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Pick of litter is less important that love of the puppy, quality of training

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The Outdoors
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By
Scott Rall, outdoor columnist

Star Herald editor Lori Sorenson recently told me her son just acquired a black Lab puppy for hunting. Most new puppies go to their new homes at seven to eight weeks of age, so that little one will be about 7 1/2 months old when he gets to use his natural instincts.
I wrote a few months back about the differences between flushing breeds and pointing breeds. Today we’ll talk about how to choose a puppy from a litter of Labrador retriever puppies. 
You are leaning over a small enclosure and there are anywhere from four to 12 little balls of fur clamoring around each other. How do you pick the right one for you? Does it matter which one you pick? What value is there in having the pick of the litter, and is it worth paying more for? These are all great questions.
The order that the puppies get picked is most often determined by who put down their deposit first. I have been associated with many Labrador breeding occasions where all of the puppies were sold before the actual breeding ever took place.
The owner of the sire usually gets the very first pick of either sex as part of the payment of the stud fee. Some stud owners’ dogs are bred so frequently that they take a monetary sum instead – or they might end up with 30 puppies in one single year.
I have had the first pick and I have had the last pick, and, in my opinion, it makes almost no difference at all. The only thing getting an early pick does is help to insure they have enough boys or girls to satisfy all of the potential purchasers. If you are the fourth to pick a female and there are only three females in the litter, then you’re out of luck and an early pick would have had advantages.
The order of the pick from a potential talent perspective matters little. Males will often grow just a little larger than their female counterparts. Males don’t have heat cycles so you don’t have to contend with that. If you choose a female and have no intentions of breeding puppies, then I would get it spayed as soon as your vet recommends.
Males and females hunt equally well. No difference can be seen. If you choose a puppy from a litter where dad is big and robust, the odds the puppies will carry that size trait is pretty good.
If there are four males to choose from and you pick the smallest one, there is a 50/50 chance he might end up a little smaller than the larger littermates, but there is certainly no guarantee it will be so.
Every legitimate breeder keeps close observation records. Behavior traits can show up early.  If there is one puppy that takes off across the back yard all by itself while all the others sheepishly huddle together, this shows a strong outgoing attitude, less fear and more dominance.
Another measure to watch is which individual member of the litter most aggressively chases a clipped wing pigeon across that same yard. These puppies may very well grow up to be a handful for the future owner/handler.
I always pick the highest energy puppy in the litter. The breeder can easily tell you which one is the most dominant and which is the most laid back.
I have a saying that it is a lot easier to wind them in than it is to wind them up. You can pick the plumbing, the comparable size and get at least a little read on their level of intensity, but that is about all you get when looking at fur balls.
One of the finest dogs I ever had was a leftover. I got him for a reduced rate and he schooled a ton of birds and lots of other dogs in the field. One key thing to remember when it comes to puppies – it  is a lot easier to get forgiveness than it is to get permission. Grab one and give it all the love you’ve got.
 
Scott Rall, Worthington, is a habitat conservationist, avid hunting and fishing enthusiast and is president of Nobles County Pheasants Forever. He can be reached at scottarall@gmail.com. or on Twitter @habitat champion.

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