Pick of the Litter
Pick of the Litter
Tips on how to pick your puppy out of the litter & the inside scoop on how momma chose me.
Have you heard the exciting news?!
Our first YouTube video has dropped, here is the inside scoop on how momma chose me!
*spoiler alert* If you don’t want the YouTube to be spoiled go check that out first and then come back to this post.
At the end of this post momma shares her top tips on how to pick out a puppy so make sure you read through to the end if you are struggling with this.
Note: Affiliate links are used whenever possible. As an Amazon Associate I earn on qualifying purchases.
Puppy Criteria
If you read our introduction post: link here, you know momma sent out a message in a local facebook group when she was ready to bring a puppy into her life. The message included some criteria: momma was looking for a boy that wasn’t going to have his tail docked.
Tail docking is common in the heeler breed, at least in America, but momma had a preference for the full tail, so she wanted to get a pup that would still have his.
Why she wanted a boy… we don’t really know. Probably the sneaky universe imprinting on her again since I was destine to be hers.
When my breeder got in contact with momma, I hadn’t been born yet so he didn’t know how many boys or girls they would have but he planned on keeping the tails so they stayed in contact. Momma was first on his list for a boy.
I was born 1 of 5 boys and 3 girls, however two of my brothers had kinks in their tails and the breeder decided it would be best to dock their tails. This narrowed down momma’s selection to 3 boys.
Babies
At this time momma knew she’d have three boys to pick from but she didn’t know much about any of us, including which 5 of the 8 were boys and even further which of the 3 still had their full tail.
The breeder would post a few photos here and there since we had been born. Momma saw this particular photo and was in love.
Maybe if she was more versed in itty bitty puppies she would be able to tell I was a boy from this photo, but to her I was just one of the 8 with an unknown gender and tail status. None the less just based on the limited photos she had, I was the one she had her eye on.
Why? Because I am smiling here in this photo and it melted her heart the minute she saw it.
The days passed by, and by three weeks old my litter mates and I began to squeal and roam around the pen. Momma began receiving videos of us and again the same puppy, me, stood out to her.
The Boys
Then finally the day came where the three boys with tails intact were identified:
The puppies did not have names so to discuss the three boys amongst themselves, momma and poppaw began referring to us as listed above.
By three weeks old there were enough buyer interested that the breeder was under pressure to let the interested folks know which puppies were available. At this point momma let the breeder know joy boy was her first choice.
A different family scooped up double patch, so momma’s decision was now down to me and single patch. Plus if we remember momma’s vision from her meditation when she was selecting a litter, her puppy was to have a single patch over the left eye.
So eliminating double patch from the selection was not too heartbreaking as both single patch and I fit the image she had received. Double patch not so much.
When momma and poppaw came to visit us at four and a half weeks old, surprisingly my brother “single patch” and I were the most interested in them.
You’ll have to watch the YouTube video if you want a more in depth analysis of the visit but over all momma was yet again conflicted.
Having been in love with me from the start she was afraid she wouldn’t give single patch a fair shot to win her over. This ended up being the opposite of what happened. She was actually more hesitant to pick me since she didn’t want to base her decision off of photos and short videos. Plus my brother made quite the first impression.
The Visits
It wasn’t until after the second visit at 5 weeks old, and reviewing the footage from the first visit meticulously, that momma was able to come to terms with the fact that I was just her dog. I had always been her dog.
We want to make it clear that both my brother and I were great options! What set us apart was good/bad through a lens of momma’s goals, lifestyle, and personality.
The nuances that made me a better fit for momma are not necessarily the same indicators others would be looking for in a dog as they may have different goals, lifestyles, and personalities.
Now the YouTube video doesn’t go into what great detail on what it is she saw in me so we will break that down now.
I was momma’s favorite in photos and videos as I conveyed a larger than life personality, full of joy, without displaying any overly assertive tendencies.
Momma had identified I was a middle-of-the-pack dog which according to Cesar Milan is going to be an easier pup to train and raise into a well-balanced adult.
Momma was so hesitant to officially pick me even though in her heart I was the one ever since she saw that photo of me as an itty bitty baby. But that is exactly what caused her hesitation. She wanted to make sure she was making her decision based on who we were not just a photo.
As momma watched backed the videos from their visits she saw clearly that I was the lower energy and more patient of the two puppies.
And if we are going to bring the universe into this again, which we might as well. For weeks leading up to the visit she had told poppaw that her puppy was going to curl up right next to her and fall asleep. As she watched back the videos while my brother wiggled around in her arms putting on a show of a lifetime, I laid down right at her foot and slept, not leaving her side.
This was her sign. I was her dog. Had she not videoed the visit she would have never known I was the one curled up at her foot and for how long. But she did and there I was doing exactly what she said I would do.
Additionally, my brother, single patch was the first pup to run up to my momma. This is not inherently a bad thing however momma had read Cesar Milan’s book, “How to Raise the Perfect Dog” and in that book Cesar warns against picking the first dog that runs up to you.
Cesar explains: “most people selecting a puppy will instantly fall in love with the first dog that climbs all over them or begins licking them. They say to themselves, ‘He loves me. He chose me. He wants to come home with me.’ … The truth is, the puppy who, like Marley, leaps out of his box to be with you may already be displaying dominant tendencies.”
Cesar then goes on to refer to “dominant tendencies” as a signal for the energy level of the dog. This is not to deter a buyer looking for a pack leader but Cesar’s goal in this book is to find a middle of the pack puppy to raise. As the middle pack dogs, not the leader or the runt, tend to be easier dogs to raise into balanced adults. This piece of advice really stuck with momma and greatly influenced her when the time came to select me.
Momma felt exactly as Cesar had explained with single patch.
She would say during the visit, “this one likes me!” and she did fall for my brother a bit… She was actually ready to take us both home.
As momma watched the videos back she could clearly see what Cesar was refering to.
It was less that single patch was into momma specifically and more that he had a high energy level and was interested in anyone that was up for giving him some attention, and as soon as something else peaked his attention he was off to explore that.
I on the other hand stuck close my momma and was very calm in my demeanor. This is exactly what momma was looking for in the long run, but harder to identify in the moment.
The loudest gets heard.
Momma saw in reviewing the videos that while I stuck by her side for the majority of the visit and calmly accepted loves, single patch was all over the place and just better at letting his presence be known.
Further single patch would stare directly into momma’s eyes. This is mesmerizing to humans, but in dogs this is another assertive tendency and a red flag to momma as single patch may be less open to training for service dog work.
In the end it all worked out. Thankfully momma videoed her visit, listened to the breeder when he explained I was the calmer one, and listened to her heart that told her from the start I was hers.
Puppy Picking Tips
So if you are looking at a litter and have no clue which puppy you should pick, here is momma’s advice to you:
If you get to visit the puppies before you select your pup: video the visit!
Ask the breeder about the puppies and help them identify the one best suited to your goals and lifestyle.
Is there a pup that just stand out to you in the videos and pictures the breeder send you? Maybe that connection is there for a reason.
If all else fails ask the universe, you may be surprised in the end with the results.
If you are serious about the puppy being a service dog it is worth considering a consult with a service dog trainer before selecting a prospect and having the litter temperament tested.
By now you know that I am Joy boy, the YouTube plot has most definitely been spoiled, however if you want to see me and my litter mates at the wee 4.5 week old mark, head over to our YouTube video here for 5 minutes of unbelievable cuteness!
But first, let us know how you picked your pup.
If it was anything like me and momma we are sure you guys were a match made in heaven!
Now go watch the YouTube video.
Seriously you don’t want to miss this cuteness:
Gearing up to bring your puppy home? This post is for you!
