# Guidelines for selecting your "Pick of the Litter"



## northdakotakid (May 12, 2004)

I thought that I would pose this question to the forum as I am at the fourth week mark for my litter and as this is my first litter I am planning to keep back a pup.

I know what I am looking for in the traits of my line, but I would love to hear your perspectives on keeping back animals.

Thank You



















A happy little girl for sure...


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## gonehuntin' (Jul 27, 2006)

This post was originally written for a person wanting a female pup. It is not directly to you, but all of the information in it is valid. I was incredibly successful picking pups using this method.

PICKING A PUPPY
You'll get a lot of conflicting views on this, but I would never buy a pup without being able to pick it myself. First, the age. Pick it no sooner that 8 weeks and it's better if the breeder holds it until 10 weeks. You can really tell a lot about them then.

You know you want a female, so that's half the battle. You've gotten some horrible advice on them though. First, they are not smarter than a male. They are equal. Not stubborn........hmmmmmmmmm. Are you married? Is your wife stubborn? I rest my case. Females are temper mental dog's to train. If you lose your patience with one, you'll end up apologizing to that dog until she decides it's time to forgive you? Tough? They can be
tougher than any male God ever created. Having said all that, I'd never own any other dog.

Before you pick the pup, you have to mark the pup. Take different color electrical ties and put a different color tie on each pup's neck. Separate the males and females. You're not interested in the males. Test only the females. They'll always fool you at this age; the
females will always be ahead of the males but they'll catch up later.

Testing. Sit on the kennel floor and see which pups crawl all over you. They probably all will. Note which ones stay with you the longest and which lose interest and wander off.
Now roll one over on it's back. It'll fight and squirm around. Time it and see how long is fights before it plain gives up. Record the color of tie and time. Have three puppybumpers with you. Test each pup alone. Throw one bumper and see if pup retrieves it. Ifit does, hold the pup and throw two bumpers 180 degrees from each other. Does pupbring one back and immediately leave to get the other one? Make a note of it. Don't throw
the bumpers more than 10-15 feet. If it get's two, try three. Throw them like an inverted T. One straight out, one to each side. Turn pup loose. See if it remembers all three or only two of them. Make a note. Now introduce a clip wing pigeon with it's wing's and feet taped so it can't move around. Throw the bird and see what the pup does. Does he go right
out, grab it and return? Is he afraid of it? Does he ignore it? Make notes.

See what we've done? We've found out which one is the people dog. We've found out who is the most tractable (by holding it on his back). We've found out who's the most intelligent by seeing who remembers the most bird's. We've seen who loves birds. In a nutshell, that's it. Pick the highest scoring pup and make him a great gun dog.

Last part is this. Save every cent of your money and buy the pup with the greatest field trial lineage you can find. Expect to pay $800.00 to $1000.00 for him. He'll be worth it.


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## BROWNDOG (Nov 2, 2004)

Go with all GH advice and pick the one you like best thats BLACK......
J/K couldn't resist.


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## stonebroke (Dec 16, 2004)

I've bred dogs for many, many years. Look at the breeding (the parents, grandparents, etc). That will tell you what to expect from a pup....there is no way anyone can pick "the best" pup from a litter..... There is no such thing as "Pick of the Litter".. When buying a pup, look at the lines, the reputation of the breeder, talk to people who have gotten pups from the breeder, etc. If you are comfortable with everything, close your eyes and grab a pup.


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## northdakotakid (May 12, 2004)

Thanks for the posts... I appreciate the insight.


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## ryanps18 (Jun 23, 2006)

there all too darn cute to let go, keep them all!!


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## sevendogs (Sep 19, 2003)

I didi not see much interest to my breed in this forum. Nevertheless, just in case, I will write how to choose the best West Siberian Laika puppy. 
First, do not pick the biggest puppy of either sex. Look for a competitive, agile and outgoing puppy, which does not shy away from hands of the owner. If the puppy is 8 weeks old, ears of best pups are upright. Some Laika pups have prick ears, like wolves, since age of 4-5 weeks.

A good puppy may come up to you to investigate, sniff, then, he may jump off and even bark a couple of times. Some pups may wag their tails and lick your hands. Either way this is OK. Worse, if the puppy is hiding and does not want to get out of the corner or out of the doghouse. At teh age of 8 weeeks or younger, this is OK and will be easily corrected at a new home. However, if the puppy is older then 12 weeks, it will take some work.


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