Screening a puppy for personality?
 

So some of you know I am getting a baby in May (YAY!!). I really want a dog that is more laid back and mellow and that loves to be held. I would run from a hyper dog (its just not what I am comfortable with)! Now I have been told its very hard to predict a puppy's personality from an early age. However, is it at least possible to tell if puppy will be hyper?

My puppy is 6 weeks. I've visited her at the breeders house twice. Once she slept on me from the moment I picked her up and kept sleeping until I left. Her brother seemed more active at first then settled himself down on the breeders lap and just fell asleep there. The second time I would hold her but then she would wiggle out of my hands and want to be put down because she wanted to play. She seemed more curious about her surroundings while her brother was chewing on my boyfriends hoodie strings and shoes, lol. Her brother eventually went on my boyfriends lap and essentially just "chilled" there lol. He wasn't sleeping just laying on him.

So I got a little scared wondering if my puppy was only ok with being held when she's sleeping and won't want to be held otherwise. I want a dog who will love to be held. So far the boy seems to like it more than her...I think. He was actually the one who put himself on my boyfriends lap and was actually awake on his lap. My girlie was just on me when she was asleep.

Am I getting ahead of myself and jumping the gun? Or is this really insight to her future personality/temperament? Can I really foretell what she will be like at only 6 weeks? Is there a way to make her like being held from an early age? I already have a nutty, active yorkie who isn't much for being held and cuddled. I need a love bug!!

Not much help here- no animal I have ever gotten- from a breeder, shelter, or rescue has acted the same once home as they did in their previous surroundings. They all seem to take a while (weeks to months) to acclimate to their new surroundings and really let their personality come through.

Well Marley can be really hyper..running everywhere and trying to get out of my arms. But other times she is cuddling by my side asleep or sitting in my lap. When I went to visit her at 11 weeks she was active, scurrying everywhere but I would consider her a lap dog now. My mom's dog (who is a Pomeranian) was very docile and shy when she was a puppy but is pretty active now and does not sit on laps as much as Marley. So I guess sometimes it can be opposite..

:) that's soothing to hear. Layla was pretty shy too when I picked her out. She's now very nutty lol and can get hyper. Something I noticed was that she would push away from my chest when I held her instead of resting her chest on mine. Like she wasn't comfortable with it or didn't trust me. Still does this.

The new puppy will let me hold her on her back and definitely seems more at east than my stiff little Layla. Who, by the way, I still love bucketloads!!

ArmaniMan.... since my breeder's house IS her current surroundings and where she was born and has lived her whole life, wouldn't she be showing her true personality there? Because she's comfortable there? And therefore know what she to expect for after she settles down in my house?

haha- you would think! Chloe acts very different then she did at her breeders- she was the runt of the litter and I guess was overshadowed by her larger more outgoing brothers. She seemed so sweet and quiet- I picked her because she fell asleep under my chin and didn't want to leave me. Then I brought her home and her devil horns came out. :p Armani is more similar to to what he was like at the breeders but when I went to see him his only other littermate had already gone home. So maybe it has something to do with litter dynamics- who knows. :confused:

Yeah maybe! The breeder says she beats up her brother, lol...which is funny because she is smaller than him.:D

Blah, well I don't know! :confuse2:

Have you shared your concerns with your breeder? As she is with your pup everyday, she should be able to give you a pretty good idea of your pup's personality & temperament.

I think there are some online evaluation tests for predicting puppies' nature but it is a series of things that you try with the puppy rather than just holding them or watching them play. I don't really know myself if these tests are good predictors of personality traits but the monks of New Skete seem to put a lot of credence into their puppy testing. You might Google Monks of New Skete personality test or some such phrase just to see.

I love the Monks of New Skete dog books!!!

I've heard that a dog raised in a noisy, active home is a hyper dog, and one raised in a quiet home is a quiet dog. This has held true for the two dogs I've owned.

Verdoll,

Yorkie Males can be very patient with Females and Puppies.
BUT, don't think it's all the Male !!
Yorkie Females can be very strong pack members, and
it's not beyond their capability to be the Alpha, even
when there's a more tenured Male present.
A lot of the "busy work" in a Yorkie Pack, can be handed
off to the Females. Patrolling, dispatching transient objectionables
other stuff too.