Hi everyone I am new to this forum. We are getting a chocolate lab pup. They were born on the 19th of feb. we are going to see them on the 30th of march to pick our pup. We are hoping for a girl so there is 3 girls to choose from. Any advice or tips how to pick one ? We are a family of 5 already. Me DP and 3 children 6,3 and 8 months. And we are all very excited about getting a puppy. Thanks xx
Re: How to pick a puppy Oh congratulations! You must be sooo excited. I adore the smell of puppy breathe, gorgeous. Have you looked here to start you off. http://www.thelabradorsite.com/getting-a-labrador-puppy/ There's a link part way down that list, an article about choosing the right puppy. Welcome to the forum. We're suckers for puppy pics too, hint hint...x
Re: How to pick a puppy Hi there! Welcome to the forum - how exciting! We didn't get to choose our pup, Lilly was the only puppy left in the litter we looked at, so can't really help on that one. Our SIL chose the liveliest one, and boy, is she still lively at 18 months! Wishing you the best of luck jac and Lilly (black girl, 4 in May)
Re: How to pick a puppy Thanks. I will have a look at that link. Yes we are soooo excited its dragging !!! Wish the 8 weeks would hurry up so we can bring puppy home !!!!
Re: How to pick a puppy How exciting for you, love puppies ;D ;D We only had three to chose from as the rest were reserved , Sam was the one who came to investigate and then lick us, so I guess he chose us really
Re: How to pick a puppy We didn't really have a huge role in the puppy picking process (yeah, alliteration!). We have a friend who breeds flat-coated retrievers and asked her to recommend a breeder of labradors, which she did. We asked about the various health-checks (felt a little bad doing this given that it was a recommendation but the breeder said that we were right to do so) before visiting as it was a bit of a drive from where we live. There was a litter of, I think, 7 puppies with a mix of dogs and bitches, and blacks and yellows. We had decided that we wanted a yellow dog and ... there was only one so the decision was made. As it happens, when we went to see the puppies Harvey was one of only two that had the confidence to come and meet us without any encouragement (something that he still does now whenever there are new people to meet!). We took that as a good sign (not sure whether it is or not). Good luck. If you do your homework I don't think that there is a 'wrong' choice to be made
Re: How to pick a puppy Oh talking about this brings back memories! Welcome to the forum from me and 9 month old Murphy. When me and my OH went to have a look at the puppys we hadnt decided whether we wanted a boy or girl and even werent 100% that we were going to get one at all (that lasted about 2 seconds after seeing them!). We ended up choosing murphy has he was the quietest puppy who just watched everyone else and didnt really get involved so much. He also has a really dopey chilled out look on his face and that made us choose him. At one point the breeder was worried because she thought we were going to call him dopey! Lol. I really dont think you can make a bad decision, like unclebob said as long as you do your research, you arnt going to make a wrong decision! Good luck!
Re: How to pick a puppy Penny was from a litter of 9, but there were only 4 available when we went to see them so we didn't have that many to choose from, even so it was really hard!! We had no preferences for sex so we picked out a male and a female that we liked. I wanted the girl and my other half wanted the boy!! There was no way we could have chosen one over the other so in the end we had to toss a coin! I know it sounds really bad to do something like that when picking such an important thing but there was no way of choosing one over the other! We ended up with the girl (obviously) an that is how Penny got her name - it was a lucky Penny!!
Re: How to pick a puppy We've just adopted our first ever puppy (Pongo). He was one of three boys in a litter of six pups. His breeder gave us really good advice; even at six weeks old the three boys all had different personalities, one was very lively, one very quiet and laid back. She advised us strongly that the lively pup would absolutely need a lively household, preferably with children who would be able to play with him and keep him busy. For us (kids left home, we work part-time from home) she recommended the quiet, calm boy. So that is who we chose, and we're absolutely delighted with our choice - he is a real sweetie, very confident, VERY lively when it is time for playtime, but then happy to zonk out and snore while we get on with other things. So based on our experience it is worth thinking about the sort of personality you want for your own family!
Re: How to pick a puppy We had a similar situation when our grandchildren were toddlers and we were looking for a new Lab. We spent some time playing with a litter of nine choccies to look at their personalities. We decided to go with one of the quieter ones because the last thing we wanted was bouncy dog who might play too roughly with toddlers. We wanted the grandchildren to grow up liking dogs! It was a great decision that worked well for us. Cocoa developed into a really laid-back, gentle, dog who was adored by all the grandchildren. The best advice I can give is to spend as much time as you can with the litter and find out which one fits your expectations.
Re: How to pick a puppy Last summer, think I read - it might have been In the Defence of Dogs - that it isn't actually possible to pick out the future adult personality or characteristics at 8 weeks (although there was a bit more to it than that, I'll see whether I can find the reference later). I remember though, the night I was reading that, I was also watching a programme on guide dog training and the assessment of very young puppies for suitability! Anyway, no matter, it's the enjoyment of meeting your future best friend, and finding out who she is, that really matters! And the puppy pics. Don't forget the puppy pics.
Re: How to pick a puppy Such an exciting time When we went to pick a puppy Harley was sat in the middle watching us. Vomer of her siblings came running out and were very playful, some hid at the back. My daughter picked Harley up, had a cuddle then passed her to me. She sniffed me then snuggled in and fell asleep on me.....that was it.....love at first hug . Meanwhile hubby was cuddling a boy and wanted him, but as I reminded him, the pup was for me (even though we both look after her and love her dearly). When my daughter comes home from uni, Harley remembers her and follows her almost as much as she does to me I'm sure you will know when you see the pups
Re: How to pick a puppy Thank you all for your replies. They are all so helpful. We have been looking for a pup since dec so we have done alot of research. I am in Ireland and have found it very hard to find a good breeder. But after viewing a litter with the mother having no health checks and the dad having an elbow score of 3. We really thought we weren't going to find any. But we did and the mam and dads health checks are spot on even their parents are great. The grandad of our pup was the first chocolate lab to win crufs ?? Dog show ! There is a litter of 7 altogether. And can't wait to go see them.
Re: How to pick a puppy We didn't get to pick our puppy, it was more like the puppy picked us! The breeder invited us to see them (all 10 of them) and then sat us down to talk about how experienced we were and what sort of dog we were looking for. Axl is our 3rd black lab and we wanted a boy with tons of personality. Boy did we get one! He's a real handful but we love it. I think it was a great way to choose a puppy, the breeder really knew her stuff so we put our faith in her and it's worked out brilliantly.
Re: How to pick a puppy How exciting! Enjoy every minute. [quote author=Carebear32 link=topic=4633.msg56842#msg56842 date=1393255082] The grandad of our pup was the first chocolate lab to win crufs ?? [/quote] Was that Naiken Way Out West? http://www.naikenlabradors.moonfruit.co.uk/#/way-out-west/4536253756
Re: How to pick a puppy [quote author=JulieT link=topic=4633.msg56818#msg56818 date=1393249768] Last summer, think I read - it might have been In the Defence of Dogs - that it isn't actually possible to pick out the future adult personality or characteristics at 8 weeks (although there was a bit more to it than that, I'll see whether I can find the reference later). I remember though, the night I was reading that, I was also watching a programme on guide dog training and the assessment of very young puppies for suitability! [/quote] Yes, this is pretty much what we thought. The breeder said the same.
