I have been wondering if the most dominant puppy in a litter, turns out to be a dominant dog.

I know when they get split up, adopted, some of the more laid back ones scan come out of their shell.

But, is it accurate to brand the dominant one(s) DOMINANT?

Just wondering......

Hmmm...very interesting question. Amber was the eldest of her litter, definitely the boss of the puppies, as an adult she is reactive and would like to be dominant. My last dog was not the oldest, also not reactive or dominant but properly protective. His full brother, was also not dominant or alpha(both full gsd's) One of my malamutes again the oldest in the litter, the first to investigate and get his siblings in trouble, had a quiet authority and was accepted as leader by all dogs (probably my most impressive dog) I had a coydog at the same time who was also first in the litter and leader with siblings but was beta to the malamute. My white german sheperd was runt, shy and laid back with sibs but as an adult very alpha, although not reactive. Those are the ones I remember off the top of my head. Now, I'll be trying to remember dogs all night,lol. Great question though.

Plus, many breeders try to place the right puppy with the right home. So how accurate is the "litter order"?

I've seen some pups hold true to their litter status and some not. I think what played a key part in my malamutes was that I knew him from birth and before he was weaned we did all kinds of socializing and confidence building, alone and with his littermates. I think SO much of it has to do with what happens in crucial personality development stages.

Some stay strong dogs others are different once seperated from the other pups.

Dogs that may appear dominant with one owner may not be with a different more experienced owner. Some are just pushups and to someone less experienced will walk all over them. And seem to be very dominate.

I have seen pups that beat up other pups be handler soft dogs.

Ditto with Anne. A "pushy" dog is most often just that and a less then competent handler can allow it to blow all out of proportion.
Most folks have never seen a truly dominant dog. It's also not always about power for control. Confidence plays a bigger part then power.
No need to bully the other dogs simply because they can read the dominant dog like a book and vs versa.

I remember one of my brothers dogs, I was there when the litter born, this one was somewhere in the middle for birth order, and was very dominant among littermates, was quite a bit larger than the others. He was the one that his dam was always having to grab by the neck and put on the ground. I started teaching them very basic sit, come, down etc all the puppies were eager to learn except this one he always had the attitude who are you to tell me what to do. My brother ended up keeping him (I kept telling him to find this one a home) and he remained a very challenging adult, always looking for ways to move up in status. Also a very smart dog and could read people quite well.

My 6 yr old intact male was the 4th born in his litter. He us a really REALLY PITA "pushy" dog. Always testing the boundries, although handler soft. He has a short fuse & a big temper. He gets really PO'd when someone other then me tries to give him any commands. Yet this is NOT a dominate dog. He is also pushy & controling (if allowed to be) with his pack mates. In the wrong hands he would be a real problem...to the point of taking a big serious swipe at someone.

I have seen 2 really dominate dogs. One was a DS/GSD X (that I knew from an 8 wk old pup) & the other was a DS (that I knew from 6 months old). Both of these dogs were very serious dogs & in the hands of VERY experienced K9 handlers....& still were a big handful. One works the streets in a capital city on the east coast as a K9 & the other is an extraction dog in a prison.

Trust me when I say most of you have NOT seen a dominate dog until you see these kinds of dogs. They are so confidant & 'in control' to the point of almost being cocky, it is almost unnerving to be around them.

So... how does a breeder pick the right dog?

GOOD breeders know their lines & what they generally produce.
They spend a lot of time with their litters....observing, stimulating them with many different things, toys,surfaces, sounds, smells etc.

They socialize them with different people & often other animals. Most also temperment test them with a person they have never met & in a place (a room usually) that they have never been. The testing usually confirms what the breeder already knows about each pup. Through all this they learn a lot about each individual pup. This allows them to know what kind of home & owner they will need to flourish & be all that they can be.

They then screen perspective owners & ask may questions about what they are looking for in a dogg, what their plans are with the pup(companion only, sport dog) people in the family, where they live, house, condo etc, work hours, time they will have to devote to training & exercise, their experience with other dogs & training..the list goes on & on.... & that allows them to match a pup to a new owner.