{"id":30537,"date":"2025-04-05T15:32:39","date_gmt":"2025-04-05T13:32:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.canecorsobarcelona.com\/how-to-choose-the-best-puppy-in-the-litter\/"},"modified":"2025-04-16T10:36:53","modified_gmt":"2025-04-16T08:36:53","slug":"how-to-choose-the-best-puppy-in-the-litter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.canecorsobarcelona.com\/en\/how-to-choose-the-best-puppy-in-the-litter\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Choose the Best Puppy – Tips from Experience"},"content":{"rendered":"

How to Choose the Best Puppy in the Litter: Real Advice from Experience<\/h2>\n

Picking a puppy isn’t something you do lightly\u2014especially if you’re not just looking for a pet, but a true companion, a working dog, a show dog, or a strong representative of the breed.<\/p>\n

Let me walk you through a few key tips that can help you figure out how to choose the best puppy from a litter<\/strong>. And by \u201cthe best,\u201d I don\u2019t mean there\u2019s only one good one and the rest are bad. All puppies can be amazing\u2014but if you’re looking for top quality<\/strong>, you\u2019ve got to pay attention to the right things.<\/p>\n

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What Should You Look for in a Puppy?<\/h3>\n

In this case, I had two puppies: a 40-day-old female and a 30-day-old male. Not from the same litter, but both black, with interesting structures. The smaller they are, the harder it is to see the real potential\u2014but not impossible.<\/p>\n

I always say there are four pillars<\/strong> to evaluate a puppy properly: health, character, socialization, and phenotype (physical quality)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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1. Health: the #1 priority<\/h3>\n

Without health, there\u2019s nothing else to discuss. Check if the puppy is active, strong, clean eyes and nose, good weight, and strong posture. A sickly puppy from the start can mean lots of problems later on.<\/p>\n

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2. Character: every pup has its own personality<\/h3>\n

There are tests like the Campbell Test<\/strong> that help evaluate personality traits. But honestly, if the breeder spends time with them every day, they already know who\u2019s the dominant one, who\u2019s timid, who guards food, who\u2019s the playful one. That\u2019s gold.<\/p>\n

You also want to match character to purpose: guard dogs need confidence. Agility dogs need energy and focus. Family dogs need to be balanced and sociable.<\/p>\n

\n

3. Socialization: essential for mental stability<\/h3>\n

A dog that hasn\u2019t been properly exposed to sounds, textures, people, other animals… will grow up scared. And a scared giant dog<\/strong> is a bad combo.<\/p>\n

From around 3\u20134 weeks, a good breeder should already be working on this. And when the puppy comes to your home, it\u2019s your job to keep going.<\/p>\n

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4. Physical Quality (Phenotype): structure and standard<\/h3>\n

Now let\u2019s talk about the technical stuff:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • \n

    The muzzle<\/strong>: it should be full and strong\u2014not thin or narrow.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  • \n

    The eyes<\/strong>: not droopy like a Neapolitan Mastiff. The tighter and darker, the better.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  • \n

    The bite<\/strong>: in breeds like Cane Corso, underbites are normal and not fully defined until months later.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  • \n

    The paws and stance<\/strong>: feet should be well-aligned, tight, like a cat’s paw.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  • \n

    Body structure<\/strong>: not too long. Cane Corsos should be nearly square in shape.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Also, the rear angulation, tail insertion (should start where the back ends), and topline (back profile) are important.<\/p>\n

    \n

    So, which one\u2019s the best puppy?<\/h3>\n

    That depends on you<\/strong>. The biggest pup? That\u2019s your choice\u2014but biggest doesn\u2019t mean best. And the smallest isn\u2019t the worst either. In small breeds like Chihuahuas, being too big disqualifies them.<\/p>\n

    It all depends on your goal and what you expect from the dog.<\/p>\n

    \n

    In summary\u2026<\/h3>\n

    Before you choose a puppy, remember the 4 pillars<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. \n

      Health<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

    2. \n

      Character<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

    3. \n

      Socialization<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

    4. \n

      Physical quality<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      And if you\u2019re looking at large breeds<\/strong> like the Cane Corso or the Italian Mastiff, these factors are even more important. Without proper emotional and social foundations, these dogs can develop serious behavioral issues later on.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":29803,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[115],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30537","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cane-corso-breed"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.canecorsobarcelona.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30537","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.canecorsobarcelona.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.canecorsobarcelona.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.canecorsobarcelona.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.canecorsobarcelona.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30537"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.canecorsobarcelona.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30537\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30581,"href":"https:\/\/www.canecorsobarcelona.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30537\/revisions\/30581"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.canecorsobarcelona.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29803"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.canecorsobarcelona.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.canecorsobarcelona.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30537"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.canecorsobarcelona.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}