for first time owners - it has always worked out very well While someone with lots of dog experience will know exactly what they are looking for, first time owners could end up choosing a pup completely wrong for them eg picking the pushiest pup because that's the one that always grabs their attention when the pushy pup could be very hard work (compared with a more placid pup) & be better suited for a home with more doggy experience.

[Helen]

ours was chosen by default - all the others were already taken and we had a choice left of 2 boys.  We chose the least attractive one

In all seriousness though, I agree with Jane and Nicola on this - the breeder should know the pups and dam (and sire) better than someone coming to see them for the first time, and especially if you are a first time puppy owner I would bow to their experience   

And if you've done your homework and the pup is from a sire and dam with exemplary temperaments (as well as all the other factors such as health testing etc) then any pup from that litter will be a good one 

The pushy one always makes itself known....I have a friend that chose 'that pup' in the litter he went to see.  He's sorry now

[Karma]

I certainly think that for less experienced owners, the breeder might be better placed to choose a pup (as long as they take the potential owner's preferences into consideration, which a good breeder would do). 
Not sure I'd be happy to let them have complete say though... I'd almost prefer it the other way about that the breeder chose the 2 which were most suitable and then I had the final pick, because there's got to be that emotional attachment as well...

[mum2milly]

We had the choice of the remaining 2 puppies from our breeder. As novices, we were most grateful for his opinions & experience. Like Jane said, we were drawn towards the dog pup because he was such a character (infact, he was a little tornado!)the little bitch pup, in comparison was much more placid so after much discussion with the breeder we chose her. (I did think she was the nicer looking of the two)
I'm very pleased that our breeder advised us. Milly came 'out of her shell' once she didn't have to play 2nd fiddle to her boisterous brother - I can only imagine what her brother was like.