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i have always heard about old timers picking the puppies out of a litter at 8 weeks or so that are going to be good. is there anything to this, if so what do you look for?

I always pick out the puppy that likes me and has an outgoing personality. The rest of the wifes tales are just fluff with no snuff!! LOL I just want to add get pups from hounds that are bred for what you hunt and the terrain you are hunting in.

I've got it pretty much down to a science now,It's pretty much a garentae that the pup I pick will be the worst one in the litter.lol.I don't pick pup's anymore I will let my wife or my kid's pick them, anybody but me.I do better if I let everybody else pick and just keep the leftover's.

Gerry Washburn once told me if you have a gender or color you are looking for get that, after that he said you have about as good a chance by closing your eyes reaching in and getting one. I have the same talent as Spruce Mtn. If i pick it it will be bad.

I pretty much do what spruce mountain does let my wife or kids pick them or I just get what ever is left. the biggest rule is get from proven lines.

At eight weeks hard to tell much difference in pups. The only thing I like to do is look at the feet and cull out anything that has white pads. White pads are general not as tuff as black but not always. Then i set aside the pups that look like they have tighter feet and stand more on there toes. Big paws usually arnt as tuff as small/tighter paws. Thats about the only thing I figured out over the years that helps get a pup with at least some of the charateristics I'm looking for. Once i have them seperated by the paw characteristics I get real scientific and pick the one with the longest ears.

If all of the pups have been handled, socilized and stimulated properly then the process can be a little more accurate.

Understanding the mother and knowing her traits as a young pup and what led her to the place you chose to reproduce pup out of her help a lot.
Bio Sensor or (SUPERDOG) program tactics really help. I will outline this method for those who wish to raise pups in a seperate section but trust me it really works.


This also help for
1. Improved cardiovascular performance.
2. Stronger heart beats
3. Larger adrenal glands
4. More tolerance to stress
5. Greater resistance to disease

When I go to pick up a pup out of a litter I just kind of hang out and allow the pup to pick me. There is always one that comes over and won't leave you alone after a while. That pup likes you or has chosen to hang around you for whatever reason it has. This one that picks you is much more likely to be compatible with you, will be more eager to please you. I think it makes the pup easier for you to work with. Last one I got was a lucky break--we kinda picked each other. Other than that I have a soft spot for misfits or ones that are different. They seem to be more adaptable than their littermates, never having really fit in with the rest of the crowd and are likely to be more independent. I also like a kind of hardheaded or stubborn specimen because the pushovers tend to give up sooner than their bullheaded counterparts.

I do what spruce mountain says, I just have a say as to what Breeding/Cross, after that I don't really care. I'm not sure I ever Picked my own Pup..

My favorite Dog right now wasn't one that would have picked out of the litter. My wife likes to rub that one in..

Wives are like that!!!!!!!!! LOL

I only breed when I want pup,s and when I breed I breed the best to the best .Some times you will get a pup that looks just like a dog in the pup,s background and you assume just because it look,s like a dog you realy liked that it will act like that one to. but it seem,s like they will look like one dog but act like another one.Dose'nt seem like you get the whole package over again.JMO.

ive had good luck with the runts a couple times but i cant take credit for that because my wife picked both of them. the ones i picked havent faired quite as good and yes she just cant let it go. everytime hers trees and mine are out chasing moose she has to let me know all the way out. ive been pretty lucky but other than picking from the best cross i could find im not sure what else to do either. but ive got alot to learn so hopefully ill get better but aint gonna hold my breath. good luck

I have to 4 month old B&T's and they change everyday. When I picked them up at 7 weeks one was the aggressive and assertive dog, the other was shy but super houndy looking. Now each week it is different, one is the dominant one and the other the more quiet one and then it switches. Case in point, not sure a guy can tell a pups potential when picking...I can't anyhow....Pick a litter, not a puppy and hopefully with the right training and HANDLING the pup will work....some don't

this is kind of topic related.i drove from south carolina to northern illinois to pick up a redtick pup from a long awaited cross.i picked the pup that wondered away from all the others and seemed to be trying to find something to track.at 3-4 months old he was starting his own coontracks and treeing them @ 5-6 months.needless to say he made an outstanding hound and his littermates were advertised as big time stud dogs in coonhound bloodlines.my question is @ 7 weeks old i was at a tack store buying feed and collars and an old man{local coonhunter}glanced through the box door at the pup and said son u got a problem dog in there.he said the pup would be mean.i laughed being a young know it all.he never said why and i never asked.he could only see the face of a half asleep 7 week old pup.by 1 year old u could not hunt the dog with another male.u couldnt whip him unless u tied him up first.he was a mean @$%&%@.i still wonder what he saw ,even after 10 years have went by.????