We want to make sure that during his 8 - 11 week period he doesn’t get frightened too much, it could have a lasting effect on him.

When you go to see the puppies, you should ask to see the mother and father. The mother and father can give you clues as to how your puppy will act. If they are social and loving to people then their pups learn this also. If they are scared and timid around people then their puppies will learn this too. Friendly wagging parents will assure you that their pups will be too.

Next, look at their surroundings. Be cautious if the puppies are brought out to you and you are not able to see their living quarters, although there might be a good reason why the puppies are brought out to you. It could also mean their living quarters are not clean or are too small. This in itself could have a negative effect on your puppy or it might not. If a breeder isn’t responsible enough to keep their areas clean, then he/she might not be as responsible in genetic and disease control of his/her dogs.

Note: Puppies purchased in pet stores, or puppies which were kept solely in small cages or other similar enclosures at a young age (between approximately 7 and 16 weeks of age), may be considerably harder to housebreak using the crate training method due to their having been forced to eliminate in their sleeping area during this formative stage of development. This is the time when most puppies are learning to eliminate outside their sleeping area. Confining them with their waste products retards the housebreaking process, and this problem can continue throughout a dog's adult life.

You want to make sure the puppies are healthy. At a glance you will be able to assess the puppy. A healthy puppy should be solid and well covered with flesh, though you should be able to feel its ribs. Its eyes, nose, ears, and anal opening should be clear and free from caked matter and offensive odors. The inside of a healthy puppy’s mouth should be pink and its gums firm. A shiny coat, firm pink skin, and foot pads with no blemishes or sores complete the picture of a healthy pup.

Although the pup might have an illness that is not detectable to the naked eye, any responsible breeder will give you a chance to take the pup to a vet. Please do this the day you pick him up or the next. Don’t wait. There might be a time limit. The vet will give him a more thorough checkup.

These are some simple tests to determine the right dog for you. They will give you a good idea of the temperament of your dog. If a breeder is annoyed that you want to do these tests, go to another breeder. A responsible breeder would know that all of their dogs could pass a temperament test.

To be able to train a dog easily, you should have a dog that is not too submissive or dominant. A very dominant puppy will fight you all the way and a submissive one will be fearful and overly timid - a difficult combination of traits to work with. Don’t fool yourself into thinking a shy pup is cute and sweet. These are impossible dogs to discipline at best and worst often become fear biters.

First observe the puppies as they interact with each other. It will soon become apparent who is dominant, and which one if any is submissive. Look for one that hold its own in the group without bullying its littermates. An easy way to determine this is to throw a glove, or something with your scent on it, into the pen with the pups. The first puppy to finally win the prize is the dominant one. The puppy that seems to be frightened of the object is the submissive one. This puppy is one to definitely avoid.

Even if you can’t observe the puppy with his littermates, you can judge whether or not a puppy is overly fearful. “Take a small rubber ball and toss it. A well-balanced puppy will run after it and pick it up and maybe play with it. One that runs away or shows no interest is not behaviorally sound.

You can make a loud noise and see how it reacts while he is occupied with something else. A normal puppy will perk up its head, look and see what the noise was, then go back to whatever it was doing. An overly fearful animal will run away.

Pick up the puppy and turn him on his back, this is submissive posture for canines, and you can tell a lot about a puppy by how he accepts this position. If it lies there comfortably and enjoys it when you stroke his belly, it is an even-tempered animal that will readily accept the fact that you’re dominant over it. What’s more, it will like being handled by the family.