[Luvs]

Great post Lauren!:) I would much rather buy from a breeder who is breeding for themselves and not for the demands of others.

Our very good friends owned Akasha and Keil's sire. They got first pick and told us that we could have their pick. When looking at the puppies I only looked at the females. The breeder and I discussed at length which puppy would best fit our household. I had my choice between three females. Akasha is the one I kept going back to over and over again.

When Akasha was three months old we borrowed one of her brothers. We fell in love with him and decided we wanted him also. At this time the remaining puppies were at our friends house who owned their sire. Several days after talking to them they brought us our new puppy. It was not the puppy we had wanted. We had wanted the one that we brought home for those few days. They thought that Keil would be a much better fit and boy were they RIGHT! I am sooooo thankful that they gave us Keil and not his brother. Looking at both boys now there is a HUGE difference in both temperment and looks. If we had gotten his brother my daughter and I would not even consider doing any therapy work with him. He is not as self assured and laid back as Keil. Keil is very stable and nothing bothers him. His brother is a whole different story. I do think that part of it is a lack of training and socialization, but it is also his temperment. We are so lucky that things turned out the way they did. I wouldn't trade either Keil or Akasha for anything!

I would NOT hesitate to let a breeder I trusted and respected pick out my next puppy. ;)