pick of litter

this is all pre-76.

I don't think you can tell a dog is a cur before it's matured.
so I Was wondering what traits the old timers were seeking in a pup, when they had to choose one or a few pups out of a litter. (are some traits related to gameness )
Are those traits, you have to look for, changing as the pup is maturing?

and finally, besides soundness and a good temperment, what do you look for when you have to choose one pup out of a litter? do you rely on luck ?

regards

 

I don't know about what the old timers did pre-76 (wasn't born yet for another 2 years) but I usually let the pup pick me, the one most interested in me I will go with every time. If there is multipule pups interested in me, then I go to testing their reactions to things like loud noises, how they interact with the rest of the litter such as which one is dominating and things of that nature.

 

I go for the "runt" or the or the one that comes to me 1st!

YIS

 

Yea i get the runts most the time,or look for the one that catches my eye.I dont have a particular method, i just get the one i like.

 

i have always had good results picking the most outgoing pup in the litter. The one that doesnt seem affraid of new surroundings and always seems to be confident even when he's by himself. I also pick the most active pups, the barkers and the screamer, along with the escape artists. My mentor alway told me to keep a look out for the pups that escape the brood pen at a very yound age. He said it shows that they can problem solve and figure out how to get out of tough sitiuations.

 

i also like the runt, or the smallest of the sex im lookin for.

 

I look for the runt b/c they seem to always be getting the worst of things from the litter. If the pup takes it and keeps coming back for more their mine!; If picking multiple pups its the runt first then the pup with the outgoing personality that runs the pack next.
Wonka

 

i just look for health and i avoid red nose, cos i live in australia, i dont want the council to take my dog, if its a red nose you cant lie to them.

 

that's very good advice. intellegence is a great quality to have in your dog/line of dogs. a rough and dumb dog may take a hog down quick but the more intellegent and defensive dogs will hunt for many more years.

i have this young female that has tore her kennel all to hell. she knows how bite the wire at the bottom and break the welds loose, then she just pulls the wire up leaving a big azz opening to get thru. this is 9 guage wire kennel panels im speaking of. until i am able to move out to the deep sticks where i can set up a proper yard with axle and chain setups, i guess i'll just keep rewelding and patching up the kennel. lol

 

The father of my pup, Onyx, does that shit and i hate it. So i built above ground pens for him and the rest of my dogs. This is the only thing that will hold Onyx, the only thing. He can clear a six ft stockade fence, break chain set ups, and bust out of crates.