Puppy personalities
 

How soon does a good breeder know what a puppy's personality is? Are they able to pick a good match for an already established fur family? Or, is this never known until the actual meeting of the dogs?

I think a breeder should know their dogs well enough to say which ones have the strongest personality, are more outgoing, more people or dog oriented, and so on. I think it wouldn't be really known until the dogs meet but, with some discussion, a likely candidate, if there was one, could be singled out. I tend to hold my pups longer so I know them pretty well.

Other things that would affect the match-up would be age and sex of the dogs, and lifestyle of the people. From that, realistic expectations could be established. I don't think any caring breeder wants to place a pup in a situation that wouldn't be a good match so candid discussion between the breeder and prospective new owner is vital.

I remember seeing Jezebel and her 3 littermates for the first time at 5 weeks, and I really couldn't tell anything about their personalities ... but then I went back at 7 weeks and there was a definite difference between them.

The lone male just sat off by himself, very docile and when the others would try to engage him in play, he really wasn't interested. I bet now, at a year old, he is a really cuddly lap dog, without the true terrier temperament.

The two other females tried to play with their litter mates, but paid no attention to the humans. I would guess that now they still love other dogs, and are very loyal to their owners but don't care for outsiders.

Jezebel was playing with the others, but when she saw me, she stopped what she was doing and ran to me, wagging her tail and wanting attention .... then she went back to playing with the others. After a little play, she suddenly noticed my husband, and ran to greet him with wags and kisses, then back to playing with the others again. To this day, she still loves all people and all dogs, she is very social and at ease with anyone and in any situation.

Of course, I only know how she turned out in comparison to that first meeting. It would be interesting to know if my predictions for her litter mates are accurate.

I met with my breeder three times before committing to a puppy (Gracie)...each time as soon as I sat on the floor, it was Gracie who ran up and sat on my lap all quiet & contented each time, while her litter mates played. She picked me I always say. The breeder said she's the shy, quiet one. Which was what I wanted considering I'm not exactly the outdoorsy, active type, prefer a good movie than a walk around the block.
At first I hesitated thinking maybe she's a sickly one (that's how quiet she was) but in the end we bought her. Once home...free from her litter mates (2), all that shyness fell by the wayside, she came into her own and now she's quite assertive, certainly thinks she's the queen, despite having another dog already at the house. I took her to visit her breeder a year later and Gracie growled at her and wanted nothing to do with her. The breeder looked like she had her feelings hurt, but I had never seen her act that way...thus we never went back. ( a note, she did come at Gracie rapidly and tried to snatch her up, which may have startled her, plus she had other dogs barking from another room) And Carly also "picked" me as soon as I sat down, but she was all over the place and she ended up the shy and reserved one (and still a bit ADD!!). So I don't think one can really truly tell their true personalities until they get in their own new home, away from domineering litter mates and other environmental contributions, etc.
Kendra

Well for me my breeder does temperament tests on her Yorkies, and is a trainer herself. I wanted my Yorkie for certain activities, agility and obedience being the foremost in my mind.

She brought out two males, and there were other puppies present, oh my yes I wanted a male, and had them run around under and over our feet.

I asked about their personalities, and she gave a verbal description of each and a comparison between the two. Structurally both were very sound, you have to have that for agility with one male likely to go to 6 or 6.5 lbs and the other smaller maybe 5 - 5.5 lbs. One was a bit better conformation wise, than the other.

After listening to her, and watching the pups. I got down on the floor. Both immediately came over to investigate this person on their turf. lol

I held, petted, felt both many times. Watched some more. Razz kept on coming over. He was secure in my arms. I'd let him down to run n play, and a moment or two later, he had to come back again.

He was the higher drive, more curious, more confident boy. We picked each other out. I've not had one regret. His conformation came in solid and true. His coat is pure silk, his bite is scissor. He is athletic, curious, confident, and both a people person, and also loves dogs. He did for sure grow into his puppy character.

He is also affectionate and can be a lapdog, but also likes his individual time on his bed and in his crate.

He is our best guard dog. He is also stubborn, very male, and is territorial. He has absolutely no fear (when he should), so that is something I try always to be alert to.