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Vizsladogs, Ltd.
Picking a Puppy?
Maybe this could be listed under Picking a Puppy? or Letting a Breeder
Pick your Puppy. By Becky Smith
I'm new to the world of Vs but I love all of the info I'm getting from
you! My biggest problem is that I can't find a breeder in my area. Does
anyone know of any breeders in Virginia or North Carolina? I want to choose
my puppy myself, not just have a distant breeder pick one and
send him/her to me!
Kelly, I'm sure you are going to get many responses to your last sentence.
The reason breeders pick puppies for people is not necessarily because
of the distance involved. You may find a breeder that lets you pick whichever
puppy you want, but I will tell you for sure that many reputable breeders
will not do that. Many will give you the choice of a couple out of the
litter, but probably not all. The reasons for that are many.
In your case, since you are "new to the world" of Vizslas,
I would HIGHLY recommend that you choose a breeder who does the picking
for you or at least limits your selection. First, the breeder has likely
years of experience with the Vizsla breed and would probably be better
able to tell
personalities at a glance (which even if you spend two days picking your
pup a glance is what you are getting) than you would as a newcomer. Secondly,
the breeder has spent the last 7 weeks with the puppies, watching them
grow and develop personalities. The breeder knows which pup is dominant,
which is the most docile, which is the most bold, which will likely be
a handful and challenge you, which will not. Many times the breeder has
done temperament tests on the pups to help make these determinations.
As a first time owner, you definitely do not want the most dominant, nor
do you want the one that the others pick on or that is the last to come
out and greet you. You need one that is in between. Another consideration
is that the breeder probably will have some people looking for pups with
show potential. If you are not, you probably will not be able to take
one of the pups that the breeder thinks may turn out to be showable. They
may have some people who are looking for performance dogs (field trials,
hunt tests, agility, competitive obedience.) The breeder will probably
have some idea which those pups would be also.
Remember, it is in the breeder's (and the breed's) best interest for
puppy/owner matches to be good ones. Breeders have invested a lot of time,
effort and money in their litters. In my opinion, choosing the right breeder
is more important than choosing the particular pup from a litter. If you
find the right breeder and the right litter, you'll get the right pup.
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