We're going to the breeder in September to pick out our Chocolate Lab puppy. Her litter will 3 weeks old. How do we know which one to choose?
Hi Jade, how exciting and dare I say a bit apprehensive. We have a chocolate lab who is 1 and we visited a couple of times. The beeeder said they wouldn’t be around too long as she had people interested. My son choose Mason because of his personality and the way they interacted Good luck
Hi jade I chose our choc lab at 8 weeks, she's 23 weeks now and it was extremely difficult as they were all gorgeous! I looked for the pup who seemed to put herself forward, it helped that I knew I wanted a female, she was alert and came forward to me for a sniff and allowed me to fuss her. She was also a good size, bigger than the other pups and had nice clear eyes and wet nose! Good luck in choosing your new pup
We found it very difficult and spent aaaages trying to choose at 5 weeks. We narrowed it down to the puppies that seemed friendliest and most confident (only 1 puppy seemed shy, and even he eventually decided it was playtime) and eventually chose the one that fell asleep on my lap because well... probably hormones. And he had a fetching white patch. We realised in retrospect that he was the one making all the noise in the pen. And nothing has changed! To be honest it is really hard so I would listen to the breeder's advice about which pup might suit your household and otherwise... just go with your gut.
Three weeks is far too young to choose a puppy as their characters are only just forming. A pup that appears confident now may be more reticent at 5 or 6 weeks. Their life experience is very limited at this stage. The best person to choose a puppy for an owner is the breeder as they should know their puppies and be able to match to owners, but again an experienced breeder won't make final decisions until just before puppies leave for their new homes.
We just chose our new boy at just under 3 weeks, to be honest we didn't have much choice as there was only 2 boys left. In the end we went for the one with the biggest belly (something as daft as that!). However as he is now growing due to the updates from the breeder he seems really confident thankfully
I knew I wanted a black girl and there were only two in the litter so that helped narrow it down! When I picked up my girl she kissed me all over my face and then snuggled in my arms and went to sleep, so that was the clincher. She's still, at 22 months, a big snuggler and kisser and very loving. Had they all been black girls I'm not sure what I've had done!
Exciting times! We were last in the queue so didn't get a choice but we had faith in the breeder and he's an excellent little guy. I'm not sure how much you can tell about a dog's personality @ 3 weeks but good luck and look forward to hearing about it.
We picked out a male lab at 9 weeks old. We chose him because he was solid black and the only color was the whites of his eyes. He was a very active puppy, chewing and biting like most puppies. Now he is 6 months old and he can be a holy terror. He has spells where he seems like he wants to eat you up. Runs in circles around my living room at 90 mph until he lays down to sleep. Has been the worst dog I've ever seen to house train. We walk him and he goes outside and then comes back in and pee's on the floor!! I am exhausted with this dog. He has had professional training with us there. I don't know how to tell you to pick a puppy. I am going to try nuddering him to see if this helps any. Does anyone know if this is normal?
Make sure to spend plenty of time speaking with the breeder, ask lots of questions! We had a wonderful experience and were able to meet our pup’s mom and dad along with siblings from another litter. The breeder let us know that our pup would choose us. We literally sat down amidst a wriggling group of puppies and let them sniff us, crawl on us until one decided to stay a bit closer. Ruby is a joy every day and we are so happy that she has joined our family.
This is pretty much exactly what I was going to write, so thanks @Jojo83 . At three weeks they are just cute little lumps and I would question any breeder that makes you choose at that age as it doesn't make much sense.
If all the relevant health tests from the parents are done and the results are good any of the pups will be a good one for you. 3 weeks is to early to tell personality wise but you can take a good look at mum maybe dad and the pups surroundings. Is mum in good condition are the areas clean do the pups look healthy. Are they all a good weight with clean fur and are they being handled and around household noises.
We have had multiple dogs over the years. The first times we spent a lot of time discussing and debating and.... When we went to pick out Rex, one of our last ones, we were surprised that all 9 puppies looked exactly alike and acted exactly alike. My hubby finally waded in the puppy pile and grabbed one with his eyes closed... Rex has been the best dog. And probably the one that I am most bonded with. Though he has not been without issues, but neither were my children. We work with what God gave us. Of course we were confident in the breeder. We knew his other dogs and had checked out the facility. You have gotten a lot of good advice here on the forum. Enjoy your journey!
I also thought it was a bit young but I'm going to trust in the breeder. They are experienced, been breeding for over 40 years. When we visited all the puppies looked happy and healthy. The parents are health tested and the facility is clean. Thank you for your input.
I picked my Puppy at just over 3 weeks. There wasn’t much science to it. We had first pick of the litter, I knew I wanted a boy. All the puppies came charging out to us and I picked the first one up - it was a boy so I was like THIS ONE! Deciding he’d picked me as he was the most interested. I also liked that he had a tiny white strip on his chest which none of the others had, so I knew I’d be able to tell which one was mine later. I’m glad that I picked my little Stanley, but I’m sure any of the pups would have been fine. If it’s just a pet you’re looking for, generally you can’t go wrong!
