What Age Did You Pick Your Puppy?

I am curious as I know breeders differ when it comes to these things. The ideal in my head is when the pup is 4 weeks onwards. I did this with my Shadow. We were the first people on the breeders waiting list, so we were given pick of the litter I had an idea I wanted a silver pup and there was two in the litter. Every week the breeder sent us pics. At four weeks of age we were allowed to go and pick, we were allowed to pick from the whole litter. We still chose Shad, he stood out from the rest, to us.

Also, I don't know how common it is, but I know some breeders pick which pup will go to whom. Do you have any experience of this? And what are your thoughts?

4-5 weeks for all.

We picked Ela at 5 weeks and Raina at 4 weeks (we had 1st pick both times), i wouldnt want to pick any earlier then that as you have no idea what the dogs going to be like.

Re breeders picking for you when we got Ela we were worried about a pushy bitch upsetting Cassie so we told the breeder what we were looking for. She gave us a choice of two girls that would suit us best, luckliy the girl i liked the look of from the start was one of them She was dead on about her personality as well.

My parents picked out their puppy when she was about 4 weeks old. They got to visit as often as they wanted and brought her home when she was nearly 9 weeks old.

Karma was bred by my mum so I got to see the litter daily, and interact with them all anyway! when they were born I had my eye close on a hairless male, but that wasnt to be. When Karma was 5weeks old, I decided I was defo having her, no two ways about It.. Infact the second she was born my heart melted. Mum said to me the other black and white puff girl In the litter was looking more promising for the ring (as mum knew thats what I wanted to do). So I said I would keep an eye on them both and see, but deep down I knew Karma was for me. when they were 7weeks old, I was still sure I was keeping Karma and mum was still saying I would be better of keeping the other girl as she still looked more promising, and was a wee bit smaller. Anyway when It came to It I decided on Karma and am so glad I did, Yep mum was right the other female turned out to have much more about her (showing wise) Infact Karma was the only one from the litter that hasnt been shown, she grew to big, all others qualifed for crufts! Do I care? not on your nelly, Im so glad I picked her she Is a great pet and a right happy, fun dog to be around.


With Star again mum bred her, and she picked which one would be staying.. Im just the handler. Mum decided at 5months old Star was the one, we kept two until then. (But we did have a home waiting for the other little lady)

Yes some breeders match pups to owners, I think It can be a good Idea for people wanting to show .. A breeder has a better Idea of their lines and what their dogs can produce, have an Idea how a pup will turn out ect. So for some one wanting to show taking the breeders advice and taking the pup thats pointed out to them can be a god send, as a breeder wouldnt want to sell a pup to a show home thats not looking promising showing wise. But of course Its not always black and white like that!

Hi Rachel, when I mentioned breeders picking, I meant when they say, this is your pup. Years ago, (way before my time), OH had a St Bernard and when he went to pick his pup he was told this is your one.

I picked Maggie at 13 days old....

I picked both Gideon and Bradley the day they were born, and didn't change my mind about them, even to this day I still consider them to be the best, in my eye, of their litters. Of course I am proud of the litters I bred, but when I visit the littermates I can see exactly why I picked those boys, both have better bone and, in my mind, better heads than the others, who are gorgeous in their own rights, it just comes down to me being picky

Fabian I saw when he was about a week old, he also caught my eye but I wasn't intending having anything from the litter as I had planned on using Leon, (Fabeys dad), on one of my girls eventually. However, my eye kept going to him and, in the end, I had him, I never regretted it.

When I collected Remy her breeder had lined another one up for me, but I saw Remy, who was still available, and persuaded her to let me have her...another one I didn't regret for a moment

Henry was kept by his breeder so now, at 14 months he has everything I want in a dog, but I also know he must have had that something special in order for his breeder to have kept him as she only keeps the best for herself and onlylet me have him because of my circumstances

sorry, posted no 6, in answer to Rachels post and got some answers inbetween!!

Crysania , do you think your parents have a better bond with the dog as they visited a few times before bringing pp home?

DevilDogz, sounds like it was meant to be xxxxxx

To be honest - Pups change so much anyway - even at 4-5 weeks you are not getting a good idea of their character.
I picked Tassle at 3 weeks....based on colour and markings and I was offered Siren when she was 3 days.
Siren was the Puppy you would have been told to avoid - she was never one for interacting with people - and I would not swap her for the world - she is exactly the dog I wanted in every single way.

I have no problem in breeders picking pups that they feel are most suited to specific people (in fact - sometimes I think it is quite sensible), but given how much they can change I do not think it makes a huge difference.