We are often times asked when you will get to choose you puppy once you've placed a deposit on a litter. We do temperament testing at 7 weeks old. At that time, we evaluate the puppies to identify those who would excel first at service work, and then for other jobs families or individuals may need. We always have first spot at choosing a puppy from each litter for ourselves. Then, service homes are next in line. We then go in the order of approved applications and deposits received. We ask everyone to choose their puppy within 1-2 days of us calling and giving each puppy's test results and our recommendations.
Sometimes people want to wait until they can come visit the puppies in person, and some want to wait until puppy pick up day. We simply cannot wait that long to know who is going where and we owe it to placements further down the list, to be able to choose their puppy prior to that point as well.
We will perform the temperament tests and share the results with everyone on the litter list at that point. We will then go over the best and worst puppy(ies), on an individual basis, for each home as every one may have unique needs related to other pets, children, ages of household members, etc. We will FaceTime, text, call, whatever is needed to help make the decision easier on each new puppy owner. We will make some puppies "off limits" based on scores and personal witness to a puppy's personality as well. Most of the time though, you will have 2 or more puppies who may be best suited for you, from whom you can choose. Ultimately, the decision is yours, but also keep in mind, we know these babies best and have only had a handful of dogs returned to use over the past many years and only two because it just wasn't the right "fit". We must be doing something right when it comes to matching homes to puppies.
So, no, you may not wait to choose your puppy until go home day. This would make it difficult on everyone following your spot in line. We also encourage new homes to send in an article of fabric for us to introduce your specific puppy to in his/her crate when they start sleeping alone in their crate. We will also start using his/her new name if it has been chosen before going to his/her permanent home. Choosing your puppy is exciting and we know how much you've been waiting to find out who is yours. We would hate to make you wait longer than necessary and hope you understand your choice impacts those following behind you in line. Time is of the essence :)