Life Stages

Choosing Puppy Litter

Selecting the right puppy is crucial to ensuring a happy, lifelong companionship. By assessing health and behavior, you increase the odds of picking a well-adjusted adult dog.

Physical Health Checklist

Pay attention to the physical health of each puppy, as it is crucial for long-term wellbeing. Healthy puppies should be energetic, with clear eyes, clean genitals, and normal breathing. Ensure the puppy’s body condition shows it is well-fed and that the coat is shiny and healthy.

Behavioral Evaluation Overview

When evaluating a puppy's behavior, look for social indicators with littermates, interest in humans, bite inhibition, handling tolerance, and sensitivity to sights and sounds.

Evaluating Social Skills with Littermates

Observe how puppies interact with one another. Notice which puppies are comfortable both on top and on the bottom in play. Puppies who adapt to different roles are likely to get along well with others.

Testing Interest in People

Approach the puppies with enthusiasm. Those who willingly engage show a promising tendency to be sociable with humans.

Assessing Bite Inhibition

Allow the puppy to nip your hand and respond vocally if it bites too hard. Puppies that react to a yelp are more likely to develop good jaw control.

Checking for Resource Guarding

Testing Handling Tolerance

Cradle the puppy gently and check its reaction to being touched or restrained. Calm puppies are more likely to adapt well to handling as adults.

Evaluating Sound and Sight Sensitivity

Introduce sudden noises or large objects at a distance to observe the puppy's reaction. Puppies that recover quickly from startles usually have a better tolerance to everyday stimuli.

Based on ASPCA Virtual Pet Behaviorist content, adapted for the Data Driven Dogs training framework.