First, remember that you have already done a lot of deciding before you get to the picking of the individual puppy. You have done extensive reasearch and narrowed your choices of quality kennels down to one from the many you have checked out. That is a significant process on it's own. You've chosen the kennel for it's blood lines, for it's responsible breeding program, for it's careful animal health regimens, for the love and care that are shown to the dogs and puppies, for it's reputation, for the warranty offered, for the helpful way their information is presented to you and for the respectful way the kennel people have treated you in answering all your questions.
Secondly, within the chosen kennel you have studied the available moms and dads and the breeding options that are coming up in the time frame that you are wanting to add a puppy to your home. You have considered color, coat, size and personality desired and with the help of the kennel people you have picked a particular pair of dogs and have waited patiently (or not so patiently) for the puppies to be born.
So from all the possible puppies in the world, you have drastically narrowed your choices down to a single litter even before the puppies arrive! But now you are faced with a litter of 6 or 8 or maybe even 10 puppies . . . one of them will be yours but which one? You paid the kennel your deposit early and possibly paid a premium to reserve the "PICK OF THE LITTER" or the first choice from all the pups available in that litter. In the case of Rosehall Kennel you have made an additional choice before making your deposit because you have chosen the puppy's gender as you reserved either the first pick male or the first pick female. So your choices have been narrowed down to possibly one of 3-6 pups (more or less depending upon the gender mix in the litter.) Unless you are fortunate enough to live fairly close to your kennel of choice, you probably won't be able to make weekly visits to the kennel to watch the puppies grow. (Even if you live very close to the kennel, responsible kennels do not allow visitors into the nursery until the pups are old enough develop immunities to potential diseases that they might be exposed to.)
During the first several weeks you eagerly await each new posting of photos of the litter and then photos of the individual pups. You wonder . . . which one shall it be? Some of the choices are easy early on . . . I want a traditional black and tan . . . that eliminates the white one and the sable one. Choices in coat . . . short coat, plush coat, long coat . . . take a little longer to make as sometimes it's not clear what a pup's coat will develop into until several weeks after birth. But the big event you are waiting for is the 'Temperament Test' which is done at 6 weeks of age. It is really remarkable that a fairly simple test of 9 responses can give a very reliable idea about what kind of temperament a puppy will have as it matures. While the temperament test indicates the potential of a puppy, whether the puppy develops that way is dependent upon the environment that the pup is raised in and the discipline of training that the puppy receives.
Once the Temperament Test has been done, the kennel posts a description of the pup's personalitly and potential. The kennel begins consulting with the buyers in the order they appear on the 'Pick List,' helping them with their final decision as to which pup they will take home when the puppy reaches 8 weeks of age. The goal is the perfect match . . . gender, color, coat, size, temperament . . . all perfectly matching the dreams the family has for their neww puppy.
Sound too good to be true? After all, if I don't have 1st pick, I have to take what's left . . . right? Well we have been pleasantly surprised over the years in which we have been buying puppies for the kennel, how many times we ended up having to take 4th pick in a litter from a very popular breeding only to find that the three picks before us were all looking for different qualities than we were . . . in other words . . . we got the pup that we would have chosen if we did have 'Pick of the Litter!' We also have found that to be true most (not all) of the time with people buying puppies from us. Because every family is different from all the others, everyone has a different dream puppy. That is how so many people actually end up with their 'Pick of the Litter.'
Our policy at Rosehall Kennel is that should you not be pleased with any of your available options, you can move your deposit to another upcoming litter . . . you may sacrifice the 'when you want it' but you can have another chance at the 'what you want.' . . .
So 'Pick of the Litter' is really more possible than many people think! . . . Check out our 'Puppy Dream Page' that show our plans for breeding in the near future. Dream along with us of your perfect puppy and get your deposit in for the litter of your choice!
www.rosehallkennel.com/PuppyDreamPage.htm until next time . . . Eliot (find us on Facebook too)
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