Question about pups

Question
Hello,

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions.  You are going to need a coffee or tea for this e-mail.  I have a few questions about German Shepherd puppies.  This week I plan to look at German Shepherd pup that I am going to adopt/buy from a farmer who said that the dogs were registered with the CKC; (not the Canadian one) the dam is a 5 year German Shepherd this is her 3rd littler.  Great temperament very nice friendly dog.  From what I was told the Sire is more wild, more of a pack mentality.  Not sure of the age but both parents are on property.  The dogs were born on December 27, 2008 this makes the dogs 3 weeks old. The breeder he is not sure if there are any flees on the pups, but all dogs are healthy.  These dog are outside dogs that live in a barn. I know that I have to wait 8 weeks to get the pup; here are the questions.  Is it to early to look at the dogs or should I wait until six weeks to see the personality of the dog?  Is there a test that you give the pups to see if they are the right dog fro you?  Ex: To get a general idea of where they are as far as dominance, independence, and such by how they react to different situations? What would you look for in a pup health wise and what questions should I ask?

Thank you for you time and advice in this matter.

Mike

Answer
Selecting a good puppy is difficult.  Much of the advice is written by people breeding puppies for show, and for all their talk about improving the breed, they often cut corners on health and temperament.  It wouldn't hurt to read through http://www.woodhavenlabs.com/articles.html#breeding  You do have a month.  Remember, nearly everything you read about dogs is written by somebody with an agenda.  

Yes, get a good look at the parents.  Even if they lack health certifications if they seem to be healthy and vigorous without skin problems, you might take a chance on them.  

As for the puppies, it is hard to tell too much.  Look for active ones with a good coat.  They are likely to similar to their parents in size, but the largest and smallest ones may be larger or smaller.  There are tests, but I don't thing they are used much.  Do a search on the Volhard Test.  Partly what you want depends on your experience level.  If you see one puppy come up and push another away from the mother's nipple, it could be a strong willed one better left to a more experienced owner.  Runts often are the same way.  Both can be great dogs in the hands of the experienced.