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JennaLeeDesignerDoodles
May 10, 2021 7 min

How Early Can You Tell

a Puppy’s Temperament?
We Explain
Updated: Dec 20, 2021

Experienced breeders and puppy

raisers can tell a lot about a puppy’s
temperament from an early age. Here,
we will share some of their tips with you
when it comes to learning about your
pup’s personality as well as provide a
basic understanding of the
developmental stages of puppies.

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A puppy's temperament
develops (in part) very
early, during the first two
weeks

The first period of puppy development

is called the “neonatal period,” and is
generally considered to be from birth to
two weeks of age. Puppies are born
with their eyes and ear sealed so the
first two weeks are mostly a frenzy of
nursing, snuggling, and sleeping. Even
though a neonatal pup cannot see or
hear, they are still learning about the
world through smell and touch. We
start Puppy Culture when our litters are
only three days old — holding them in
different positions and offering other
tactile stimulation such as tickling toes.

Even at this early age, puppies do react

differently to the various touching and
holding exercises. For the most part, we
do not attach much temperament
significance to the puppies’ reactions at
this age. A puppy who squirms and
squeals when held on his back is more
likely to be responding to hunger and
being away from his mom rather than
signaling that he is a more dominant
dog.

Still, there is something to be gained

from paying attention to the pups in
these early days. A puppy who is
consistently calm and quiet during each
of the puppy culture exercises or when
handled by humans at this young age,
often does develop to be a mellow,
laidback older puppy.

Nevertheless, as a general rule of

thumb, we would not want to make any
real claims about a puppy’s personality
until they are older. This is why we do
not recommend choosing a puppy this
young simply based on a photo. Many
breeders allow families to select their
puppies as soon as they are born.

Color, pattern, and coat type are all

apparent from birth, so many families
are eager to make their selection based
on these factors alone. We caution our
readers to make temperament their top
priority. That cute little female with the
perfect coloring may grow up to be the
most energetic out of the litter, which
may or may not be the right match for
your lifestyle.

You'll learn more about

your puppy's temperament
in the transition period

Returning to the topic of development,

around 2 weeks of age, puppies hit
their next big stage in maturity. From 2-
4 weeks, they are in the “transition
period,” and experience a huge leap in
sensual development and early motor
skills. It is at around 2 weeks of age that
their eyes and ears open. Around three
weeks of age, you will notice your
puppies begin to walk around with a
wobbly gait and even wag their tails
and start to play with their siblings.

Again, puppies do act differently from

one another during this period, but
sometimes it is more based on where
they are at developmentally as
opposed to true temperamental
differences. For example, the puppy
who is the most active and always play-
biting and jumping on his siblings, may
be more energetic and dominant, but it
is also possible that he is just a big
further ahead developmentally (often
the larger puppies in the litter develop
slightly faster). He may not stand out in
these areas once his siblings catch up
to him.

By 4 weeks, all of the puppies in the

litter should have the basic skills of
walking and playing down pat so their
true temperaments begin to slowly
emerge. Beginning at 4 weeks, the litter
is now in the “socialization period” of
puppy development. Around this time,
puppies become much more aware of
their surroundings.

Previously, they were content to just

chew at each other in the whelping box.
But now, they are much more interested
in the world around them and
specifically interested in interaction with
humans. The older the puppy is, the
more confident we are in making
predictions about their temperament.
Still, by 4-5 weeks, the basics of their
personalities are beginning to shine
through.

Early on, puppy

temperament can be
understood using a Puppy
Aptitude Test

While there are certainly things you can

learn about each puppy just by
observing how they interact with
people and their siblings, we find it
beneficial to give each puppy a
structured temperament test. This helps
provide verbiage to explain their
unique personalities. Breeders most
commonly use the Volhard’ Puppy
Aptitude Test.

This test should be performed as close

to 8 weeks of age as possible. We test
our puppies between 6 and 7 weeks of
age. At this age, they should all have
developed enough coordination to
officially participate in all the parts of
the test.

There are many aspects considered on

this test such as social attraction (how
people-oriented a puppy is), how
submissive they are based on their level
of comfortability with being gently
restrained by a human and even how
interested your pup is in fetch/retrieval
skills. Even if your breeder does not do
a formal temperament test on their
litters, they should be able to tell you
specifics about each pup by around 6
weeks of age.

Generic descriptions such as “adorable

and snuggly” can be indicative that the
breeder has not actually spent much
time observing and evaluating their
puppies. Breeders should know who is
the most confident pup(s) in the litter —
a puppy who is inquisitive, curious, and
the first to greet the human and the last
to fall asleep after play time will need a
different family than the puppy who is
more cautious, startles easily, and likes
to nap on laps! Your breeder should be
able to describe their puppies’
personalities in great detail.

When it comes to choosing a pup,

some breeders may let you meet the
litter yourself in person. This can be a
fun and telling experience, although we
still recommend relying on your
breeder as a source of information on
the puppies’ personalities as they
spend many hours with them on a daily
basis and may pick up on details that
are not noticeable to you in a short half-
hour meet and greet.

Nevertheless, if you as the owner are

able to meet and choose your puppy
based on temperament yourself, pay
attention. Well-socialized pups should
be willing to approach a new person
(some may do so more excitedly than
others), but all should be curious and
accepting of human interaction.
Puppies that have not been well-
socialized will be drastically behind
when it comes to various temperament
aspects.

If the litter as a whole seems nervous

and slow to approach humans, this can
be a red flag. It will be much harder to
tell specific things about each puppy’s
personality as their fear will be the most
obvious thing about them—potentially
covering up other personality nuances
such as dominance versus submission,
energy level, etc.

Socialization is an
important part

If the litter seems well-socialized and

well behaved, then it is time to pay
attention to other nuances of each of
their personalities. A puppy that quickly
runs to you and mouths at your feet or
hands, makes eye contact and follows
you eagerly will likely be very trainable,
but may be “a lot of dog.” He/she will
likely be outgoing, energetic and have
a “life of the party” type personality.
This dog would do well in an active
home (possibly with kids) and/or an
active adult who wants a dog that is
eager to participate in training.

A pup that is interested in human

interaction but is a little slower to
approach may prove to be a more
reserved dog. He/she may be more
submissive and less excitable in the
long run and therefore could be a good
fit for an older person or a family that
already has another dog.

There are other simple techniques you

can employ when meeting a litter of
pups. Make a strange sound (such as
whistling or jingling your keys) and see
which pups respond with curiosity.
Again, this would be a marker of a
confident dog who will be outgoing
and eager to participate in training.
Finally, noting which puppies stay close
to you or other humans, and which ones
interact with humans for a bit, but then
go off by themselves to sniff an
interesting object, can indicate their
level of independence.

We would like to add that even a formal

temperament test is not a perfect
crystal ball to your dog’s future
personality. It can definitely be
predictive of some factors of your pup’s
personality, but nurture also has a role
to play. If you take the friendliest, most
outgoing pup in a litter, but tie him up
in the backyard without access to new
people and experiences, he will more
than likely become very fearful of new
people!

Our goal is to match our families with a

puppy that has the right temperament
building blocks for their lifestyle, but
also educate families on how to build
upon this temperament foundation with
appropriate training and socialization!

In conclusion, one can learn things

about a puppy’s temperament as early
as 4-5 weeks, although the older they
get the more you can learn and the
more reliable a temperament test. By 6-
8 weeks, a breeder should be able to
tell you many details about your pup’s
personality. And remember, training
and socialization have a strong role to
play, too! With the right combination of
nature and nurture, you will find
yourself with a perfect companion for
the next 12+ years!

Jenna and the JLDD Team

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