This is probably going to sound weird, but I don’t actually look at these little nuggets as “puppies” – meaning a category that is usually associated with “cute and adorable”. Before you think I’m Cruella de Vil, let me explain…
When I look at them, I see early blueprints of adult dogs. I knew it already, but I’ve now seen it with my own eyes: dogs are not born blank slates at all, and some of their fundamental character is already there when they’re born. That is why choice of parents matters, and that is one of the biggest unknowns for most dog owners – they don’t know anything about their dogs’ origins or background, not even those who get their dog from a responsible, ethical breeder because they don’t know why and how they should ask about it.
“A sweet/lovely dog” is not a temperament description – it’s a subjective value statement that means very little. Some countries like Sweden have formal temperament testing even for pet dogs, and the results go into the dog’s records. I assume that also means you can ask a breeder for them before buying a puppy, which seems like a great piece of information to have. In lieu of that, I filmed a lot of Grace’s behaviour so that anyone interested could see her in a range of situations and decide for themselves if a dog like her would be right for them.
I’ll post some videos later where you see that these little dogs are already very active at 1 day old. When you only think of them as “puppies,” it’s cute and funny.
However, when you think of them as “early versions of adult dogs”, you might see dog who become ultimate escape artist, or a dog who is independent and adventurous – sounds fun until you reframe it as your dog not having reliable recall..
Of course, everything is a tradeoff – I don’t want a dog who is bland, beige and invisible, so you have to take the challenge that comes with strengths. These are also not deterministic things: we can shape these basic tendencies so that it is easier to live with and keep a dog safe, as well as other things.
First part of that job is mine, and eventually, I hand over to someone else to continue the work.
Time will tell who these nuggets become ❤️
BusyDoggie 