Puppy choosing: Dominant vs Vocal? HELP

mdm282 · 11-11-2012, 09:18 PM

Hello Everyone!

So I'm soon to be new GSD owner, but I've been dog owner throughout the years! I did extensive research on different breeders, lineage background, health guarantees, etc., and ultimately decided on a particular breeder with working lines.

The pups come from high working drive lineage, so from the beginning I understood they will have high drives. Based on my preferences, I can ultimately choose from 2 females since both are very similar in their temperament.

Both are very driven and confident, so here is my dilemma (esp. since I have an 8 year old child):

Female 1: dominant over other pups (females/males), rougher with toys
Female 2: VERY vocal

So is the supposed "dominance" in F1 can really be read as one at 7 wks old? Is it just a way she plays in the dog pack? Can she become overly dominant once she's older or even possibly turn into dominant aggressive dog?

In case of F2 - Do you think that if she's so vocal at such a young age, she could be fear aggressive? Or could that and her going back/forth in the kennel be just her way of asking for play time?

Any help is much appreciated! It would be great to hear from owners who's dog expressed similar behaviors as pups and how their personality/behavior developed over time.

Thanks for all you help!

dOg · 11-11-2012, 09:26 PM

Reading pups is hard to do, but the breeder's experience at it improves overtime, and so
unless you've done it several times, I'd defer to their assessment. Often they'll do some testing around 6 weeks which once the scores are tallied will re-affirm what they already thought about who's who in the litter's hierarchy, but that can't foresee late bloomers who unexpectedly display traits unseen later.
As for vocal versus dominant, both present a different set of challenges, and you will ultimately decide and live with the one you need to learn from as for all our fretting, fate will help seal the deal.
Best of luck on your journey!

**Castlemaid** · 11-11-2012, 09:40 PM

Duplicate thread. Please direct replies here:
Puppy choosing: Dominant vs Vocal? HELP

11-11-2012, 09:18 PM	#1 (permalink)
mdm282 New Member Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 11	Puppy choosing: Dominant vs Vocal? HELP Hello Everyone! So I'm soon to be new GSD owner, but I've been dog owner throughout the years! I did extensive research on different breeders, lineage background, health guarantees, etc., and ultimately decided on a particular breeder with working lines. The pups come from high working drive lineage, so from the beginning I understood they will have high drives. Based on my preferences, I can ultimately choose from 2 females since both are very similar in their temperament. Both are very driven and confident, so here is my dilemma (esp. since I have an 8 year old child): Female 1: dominant over other pups (females/males), rougher with toys Female 2: VERY vocal So is the supposed "dominance" in F1 can really be read as one at 7 wks old? Is it just a way she plays in the dog pack? Can she become overly dominant once she's older or even possibly turn into dominant aggressive dog? In case of F2 - Do you think that if she's so vocal at such a young age, she could be fear aggressive? Or could that and her going back/forth in the kennel be just her way of asking for play time? Any help is much appreciated! It would be great to hear from owners who's dog expressed similar behaviors as pups and how their personality/behavior developed over time. Thanks for all you help!

11-11-2012, 09:26 PM	#2 (permalink)
dOg Elite Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: MItten Posts: 1,850	Reading pups is hard to do, but the breeder's experience at it improves overtime, and so unless you've done it several times, I'd defer to their assessment. Often they'll do some testing around 6 weeks which once the scores are tallied will re-affirm what they already thought about who's who in the litter's hierarchy, but that can't foresee late bloomers who unexpectedly display traits unseen later. As for vocal versus dominant, both present a different set of challenges, and you will ultimately decide and live with the one you need to learn from as for all our fretting, fate will help seal the deal. Best of luck on your journey! Last edited by dOg; 11-11-2012 at 09:29 PM.

11-11-2012, 09:40 PM	#3 (permalink)
Castlemaid The Administrator from the Great White North, eh? Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Northern British Columbia Posts: 11,300	Duplicate thread. Please direct replies here: Puppy choosing: Dominant vs Vocal? HELP __________________ Lucia Keeta BH, OB1, TR1, AD Rottweiler/Hairy Dog mix?? Shelter rescue Gryffon Vom Wildhaus BH

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