Every breeder will have their own unique puppy selection process. Some allow you to pick your own puppy based on your position on a waiting list. Some will make suggestions as to what puppies you may want, but leave the decision up to you. Others, like the breeder I am working with, make the decision fully by themselves.

I have already communicated what I am looking for in a dog, what I want to do with that dog, and what kind of home environment and lifestyle I am offering them, and the breeder will use that information to match me with a puppy that matches that description.

I picked two favorite puppies during the eight weeks I was watching the updates on the litter. My first favorite was Yellow, the puppy I felt drawn to from the beginning. My second was Orange, the biggest personality of the bunch. Both seemed like likely candidates to me based on everything I had heard about them, and if I had a say in who I would get, I would have selected one of these two.

When I opened my match email, it took me a minute to process that I will actually be bringing home the Purple puppy. I had noticed this puppy's potential early on, but fully ignored them later when I focused on the other two.

I waited for the disappointment to hit, but it never did. Reading the introduction the breeder wrote, looking at the temperament test results, and revisiting the daily updates mentioning this puppy, I knew the breeder made the right call. I'm not getting one of the puppies I wanted, but I am getting the puppy I need.

I'd like to take a moment to tell you about her:

Purple was the pick of the litter, destined to stay behind with the breeder and continue the line should she prove herself in the show ring and pass her health testing. But the universe told the breeder that now is not the right time to have a puppy in the house, and she made the decision to place her with me instead.

Purple was the very first puppy born. At 11.15 ounces, she was (and still is) the smallest, but she demonstrated big dog attitude right off the bat and would shove her larger siblings aside at mealtimes. Don't worry, it's not that she is undersized for the breed. She's actually a regular-sized puppy, and her littermates are just huge. Two of her brothers were already 17 pounds at 8 week evaluations, her sisters were all 13-14 pounds, while Purple weighed in at just under 11.

She has grown to become a social butterfly amongst the other dogs in the household, even working to win over the grumpy 14-year-old matriarch. This makes me hopeful that she will be a great playmate for Ollie.

She is one of the more cuddly puppies in the house, happy to nap with you, but loves to adventure out, too. True to her breed, she adores water and swimming in it. She is a quick learner and enjoys training. She has a lot of drive and will want a job, which is one of the many reasons she is coming to live with me.

She does not appear to be very sensitive to noise or touch. She seems to be incredibly stable, which will be important once we start training together. She is also happy to retrieve all day long.

As the show pick, she really is a gorgeous puppy. Pending evaluation at 6 months of age, I expect to be sending her into the Conformation ring in addition to giving her a sport career; I expect we'll be starting with dock diving, scentwork, and fetch tests. Once she has grown up more, I know this girl will love coursing as well.

You'll have to wait to see her, like I currently am. At the time I am writing this, I am four days away from meeting her. By the time this post escapes my queue, she will have already started her life with me.

I wanted to ask you something when it comes to the time when I can find out the sex of the baby what do you guys think I should do?

Find out if I am having a boy or girl

So this Puppy Smackdown was happening this morning. I caught it with the perfect song playing 😭💀😂

These cute lil demons are officially 8 weeks old btw….. 🙃

Jack, Esmeralda, and Ruby

Guess who involuntarily weaned himself today by biting clean through his favored bottle nipple? You guessed it, this guy.

He's been bottle feeding meat milkshakes since his first deworming back in the middle of June disrupted his feeding schedule.

Today I set his bowl up in his playpen and poured his normal bottle contents into it for him. He came back into the room and up onto the bed, crying to me that he was hungry. We repeated this twice more. Finally I brought the bowl into the bedroom with me and sat on the bed with him as I normally do when bottle feeding him, and he ate the entire contents of the bowl.

Wherever FeNRiR wants to lay down and sleep is where this ginger demon inconveniently wants to be. The canine is resisting assimilation and companionship.

One more ED shift and then I am done FOREVER.