Ferocia KennelS
Located in Southern Oregon

Puppy Picks

 
Puppy picks are made by us when the puppies begin their temperament evaluations between 5 and 8 weeks old. Usually puppies are matched to their owners at around 7 weeks after formal temperament evaluations are done. We do not allow puppy buyers to pick their puppies from a litter, no picks are made based on color or size. Picks are not done in order of perceived "quality." Picks are made by us to best match puppies based on their temperament to the home they are best suited for. This is why we ask so many questions about your life style and preferences. Matching puppies to their homes is based solely on what is best not only for the puppies but also for each puppy buyer. The primary difference with our placements is working pick puppies vs pet/active companion puppies. 

Why are puppy buyers not allowed to pick their puppy?

We breed for personal protection and protection sport, we keep or place the puppies best suited for this work in working homes. Most of our puppies are suitable as pets for active owners that have large breed experience, but certain puppies will not be suitable for non working homes. The traits that make this difference cannot be seen until the puppies are older, and have gone through temperament evaluations.

 

Puppies are not placed based on color, markings, or size. We do understand having preferences, we all have a certain look and even colors and markings that we like the look of the best! But we don't get to pick and keep puppies based on color or markings either, we keep the puppies that best represent the temperament and drive that are best for the work we do with our dogs, and that show the best potential to add to our breeding program in the future.

 

We keep puppies back from every single breeding, our goal with every breeding is to continue to develop and improve our program. We do not breed dogs for any other reason than to keep puppies and add to our breeding program. We do not breed any litter strictly to sell puppies. Any and all puppies that are available to outside homes are placed with great care.

 

We do not need to know everything about you or your family in order to make a puppy pick for you. When we match a puppy to a home we are looking at a few very specific traits in the puppies and a few very specific preferences and experience levels in the puppy homes. Yes, it is common for there to be more than one puppy that is suitable for a certain family. But there are also puppies that are *NOT* suitable for certain homes.

 

Please be understanding that you are not the only person on the wait list, and that everybody is looking for something a little bit different in their new puppy. There are sporting and working homes, as well as show homes, that are also on the wait list. Puppies are evaluated carefully for many different traits in order to best match the litter as a whole to the people on the wait list. Every person has a different level of experience, and has a different lifestyle. Each person on my wait list has specific traits they are hoping for, and specific traits that are not a good match.

 

To give a very basic idea of what we look at in the puppies, one trait we look at is how forgiving a puppy is. This can be seen any time the puppy is handled in a way that it doesn't want to be handled. Such as when it is time for deworming or other medication giving, bath times, grooming, or simply being restrained/held when something exciting is happening. How a puppy responds during this tells me a lot about their suitability for a specific home. A puppy that is quick to anger and slow to forgive is not going to be ideal for a family with small children. There is a range of responses to these activities and experiences, and puppies evolve a bit as they grow and develop, but these behaviors tend to stay consistent and are one of the main factors in placement.

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The traits that are evaluated in the litter cannot be seen in a single event or single visitation. "Forgiveness" as briefly outlined above is not the only trait that is considered. A combination of things are looked at in each puppy, to gauge suitability for working, sporting, show, and active pet homes. Social behavior, confidence, energy, and drive are other traits that also affect puppy placements. For show homes, conformation is also a factor in placement. 

 

Ferocia Kennels puppies are observed all day every day, they are handled and assessed for hundreds of hours to gauge their development and see which traits are most consistent in each puppy through their time here. Puppy placement is very important, we take every measure to match puppies and homes to the best of our ability, and with the understanding that the home they are placed in will affect the future expression of the traits we see when they are babies. Nurture is important, but nature is also hugely important. Training, environment, how they are raised affects future temperament by molding the puppies genetics, but cannot change genetics to something entirely different. An American Bulldog will not become a Labrador by being raised like a Labrador, nor will a Labrador become a German Shepherd if raised like a German Shepherd. Breed matters, bloodlines matter, specific breeding programs matter!

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If there are multiple puppies suitable for several homes, preferences on markings and color of those suitable puppies will be taken into account for final picks. This is not always the case, and in order to be on the wait list you must be understanding of the reality that you may not be able to choose your puppy from the litter that has a specific marking or color.

 

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