I have learned many things in my short career in this sport. One of them being how to pick a pup out of a litter. I'll tell you the secret that I caught on to. Ready? Picking a puppy out of a litter is slightly more of a gamble than black jack in Las Vegas. If I can be more blunt, it's bullshit. Now I'm not saying this because I got burned recently. I don't think anyone can get burned. We all more or less know that excellent breeding does not necessarily translate to an excellent puppy. That's ok. It does bring me back to something I've said before. You have to be willing to rehome what doesn't work out. You are not a failure if you do. What is a failure is if you keep that pup and never give it a full life because you think it belongs with you. If you are taking this sport seriously then chances are you have multiple dogs. Which also means none of them gets your full attention. That is doubly true of the dog that isn't fitting your goals. That dog quickly becomes neglected. It is far better that that dog moves on to the home that needs him most. Now I will contradict myself here but what else is new? You can't write a pup off until you truly give it a chance. I've seen it lots where someone has a pup that is still not keen as it comes up on 9 months. Which of course is disappointing to no end but it doesn't mean the dog is a cull. I've seen the same 9 month old dog turn out to be the best in the litter as it flourished a few months later. So how do you pick a pup? Well pick a pup based on parents you like. Then accept what comes as it comes. Be honest with yourself about the good and the bad. Remember, they don't know the scales of cosmic fairness and they don't owe you anything. They can only be as good as they are born to be and your just there to help them flourish into that.