We have a problem. In fact, we have two problems over the next few days.
We need to pick one of these puppies who will stay with us forever.
Let's talk about that. I'm Ken Steepe. ,
I'm Kayl McCann and these are two adorable puppies. Welcome back to McCann Dogs.
Now it's time for Ken and I to get a new puppy.
And we have these two adorable little puppies here right now.
These are sport mix puppies, or in other words, mixed breeded or in other words,
all Canadian dog. And they were specifically bred with dog sport in mind,
which is exactly what I'm looking for. I'm looking for my next world champion.
So one of these two will have to figure out which one is gonna to be with us,
but they were bred specifically for that. Now,
sometimes we find that our students come in and they're a little bit out dogged
or they're in situations where maybe they have selected a breed or maybe a
temperament that isn't very well matched with them or their family.
So it's really important to know what types of things should you look for in
order to determine best match or the best breed or type of dog temperament.
That's gonna suit both you and your family the best.
I think one of the big mistakes that people make when they start their puppy
search process,
dog picking process is they're not looking at the right things.
There are basically four or five things that we think are really important when
it comes to picking the right dog for your family.
One of the first ones that immediately Springs to mind is something like breed
traits, and instincts. Yeah. And we see that a lot,
people come into classes and they're a little out dogged, you know, they,
they have chosen a breed that has specific tendencies yep.
That they aren't prepared for.
That's right. Yeah. You see that a lot with some of the bigger,
stronger breeds.
You need to make sure that you research the breed and you have a,
a good understanding of what that dog was bred for.
Because everybody wants different things from the dog.
There isn't really one breed that's perfect for every single family, household,
or person. It really comes down to what your lifestyle is like.
So we'll get into detail about that,
but it is important that you do some research to figure out what the dog's
innate sort of instincts and desires are and decide whether that is a good fit
for you. And your family.
Lifestyle.
When you bring that dog home and you bring that puppy home that you understand
those things you've researched the breed, you know, oh,
that sight hounds you know, love motion.
And maybe you're gonna take advantage of that by using that as part of your
training. Yeah. Maybe you have a fuzzy tug toy that, you know,
you can really reward that sight hound with because you're aware of the breed
traits and instincts. Oh,
the other thing I think about is energy level when you're picking,
when you're picking a, all a puppy that's right for your family now. Yes.
This is something we are very aware of. You know,
Kayl is picking one of these puppies specifically for agility.
So understanding their background and their energy level is a factor.
You know, we want super high drive, super high energy dogs,
but that's not right for every.
Family. Yeah. This, you know, this type of breed, these are,
are mixed breeds and they have lots of energetic breeds in them,
Terrier Border Collie, Whippet, that type of thing.
And they're designed specifically for the sport that we do,
but they might not necessarily be the best family pet because they're to be
high energy dog sport dogs,
just like we use reference the Border Collie they're bred to she, you know,
work long hours and they're not lazy go and lie down dogs. I'm think of Huskies.
Yeah. That are built to run. I mean,
this goes away from like some of the lower energy breed. They have high energy.
Yeah. These are high energy breeds. I think, you know,
hu owner that comes to us that says my dog, just, they constantly wanna walk.
You know, they're, they're pulling me down in the street. Well,
you need to know that that is something when you bring that puppy home,
when you bring that dog home,
that that is something you're gonna have to be aware of.
You're gonna need to exercise them more often, you're going to do need to do,
oh my goodness. It's a little puppy fight.
You're going to need to do more walking training because these dogs are built to
pull yeah. Temperament.
Now we have to be careful not to categorize a breed by
what we think the temperament might be. Yeah. Because as we were, you know,
mentioning earlier one breed might have several different temperaments of dogs,
but it is, and it's, it's a little hard for a new dog owner,
maybe a new puppy owner to understand what that means.
Like what does temperament.
Mean? Yeah.
Temperament means basically is what the dog's sort of nature is gonna be.
Are they a Hardy dog? Are they a little bit more sensitive by nature?
Are they more naturally attracted to people?
Are they more people pleasing type of dog or are they a little bit more
independent? You know, there's lots of variations in,
in dogs temperament in terms of generally how confident they are.
There's some dogs that are, you know,
breeds that are more often confident than not.
And sometimes there's the opposite. There's some breeds that you see, oh,
there's that breed's likely gonna be this way.
Mm-Hmm so it's important to know that it is also important to know
that when you have, you know, a litter of 10 Golden Doodle puppies,
the temperaments are gonna range very greatly within those 10 puppies.
So it's also gonna be important to know,
to be really clear about exactly what you're looking for.
And if you have a good breeder,
they will be able to say this puppy is a little softer minded this puppy's
really confident. And then you need to be able to know what's good for you,
you know, with these puppies.
One of the reasons why we have these two puppies right now is out of all of the
litter, these are the, the two puppies that I decided I wanted to pick from.
And we're having a lot of trouble because the,
they are so different from one another. They're so different. Where is that?
Yeah, for example he is very bold. He's very confident.
He is very outgoing and she is a little bit more reserved,
a little softer, but she's also very sweet. She has a really nice off button.
She's very, just a little bit more calm minded.
Yeah. Which can be really nice.
Like he takes forever and she'll just go and lie down and like relax,
which is really appealing where he's like, go, go, go, go, go.
So it's sort of deciding Ken and I are having continual continual conversations
right now as to which one of these puppies is gonna be the best fit for us.
Going forward based on, on what we're observing about them.
And that's something that you can learn through again,
good information from your breeder or whoever is helping you choose the dog.
You need to know a little bit about what you're looking for.
And of course what you're, what you're gonna end up getting. Mm-Hmm,
One of.
The other things that might seem really straightforward,
but need some consideration is the side. And,
and what's so important about the size is not picking the,
the dog or the puppy based on what they're, what size they are at eight weeks.
You gotta think out to the point where they're eight months, you know,
maybe when they're eight years, because we've had students who have come in,
you know, even in the course of grade one program,
the dog comes in at 16 weeks and it's one size.
And after for nine weeks of training, it's a totally different dog,
but that needs to be a consideration. How about Golden Doodle owners?
They come in into their properties, this cute little thing,
they get to like grade two or, but you have a size.
Strong dog.
So, you know, if you, you know, you just need to be prepared for these things.
You know, you need to be aware that your,
and it's obvious with the giant breeds, but even your Labrador retriever,
some of your Goldens yeah. Can get to be really big, strong dogs.
And that needs to be something that you're planning.
For. Yeah, absolutely.
Cuz it's important to match the size of dog to your household, even your yard.
You know, if you are an apartment lover, liver,
there's gonna be dogs that are gonna be a little bit more compatible to that
size of living. Yeah. And then if you have, you know,
a lot of property or a lot of area, then, you know,
there could be other breeds that would be better there.
So the size is really important thing to consider,
to make sure that the puppies in, in the right scenario as well, and you know,
end getting a dog that does not fit literally your lifestyle and end up working
on muscles that they don't normally use when you're out for a walks.
And it's just great general fitness as we're.
Fitness dog inside this living room.
Now keep in mind, you can do this exercise with any size dog.
I know you get a lot of questions about coat type.
You know, what type well, I think sometimes people are really to know about the,
the fur,
because you're wondering kind of what's the vacuuming situation gonna be like at
your house or if you have allergies, or if you have kids with allergies,
there's some breeds that are gonna be better for that than, than others.
There's some hypoallergenic breeds that are gonna be better for that.
So it is important to know a little bit about their coat type.
I know for these two puppies, they, they have very short coats.
So they're gonna need to have coats in the winter and,
and things that are going to have to,
to be different for them in order for them to be okay where our longhaired
Border Collies will literally lie in the snow and,
and they think that that's great.
I've also found that some of our longer breed dogs don't shed as much as the
shorter breed dogs, right? So a lot of people think, oh, short coat,
that's gonna be great, but these little hairs things just get stuck everywhere.
So you do need to think about what their shedding is like,
what their grooming is like, how often the dog's gonna be groom much.
Is that gonna cost? Sure. are you gonna do it yourself?
Are you gonna take your dog to get groomed?
Like there's a few things to consider in terms of their coat type and for their
cleanliness. And then also like how does it fit in with sort of your,
your day to day life in terms of the care that it's gonna require?
Puppy Prep Guide is jammed, packed,
full of inform everything you would need to know to prepare for your puppy
coming home. It it's things like, you know,
how to puppy prep your house what kind of crate to look for what
to do when you actually bring your puppy home for the first day,
how to actually get your puppy from where you're getting them to home. Look,
what does the car ride look like? How to introduce your,
to other people in your house, other animals in your house,
the list goes on and on and on. And we've compiled all of the common questions.
Plus also things that we think that you need to know that you probably didn't
know to ask in this Puppy Prep Guide.
And it's gonna ensure that you are gonna go into this new journey,
which is a journey. It's a good one, but it's a lot,
but it'll make you feel a lot more confident about kind of what you should do
well.
Now that you're intentionally picking the right puppy for your family,
it's time to figure out what to do when you bring them home.
Click this video right here to see or bring your puppy home series.
And if you're in the process of getting a puppy or about to bring a puppy home,
make sure you check out our Puppy Preparation Guide.
The link for that is in the.
Description below. Now on that note,
I I'm Ken I'm Kayl and these one of these puppies will be a new McCann Dogs
uppy. Happy training.