I think the personality of the puppy can be greatly shaped by the owner and how the puppy is raised. I too wanted a puppy with a more mellow kind of personality so I have worked very hard on trying to mold him that way. I believe if you raise a dog in a calm environment, no voice raising, certainly no hitting for discipline along with obedience training at a young age to acheive behaviors like not bolting out the door, jumping on people, etc you should be okay. Memphis is 8 months old, I take him out with me to see customers (I am in sales) and he will sit calmly in his travel crate while I work, sometimes for 3 hours at a stretch and never make a peep. I can then take him out for a walk and he's not running around like a nut job but walking in the fashion in which he's been trained. My customers always point out how well behaved he is which I believe is 90% training and 10% the personality the dog was born with. In a nutshell, I you will get the personality you are looking for if you put the work in to it. |