Which gundog puppy will be pick of the litter?

Q: How do I going about choosing a puppy from the litter? I’m planning on breeding gundog puppies from my bitch this spring.

She’s five years old and I only want to have one litter from her, but because she has been such a good shooting gundog I want to keep a bitch pup so I can carry on the line. The problem I have is I don’t know how to pick one out?  I once had a bitch with hip dysplasia and I don’t want to go through that again.

I’m not keen on taking on two puppies at once because I’ve heard it said that they are harder to train together, than just the one.What would be your advice?

Choosing a puppy from the litter

A: At eight week of age it’s really guesswork. Take on a single puppy and you’ll be taking a risk on its working ability. On the other hand if the parents are proven workers then it’s likely to have inherited some of their working traits.

But a lot is down to luck when picking out a puppy at just two months old.

What about hip scores?

Even if you buy a litter of gundog puppies where both parents have been health tested (which includes hip scoring) there’s always a small chance there could be a genetic blip. Genes are unpredictable and parents with good hip scores can produce offspring with poor hip scores.

However, providing you get enough bitch pups in the litter, you’ll have more options. I would keep two puppies in the short to medium term. This will enable you to make a more balanced decision initially – certainly in terms of their temperament and character.

Watch the puppies carefully

Observe the puppies in everything they do – which will allow you to notice individual characteristics in each puppy. Depending on how long you keep them, you should be able to discover more about how the puppies respond to the early stages of training, how responsive they are, how bold they are and – possibly most important of all – how they get on with you, the handler.

Litter sisters can be very different.

Even if they are equal in all things, you may not want to keep both pups until they are 12 months old, the age at which you can have their hips X-rayed.

So run them both on until six months old and then find a vet with a good reputation for radiography who will be able to X-ray them and give you an unofficial but informed assessment of how their hips are developing.

Any abnormalities are usually beginning to show up at this stage. Once you have that information it should help you make a decision.

Two puppies together

As far as running two pups on together is concerned, it’s not something I’ve ever been too worried about, provided you make sure they spend time apart – either on their own or with an older gundog – to enable them to gain some independence.

This will help them learn life isn’t about operating as a duo and they must each learn to respect other gundogs and listen to and respect you as you embark on their early training.

Two littermates always kept together would not be my ideal scenario for getting the best out of a gundog – although I am sure others will prove me wrong.