I asked my breeder why he had chosen one pup over the other

previous thread

and he told me that he thought I had told him I wanted a 'smaller' dog (I didn't). He said he was keeping one and that among the two remaining males, one was the biggest from the whole litter and he assumed I wanted the other one.

Does bigger mean healthier? Should I ask him to see the big one and decide from the two?

I remember when my dog had puppies, one of them had Puppy Strangle. He was the smallest of the litter, and we ended up keeping him. He turned out to be a beautiful obedient dog. We had to put him down when he was about 8 years old because of cancer, though.

Hi Richard,

Bigger does not mean better (in the dog world anyway ). You should get the dog who's temperament suits you. Bigger can mean stronger, which means that dog is more dominant or alpha...and that can mean problems to an inexperienced handler or owner.

And just because the pup is smaller now does not mean that he's going to grow up to be a dwarf. I've heard tons of stories of the runt growing up to be over standard size for the breed. Even in humans, I have a friend who is 6'6" and huge! He was 5lbs at birth!

I would talk to the breeder and ask him to disregard size and just tell you what dog he thinks suits the needs you have for a dog.

If you're experienced, picking your own pup is okay, but I do believe that for most people, breeders know their puppies better than you do and have more experience in "guestimating" how the dog will turn out. This is one reason why I believe finding a really good and experienced breeder is ABSOLUTELY the best thing you will ever do for your dog. It's the foundation everything else is built on. A bad breeder may trick you into buying a Porche with a Pinto engine, if you know what I mean.

Richard,
I would ask for a photo, now a days e-mailing a photo does not take a whole lot of effort.That way you can see for yourself and perhaps pick the one you want but I have seen a "runt" ending up being as big and at times bigger than it's sibblings.So I wouldn't go by size alone but at least have pic sent to you just to compare.

To be totally honest, I don't get a good feeling about this breeder.

Let me explain: Could you end up with a great pet? Sure! Likely so, IMO, and I'm assuming you made sure that the health and temperament testing of the parents is all in order. I think that whatever pup you get will be a good, healthy pet.

BUT any breeder who "selects" for you a puppy based on SIZE at 3 weeks of age isn't an experienced breeder. Not to say they're a BAD breeder or anything, just that they're not very experienced. Most experienced breeders don't select (or allow selection of) pups until about 7 weeks of age. This is because BEFORE then there's very little you can tell. At 3 weeks, the pup is not demonstrating many if any of the characteristics (physical/temperamental) that he will display as an adult.

So, the reason I get a bad feeling is because you are buying a pup sight unseen, from a breeder who is basically proving themselves to be at best inexperienced (especially considering THEY made their own selection at 3 weeks, LOL) and that doesn't give me a feeling of confidence in their ability to pick a pup for you.

Buying sight unseen is scary in the best of circumstances. If you can't rely on the breeder, it's downright terrifying. Do I think you'll get a good pet? Probably. No better or worse than if you'd picked him yourself I imagine. But would I go through with this purchase PERSONALLY, knowing what I look for and expect in a puppy and a breeder? Not a chance.

Best of luck, whatever you decide... Keep us posted.