Picking a great puppy from a litter is a bit of science, a little experience, some testing and a whole load of good luck. Experienced dog people like to try experiments with the litter of puppies to see if it is possible to gain some insight into what these soon-to-be-adult dogs will be like. Humans are at a decided disadvantage picking out a pup from a litter. They are all cute; and, if you are a dog person, there is the strongest inclination to take them all home.

By no means is this a fool-proof way of assessing puppies. The testing may provide some insight - a snapshot of what pup was like on that particular day. There are too many variables and too many experiences that pup will have in the process of becoming an adult dog for any one test to claim any true validity and reliability.

With that disclaimer in mind, some people (myself included) like to sound test a pup. This means having some metal pie plates and empty soda containers to toss. When these objects land on a hard floor surface, there is an unexpected, and possibly unfamiliar noise, for the puppies.

The puppies will be startled. There are three rough categories of how pup may react:

• Some pups may think that this sound is the worse possible thing. Bad things are certain to follow. They may scamper to seek safety and run back to the mother dog. You may see other fright reactions such as trembling and yelping. For these pups, the sound was just terrible. The pup response is “I’m outta here”.
• Some pups will hold their ground. They are startled but they do not run. They are curious enough and bold enough to stay and see what will happen. These pups may show a fright reaction in trembling too but the main point is that they are confident enough to stay. The pup response is “now what?”.
• And finally, there are some pups who will challenge the noise and move towards the noise to investigate. These pups are bold and want to see what is happening. The noise draws their attention and does not really bother them. The pup response is “let’s see what’s going on here”.

Therefore, you will see the flight, fight or freeze responses in the pups. Some hunters will go as far as blowing up balloons and popping them unexpectedly. This is to simulate the sound of rifle fire. A good hunting dog will accept the sound of gunfire. Over the course of a hunting dog’s career, possibly hundreds of rounds of ammunition will be fired close by. For the hunters, a pup who will accept unexpected noise is a distinct head start.

Test the litter another day and the pups may react differently. However, the responses provide some data. The consistently noise sensitive pup may become the adult dog who thinks the household vacuum is the sound of doom. And the crash of thunder means that the end is near.

My personal preference is a dog who will be bold. That is one of the ‘personality traits’ that I look for in a pup. Even in the early days in the litter, I believe that pups show differences. A bold pup means that socializing will be easier. I can expose pup to a wider range of experiences and I can do so early in puppyhood. My approach with pups is that I have high expectations of them. And not one of them has disappoint - not ever.

Catherine Forsythe