Tips on Picking Out the Perfect Puppy

How exciting! You're ready to pick a puppy to bring home. Maybe you already know the breed of dog you prefer. Or, perhaps your heart is set to adopt an orphan pup from the humane society. But still, there are things you need to check out in your quest for the perfect pup. All golden retrievers are not the same. All designer dogs are not the same. And certainly, humane-society pooches can have plenty of question marks. Yet, with a few guidelines, you can be a choosy puppy-picker and find the one that's ideal for you and your family.

No-No's in Puppy Picking

No No #1: Don't Let the Puppy Do the Picking. You pick the puppy; the puppy doesn't pick you. Just don't fall in love too easily, as the song says, and don't fall in love too fast. You have some checking to do.

No No #2: Don't Pick a Pet-Store Puppy. In case you haven't noticed, reputable pet stores don't carry puppies. And unfortunately, many of the ones who do buy pups from puppy mills where they receive poor care, poor handling, poor diet and too early of removal from the mother. The best place to pick your pup is from a reliable breeder with lots of references, where you can actually meet the parents of the puppies. Or, choose from the humane society, where just about all you'll know is that the pup did not come from a puppy farm.

What Age Puppy to Pick

Ideally, your adorable puppy will be seven or eight weeks of age; any younger and the pup will have been taken away from mom and siblings too soon. Stan Rawlinson, the dog listener, says puppies over 12 weeks of age should be avoided too, unless you know they were kept indoors in a loving home with plenty of human contact, so they're already people-puppies. This is opposed to puppies kept outside in a kennel or cooped up in a cage.

How to Pick a Healthy Puppy

Your healthy puppy will be bright-eyed and energetic, and with no discharge from those bright eyes, or from the nose.

Healthy puppies will be plump and roly-poly. This does not mean potbellied, which can be a sign of worms, and not skinny with obvious ribs and hip bones (another sign of worms). Your furry baby needs to have a healthy coat too, with no patches or bare spots. Also, make sure there is no rash on its tummy or inside of its legs.

It's also smart to check the pup's hearing right now. Stand behind it and make a loud noise. Your puppy should turn around to check out the commotion immediately.

What About Size?

Remember, if your goal is to find a good specimen of a certain breed, do not pick the giant or the runt of the litter, but the one of a similar size to most of its litter mates. Or, if your goal is just to pick a puppy that will fit in your house/apartment/life, you already know a big dog needs more space than a little one--more exercise, more room to run, more food, more, more. Of course, if you're getting a pedigreed pup, the breeder can tell you about the puppy's parents' size. At the humane society you'll go by foot size, intuition and possibly a bit of guesstimating about what's in the dog's mix of breeds.

Picking a Puppy Out of the Pack by Temperament

Aww, look. That one adorable puppy ran to you immediately and started playing tug-of-teeth with your pants leg! And listen to that funny little growl! He chose you, so it must be a sign. Yes, but of what? You do not necessarily want to go home with the most aggressive, high-spirited puppy in the pack. This little dynamo will be even more high maintenance than most puppies. If you're up for that, by all means be prepared for a little hyperactive doggie darling.

And what about that sweet, shy little one in the corner, who seems to be a bit afraid of you and whose tail is tucked under? This is not a good personality trait either, and perhaps even an unsafe choice for a pet. A shy puppy may grow into a shy, skittish, defensive adult.

Sources:
http://www.doglistener.co.uk/choosing/choosing_puppy.shtml
http://www.mspca.net/pupselection.htm
http://www.yourpurebredpuppy.com/buying/articles/how-to-choose-a-puppy.html