Labradoodle Puppy, Picking which puppy

Should you pick your puppy or should we?

This question comes up now and then as back in the day people believed the puppy should select them. They came to the breeder, sat with the puppies and felt there was a connection as the puppy selected them and they selected that puppy.

Why isn't this the case anymore? Why should a breeder select a puppy for you?

My best example happened in 2007 and I title, The Sleepy Puppy.

I had a family come visit. Their daughter, who was about 10 years old, was afraid of dogs. They felt she needed a super laid back puppy to help her get over her fear and be able to bond with the puppy.

Now let's start by stating our dogs are super laid back. I used to think it was a breed issue as much as all that I do for them and their parents from 0-8 weeks but I have come to believe this is the result of out crossing (no inbreeding), selecting parents that have excellent middle of the road temperaments (service dog scale) for many generations plus of course all we do the 0-8 weeks of their lives with us. Most but not all Australian Labradoodles or Labradoodles are as laid back as I have come to see consistently in all our dogs. However, the request for a laid back dog is not an issue for us.

The family set up an appointment to visit, but had to change it at the last second due to personal reasons and we made the time to meet with them on the fly. They came to visit, we had 15 puppies, all apricot from the same litter at that point about 6 weeks old. We all met with the puppies and the family stayed for over an hour. I pointed out the 4-5 puppies I was considering for them within their gender choice (we allow families to select parents, general color and gender) of a girl. Their daughter held a few puppies, sat on the floor and was happy but cautious. After leaving the dad called and mentioned one puppy that slept the entire visit. He wanted that puppy, who he was calling the sleepy puppy. He was sure the sleepy puppy was the best fit for them. I told them that puppy was not really a good match and focused on the other 4 that really enjoyed kids (who can be unpredictable in their movements and not all puppies find easy), was a bit cautious themselves and hesitated before running up to see someone or something, flexible in what they wanted (would wait for food or their turn) and quiet. Traits that we now have set in all our dogs but not as consistently back in 2007.

The dad called a few times over the next few days pushing the idea. Finally, I had to have this discussion. We do lots for our puppies to socialize, train and prepare them for their families. One is making noise. We play the mounted police (horses) tapes for them that have all sorts of noises from thunder storms, cows, babies, horns and crowds. We have a TV in the room and play various programs. We use a vacuum near by and we put shoes in the dryer. Basically try and get them to have positive play experiences will all these sound events. That sleepy puppy had spent about 2 hours that morning barking at a shoe in the dryer. That was the only puppy that did not get past the first few seconds and ignore the sound. That little girl just had the hardest time ignoring the noise. That sleepy behavior during the visit was sheer exhaustion. That puppy had the opposite traits I would have selected for them.

This is not the only example, but in a nut shell in one hour or two the puppies that come to see you are generally the ones that slept just prior to your visit. Puppies play with each other, us, our kids and our kids friends, daily. They start to play and eat in teams, some sleep, others play, some eat, others play or sleep. If you visited daily for a week a different puppy would come to see you each time. Your smell is dependent on what you did the hour prior and each puppy will make a different choice each day. They may be interested in your unique smell or that smell is the same as someone they met prior and ignore it today. One is hungry and goes for the food over you at first and some are not hungry at the moment. What we do over 8 weeks is watch and learn each individual puppies quarks, likes, dislikes and personality. We do daily assessments and run the puppy temperament testing constantly. One puppy seems shy today because they were walking where you are sitting and a car beeped outside. Their sweet puppy brain decides today they will not walk over that way, as it may happen again. Of course it does not happen again and they eventually decide walking over there is not a problem. They think, when I lay here, this good thing happens so I will do it again and see if it happens again. They are learning but also testing their ideas every day. Some are accurate, some are not. Your visit during this period will never have a consistent result.

We know these puppies. Just like some kids are more outgoing and some are not, the best situation is when we do not ask the puppy or family to change but the family is the best fit for that puppies personality. This does not mean one is better than the other, just that this fit is the best fit.

We have a process that works, great.

At 5 weeks of age, in the weekly update we email you the FAMILY PROFILE, a questionnaire to fill out concerning your activities and puppy related relationships, including kids, other animals. At this point color and gender preferences are already set.   If all the puppies are allocated at birth due to color and gender choices (you want a chocolate boy and we only have one chocolate boy) by the families adopting we then work with each puppy to adapt them to their family. If that is impossible we would call you and suggest you opt for another litter and place the puppy with an appropriate family. If needed our trainer would be called in to review a puppy as suitable to a family, especially if the family has special needs (our daughter was in a wheelchair for a few years so we understand many unique needs). It is usually a very simple process. We use the Family Profile, the puppy Temperament Testing plus your application to match puppies within the color and gender set to families. 

At week 7, we will confirm with each family as to the puppy we feel best suits them and why. With this process we have never had a negative first few days at the puppies forever home, the puppies tend to be more initially suited to the family and vice versa.