Once you have your puppy home, you will start to develop its personality the way you want. If you know which sex you want, ask the breeder to put the other sex away to give you time to observe all the males or all the females.

Don’t pick a particular puppy just because it is the cutest! There are easy tests you can do yourself to help you determine the best choice for you. Watch them to see which puppy is watching you, making direct eye contact with you. Take a couple steps backwards away from the puppies and look closely at who moves with you. Next, take a few more steps from the group and clap your hands, snap your fingers or verbally call to encourage the puppies to follow. Open your arms in a wide fashion and call to the puppies in a higher pitched voice. Again, observe the followers. These pups would be the ones interested in human beings, thus making good companion dogs. Narrow your choices down to 2 or 3 from those couple of little tests.

Next, take each puppy in your hands. Balance it’s weight by supporting it under the rear and on the chest. Observe the pup’s reactions at this point. Is the pup struggling to break free, growling or showing it’s teeth. These are negative signs in inexperienced hands and definitely need to be corrected very early in the pup’s life. If the pup is comfortable and relaxed, maybe even licking your face or hands, then those are positive signs and those of a more submissive puppy.

Another quick test is the “rollover test” where you gently roll the pup over in your arms into a cradle position. Again the pup should be calm and relaxed. If not, try a simple growl correction to test the pups submission level. If it quickly freezes in a still position, that means the pup will probably accept human discipline easily. However, if the struggle continues, be prepared for some headstrong behaviors in the future. After socializing with each puppy a few minutes, place it back down on the floor and repeat the “walk away and follow me test”. Observe the pups for the quickest reaction to your leaving them. The quickest one to follow you could be the strongest bonding potential puppy from your choices. Repeat the procedures as a double checking system. If you’re happy with the results and the pup is attractive to you, then that’s the one for you.