Good Breeder Center

Module 6 – Puppy Evaluations

Good Dog is on a mission to educate the public, support dog breeders, and promote canine health so we can give our dogs the world they deserve.

Good Dog is on a mission to educate the public, support dog breeders, and promote canine health so we can give our dogs the world they deserve.

These courses are for educational and informational purposes only and are not a substitute for professional veterinary advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult your veterinarian before making decisions about your dog's health, including administering supplements, changing their diet, or implementing training techniques that could affect their wellbeing.

Good Dog is on a mission to educate the public, support dog breeders, and promote canine health so we can give our dogs the world they deserve.

In This Module

Intro to Puppy Evaluations

Despite similar breeding and rearing, our puppies are going to differ from each other in many ways. If one of our goals is to match puppies to homes where they and their owners will thrive, then we need to evaluate our pups’ health, temperament, structure and possibly, working ability. Our evaluation plan will enable us to do that in a systematic way.

Matching puppies to owners benefits everyone involved. The owners will enjoy their dog more.

  • Raising a puppy is always a lot of work but that work is more rewarding and usually more successful if the pup fits well into the home. Research has also shown that when a dog meets its owner’s expectations, the dog is more likely to stay in the home and have a stronger relationship with its owner.
  • Dogs that fit well into the home they live in are more likely to have stable temperaments and better health, with fewer issues with anxiety and problematic behaviors.
  • Finally, if you match pups and owners well, you will have happier clients, deal with fewer issues, get fewer dogs back, and have a better reputation.

So, evaluating puppies is an important piece to a successful dog-breeding experience.

Download the Puppy Evaluation Study Guide, then watch the videos, and read the supporting documents.

Puppy Evaluation Class

Sample Litter Evaluation

This are sample evaluations of each pup in a litter of pups, looking at basic structure and temperament. Each evaluation is about two pages and then we provide a 10-item training plan for each pup’s owners. There are evaluations and training plans for all 8 puppies in this litter so you can see the range of results and recommendations.

Sample Puppy Evaluations

Evaluating Structure in Puppies

We evaluate puppies’ structure by “stacking” or standing them. This was a live class we did several years ago of one of our litter evaluations. It’s very much a “home movie” but it will give you an idea of the tools and techniques you can use to evaluate your pups’ structure.

Another great tool for evaluating structure in puppies is Pat Hasting’s Puppy Puzzle: Evaluating Structural Quality DVD.

Module 6 Quiz

Take the quiz after watching the class videos. Remember, you must pass and submit all the quizzes to get your Transformational Dog Breeding certificate.

Additional Resources

Health

Structural Evaluations

Working Ability

Temperament Tests

Primary Puppy Temperament Tests

Other Puppy Temperament Tests

Books and Articles about Temperament and Temperament Testing

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