# When Do Puppies Show Their Temperment



## sclevenger (Nov 11, 2012)

Not sure if this is in the right place...but. The sheltie breeder we talked to over the weekend said we could come back around 4-6 weeks to see the puppies and see which one we like because they are up and moving around.

My question is, when is the best time. If anyone saw my previous post, were looking for a calmer, laid back puppy so were basing everything on temperament instead of color/sex. So when does the puppy really start showing what they are like, I know we also have to do our part on training and socialization once the puppy comes home, but I know that some breeders do puppy temperament tests up until they leave and can pretty much match puppy to owner at a young age. 

The breeder is helping us with this, she knows what we want and will be watching the pups and keeping us updated. However, I would still like to choose a time to visit that we can kind of see for ourselves as well and also make an informed decision. 

Hope Im making sense. Thanks in advance.


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## sclevenger (Nov 11, 2012)

Also I should add, that I mean when is the soonest we could see them and still have a pretty could gage on them. I understand the title is misleading. I know that the older they are the better, bit I ment what is the soonest. lol


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## blenderpie (Oct 5, 2012)

We saw our puppy the day he was born, at three weeks, at five weeks, six weeks, and then when we picked up up. (Yay being friends with our breeder). We were between he and other at 3 weeks (at this point their all extremely similar anyway) at five weeks their personalities were all out! We had to wait for the temperament test to know for sure, so we were still between the two (but leaning towards our puppy) and then at 6 weeks, she tested our puppy early because we were so in love and needed to know if he could come home with us or not (wanted a lower prey drive of the litter since we have cats). 

So, with that long winded thing, can you go at 4 AND 6 weeks? I don't know how far away your breeder is. If you can only go once and then when you pick him/her up, I would go at 6 weeks because their personalities are way more obvious.


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## sclevenger (Nov 11, 2012)

That's cool. She isn't to far, she is about an 1.5 give or take. She said we could come several times. Were just worried about getting our deposit in, cause although she recommends what puppy would fit best, she doesn't enforce it and lets us choose and hold with deposit. That's why I was wondering when the soonest could happen.

She said at 4 weeks they kinda just wobble around, but 5 or 6 they would really be active, so we may just wait and hope for the best. Cause I would rather could without a puppy right now then put a deposit down right away and then the puppy be wrong.


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## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

If you research the standard puppy temperament test, it generally says 7 weeks is when neurological development is complete enough to see a puppy's personality, so most breeders start then. If the puppies are going home at 8 weeks, then they're pretty much looking at temperament right up until the end. My breeder had good ideas of which dogs were for which families, but she didn't make her final decision until around 7 weeks. I'm surprised your breeder makes you pick so early, but I guess it's worked for her.

You will start to see personality sooner though. We met the pups at 5.5 weeks and some things were already totally clear to me (and I'm certainly not a seasoned puppy temperament tester) - the show quality girl being kept by the breeder was the feisty independent one. The show quality boy (who we ended up with) wasn't the quietest in the litter, but was definitely more laid back than most of his siblings. In the 7 week temperament test, the girl was still feisty and my boy was still laid back (second most laid back in the litter). We didn't test them at 5.5 weeks though, just observed them, so a lot more specifics came out in the official testing. Going at 5.5 weeks was good for us because we saw the pups explore the outside for the first time (on the breeder's little patio) which gave us a lot of opportunity to observe their response to a new environment. If we had only spent time with them indoors, I'm not sure I would've had such a good feel for their personalities, so I got lucky there. I don't think I'd go earlier than 5 weeks if you want to see personalities, but they'll certainly be cute at any age!


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## sclevenger (Nov 11, 2012)

She doesn't make us pick that early, but she doesn't discourage it either. If someone already knows what they want thats fine. She has a pretty good handle on them already too. 

She does this Rule of 7. Where by 7 weeks they will have exerienced like 7 different surfaces, 7 places for a total of 7 categories with 7 in each if that makes sense.. She records their response and it really does show quite early. 7

She can already tell the most out going, maybe an agility prospect..and so forth. So when we meet them they will have already experience quite a bit, so I guess that's good. I guess I just wonder if at 4 weeks will the most laid back puppy still be the most laid back puppy at 9 weeks at pick up.


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## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

sclevenger said:


> She doesn't make us pick that early, but she doesn't discourage it either. If someone already knows what they want thats fine. She has a pretty good handle on them already too.
> 
> She does this Rule of 7. Where by 7 weeks they will have exerienced like 7 different surfaces, 7 places for a total of 7 categories with 7 in each if that makes sense.. She records their response and it really does show quite early. 7
> 
> She can already tell the most out going, maybe an agility prospect..and so forth. So when we meet them they will have already experience quite a bit, so I guess that's good. I guess I just wonder if at 4 weeks will the most laid back puppy still be the most laid back puppy at 9 weeks at pick up.


Sounds like she does a great job with socializing! With so many experiences, I'm sure she'll know a ton about their individual personalities.

I think the risk with picking the most laid back pup at 4 weeks is that you might be picking the sleepiest one at the moment. In my limited experience, the sleepiest puppies might be the ones who have spent the most time terrorizing their siblings recently and just need a rest. lol So I'm not sure you can trust your judgement on 4 week old puppies you've met once, but if you see one that you think is laid back and her observations agree with that, then I think you'll end up with the pup you want.


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## sclevenger (Nov 11, 2012)

Ya that's true! The good thing is that she does a hold period, so if we really like Pipit a but want to wait another week or two she will hold, if someone else wants to deposit on the same puppy she contacts us, gives us a few days to make a decision. 

So, if we go at 4 weeks and really like a certain puppy, we can go from her observation as well at that point, but we don't have to rush, and unless someone contacts her the next day we would probably have another week got her to do more observation and maybe another visit before we decide.

I'm just nervous lol


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## sclevenger (Nov 11, 2012)

Ya that's true! The good thing is that she does a hold period, so if we really like Pipit a but want to wait another week or two she will hold, if someone else wants to deposit on the same puppy she contacts us, gives us a few days to make a decision. 

So, if we go at 4 weeks and really like a certain puppy, we can go from her observation as well at that point, but we don't have to rush, and unless someone contacts her the next day we would probably have another week got her to do more observation and maybe another visit before we decide.

I'm just nervous lol


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## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

sclevenger said:


> Ya that's true! The good thing is that she does a hold period, so if we really like Pipit a but want to wait another week or two she will hold, if someone else wants to deposit on the same puppy she contacts us, gives us a few days to make a decision.
> 
> So, if we go at 4 weeks and really like a certain puppy, we can go from her observation as well at that point, but we don't have to rush, and unless someone contacts her the next day we would probably have another week got her to do more observation and maybe another visit before we decide.
> 
> I'm just nervous lol


Yeah, this is why I prefer when the breeder just assigns the puppies around 7 weeks. I had an idea of which one I was getting much earlier, but it was nice to know that she would weigh all of the homes before assigning puppies, rather than us missing out and getting the last puppy left no matter what it's personality. That would make me nervous too, but I'm sure you'll get a great pup who will end up being perfect for your family. Even if it's not perfect right away, you'll be in love and nothing else will matter.


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## sclevenger (Nov 11, 2012)

Ya, I wanted a breeder that would do that too. But i personally met with this breeders dogs and i fell in love with them. I love the temperament of every single one of them. lol. 

That's what i keep trying to tell myself. As long as the puppy isn't extremely far off from what we want we will be happy. We don't want an extremely dominant or active puppy, but if they are a little more active or dominant than one of its siblings we will live lol

And we have decided that if the only puppies left are to the extreme not what we want we will wait till the next litter. So I don't know why in so worried lol.


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## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

sclevenger said:


> Ya, I wanted a breeder that would do that too. But i personally met with this breeders dogs and i fell in love with them. I love the temperament of every single one of them. lol.
> 
> That's what i keep trying to tell myself. As long as the puppy isn't extremely far off from what we want we will be happy. We don't want an extremely dominant or active puppy, but if they are a little more active or dominant than one of its siblings we will live lol
> 
> And we have decided that if the only puppies left are to the extreme not what we want we will wait till the next litter. So I don't know why in so worried lol.


This was basically the attitude we went in with and it worked out for us. Of course all puppies are little hellions sometimes, but I can see that laid back attitude in my pup most days and I know he'll turn into a great dog. Loving the parents is really the most important thing and it sounds like you're set with that - you can judge puppies against each other in a litter, but at the end of the day you have to love the parents and hope the pups inherit those temperaments. I think that's at least as important as the temperament you can judge at 8 weeks old.


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## hanksimon (Mar 18, 2009)

"Nature vs. Nuture" ... For Service Dog purposes, it may be more critical. But if you get one of the middle-drive puppies in the litter, continue socializing with people, dogs, animals, noises, locations, and situations, getting him/her accustomed to the world as a safe place, and I believe that you'll get a fairly calm and laid back dog.


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## xxxxdogdragoness (Jul 22, 2010)

Lol Izze was the quietest, shyest in her litter, I wanted her more outgoing sister but she didn't "like" me (like wanted nothing to so with me) so I picked Izze, of course the dog she ended up being (once mature) was NOT the shy timid, reclusive puppy I came home with 10 yrs earlier (she passed away in Feb, RIP  ) Josefina was an easy puppy all things considered, she never whined in her crate unless she needed a bathroom break. Remember how the puppy "gets on" with you is as important as drive & temperament cuz i believe if they don't like ya now they won't like ya later. 

I would also see if the breeder will keep your pup with its siblings til at least 9 or if you can swing it, 10 weeks & give the breeder something (unwashed) of yours that you wore with your smell on it like an d t shirt or something so the pup can get acquainted with you thru smell.


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## sclevenger (Nov 11, 2012)

I actually planned on asking to keep until 10 weeks old. 

I'm sorry about your girl passing :-(

Yes, we won't pick the puppy just because it has the right qualities, we want it to click with us too.


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