Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on May 13, 2010 at 8:45am

Yes and no to the play fighting and other personality traits. You can see some traits as to submissive ,outgoing or aggressive! You probably have a fairly mellow laid back pup which is good but now you as a new "parent" will be responsible for "shaping" that personality more. Once Donny has all his shots it is very important to socialize him with people,other dogs,car rides,noises and playing. This will make a huge difference in who he will become. I had 2 pups that I chose for a therapy dog and I think the pup is doing very well and getting what she needs to become a good therapy dog. I am still deciding whether or not to keep Sage (the other pup I chose) She is absolutely awesome but am now starting to socialize her to other people, things.dogs and noises outside my home before that time frame for her to learn this is gone! Hope this helps!

Congratulations and have fun!

Permalink Reply by Roger/Laurie on May 13, 2010 at 10:04am

When we picked out out Chepstow he was 8 weeks. When we walked into the house all the puppies were in a large pen. Some sleeping but most were playing. The minute we walked into the door Chepstow stopped what ever he was doing and ran to the edge of the pen jumped up and said "hi, are you here to see me"! None of the other pups even seems care if new people were there. We picked him because he seemed so happy to see us. To this day (he is 4) meeting people is his favorite thing. He loves everyone. When we are out walking if someone is in their yard or walking he can hardly control himself until he can say hi.

Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on May 13, 2010 at 11:11am

@ Roger and Laurie. How true! If my pups are ready and the people can come here...the dogs certainly "pick" them. I have had 3 people here that had 2 different pups they were thinking of and all of the pups picked their new owners (you can tell) and I also let the new owners know this also (to watch for who is choosing them)! My 1st corgi chose me and he is my best buddy!

Permalink Reply by Beth on May 13, 2010 at 10:15am

Some new studies have called into question the whole accuracy of puppy personality testing; when observed by objective testers, some aspects seem to change over time. Still, early testing is the best we have to go on now. I don't know how much they can tell at 4 weeks, though. I know that we met the litter at around 6 or 7 weeks. At that time, the breeder said she hadn't even evaluated them all yet so she could not tell us which puppy would be ours. We brought Jack home at 10 weeks. We asked for a puppy who would cope well living across the street from a very busy park.

We were told that pretty much nothing bothered him. For some reason I misinterpreted that to mean he would was fairly submissive, which he is NOT. What she meant was, well, that nothing bothered him. When he was 10 weeks old if he heard a scary noise, he would run towards it instead of away from it. To this day very little bothers him and he's my bomb-proof boy. He takes everything in stride; screaming kids, rude dogs, bouncy puppies, track teams. To date I have only found one thing that upsets him and that is, apparently, pot-belllied pigs.

Permalink Reply by Allison Musick on May 14, 2010 at 7:57pm

that's hilarious. :)

Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on May 13, 2010 at 11:45am

I think you can see tendency's but few people can actually predict what they will be like. When we got our standard poodle many years ago he was a 3 1/2 month old that was the last pup. I asked why he was last picked and the breeder (also became our vet) said he was the least outgoing of the pups but he thought he would be a great family dog. We had him 18 years and he was not shy at all and a fabulous family pet. Izzy was a left over puppy too. The breeder told me she thought Izzy would be a good fit because she really focused on the other dogs and we wanted a good match for Sparty. Izzy loves people and wants attention all the time (and she has been a good fit with Sparty). I picked Sparty because he seemed like the least intent on eating me. We nicknamed him Jaws as a puppy and had a devil of a time convincing him not to eat all our fingers for the first few months. An experienced breeder is probably the best predictor but once he is in your home you will have a lot to do with it. I would guess that the temperament of the parents would be good info but I am just guessing! Good luck with your new baby and enjoy him they grow up fast.

Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on May 13, 2010 at 12:02pm

@ Bev, Yes, Bev the parents do make a difference! My 2 females are totally different and there pups will be also...to an extent and depending the traits they inherit! My one mom is very mellow and the other mom needs a job! My pups that are more like their mothers will be much different from the 2 litters!

Permalink Reply by Haley Merlot on May 13, 2010 at 4:38pm

Thanks for posting guys! :)

It's sounding like it's hard to tell at the wee age of 4 weeks, and that part of Don's personality will have to do with the environment I raise him in. Our house is very quiet, and we are quiet people. Even if he turns out to be the opposite of a quiet dog, I'm looking forward to his behavioral training (I've raised a border collie, so training's important to me.) I believe that a happy dog is a structured dog, a dog with a job in an environment conducive to learning. And I plan to give him a lot of love, no matter what he's like.
I guess I was just daydreaming, wondering what I'll see when I pick him up. It's so hard to wait!

I wish the breeder had done an Aptitude Test--- I asked her to, but she declined. Um, okay. I'll do it after the fact! :)

Jane Christensen, I agree that socialization is the key-- Donny's already enrolled in puppy kindergarten in mid June and until then I've arranged playdates with friends to come over just for him. I can't wait until he gets all his immunizations and can go for walks!

Permalink Reply by Carla on May 13, 2010 at 6:59pm

I expect that a large part of it is also a self-fulfilling prophecy. Your dog exhibits certain desirable behaviours as a pup, which you like and, in turn, reinforce through your own behaviours and actions (both conscious and unconscious).

For example, perhaps someone is naturally drawn to a certain dog (calm, excited, happy, playful, whatever) because you share those traits (you are also a calm, excited, happy, playful person). Then, through your own personality and behaviour, those traits that you already saw in that particular dog become more pronounced.

I suspect it's a combination of both personality traits the dog has, and your interaction with those traits through socialization and learning.

Casey, for example, was always the first dog out of the box when we came over and she's still the first one to run up to a new person/other dog to greet them (and nearly tears my arm off to do so).

The first time we met her (at about 4 weeks) she crawled right up to me and started licking my kneecap (I was kneeling on the ground). She's now 10 months old, and if I'm standing in the kitchen doing something, every once and a while I'll look down and she'll be sitting right in front of me, her face at about my shin/knee height, licking my pants (or my leg if I'm wearing shorts). I'm sure I've reinforced this behaviour (because it's so adorable!) but she did start off doing it on her own the first time we met.

Permalink Reply by Haley Merlot on May 13, 2010 at 4:43pm

Pot-bellied pigs! heehee.

I wish Donovan had chosen me! He was so dead asleep when I was holding him, his head rolled back. I chose him based on what the breeder told me about him-- apparently she would pack him around the house, and he handled children and cats well.

Permalink Reply by bebe on May 14, 2010 at 10:55am

I'll also be facing the same problem in June, when the litter is expected. I dont want mine to be too independent like my cocker spaniel. She would be in her bed ready to nap again BEFORE I leave for classes in the morning! I suppose talking to your breeder is the only way to tell their personality at this age.

Good luck!

Permalink Reply by Ashley and Copper on May 15, 2010 at 9:53am

If I can say anything about choosing the corgi is look at their eyes. I do not know what is it and I may sound crazy but with my two corgi's, just by looking at their eyes, I knew they were mine. It hasn't failed me with any of my dogs yet. good luck!