There is no doubt about it….. The verdict is in…. Great dog blood lines are important! I know that this sounds like I am stating the obvious, but the more dogs that I train, (getting close to 2000 in my career) the more I am convinced that the end result has more to do with the puppy being trained than who is training it! I am not saying that a good trainer is not important, I am only saying that it is more important that you start with a great pup! Through my training career I have observed many young dogs and I can tell you what I have learned about great pups.
First…I am considering a puppy to be any dog under 2 years old. After that, I consider them to be adult dogs. Ninety plus percent of the dogs we train are in this age bracket so I have had plenty of experience evaluating these young pups.
When a client brings his new pup to the kennel, the first thing I am looking for when trying to determine if he is going to be great is… his confidence. Great dog blood lines almost always produce confident pups. When the pup gets out of the truck, he should be a tail wagging bundle of joy! When he walks up to new people or sees new things, the tail should still be wagging. The opposite of this is the pup that has its tail tucked between its legs and is scared of everything it sees. This second pup is very unlikely to obtain greatness!
A second characteristic of a great pup is desire to fetch. Great dog blood lines will almost always yield a dog that will fetch all day long! In fact, the trainer will tire of playing fetch long before a great puppy does! The lesser dog may retrieve a few but then quit or may not retrieve at all. Speaking of desire to retrieve, I have even noticed through the years that if I throw a bumper for the dog to fetch and the dog needs to pee or poop, the great pup will do it after the retrieve and the lesser will do it before! Believe it or not, this is true almost 100 percent of the time!
A final trait that I have noticed is that great pups love to please. Great dog blood lines will almost always yield a puppy with an unrelenting desire to please it’s owner. It seems like you show them something new a time or two and they do it. I can almost see it in their eyes! They want to make you happy! The lesser dog fights tooth and nail on everything and only does exactly what he is made to do. Because of this lack of desire to please, these types of dogs are often the ones sent to professional trainers because their owners have little to no success in training on their own.
Keep these thoughts in mind as you evaluate your young dog. Remember that just because a dog may not be great doesn’t mean he can’t be made to be good! This is where a good trainer can be helpful! Not everyone on the team makes the All Stars and even fewer make the Hall of Fame! However if you find a great pup you will know it and chances are you will end up with a great dog!
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