We're picking out our puppy pretty soon...

[Oliver]

...and we have the first pick of the litter! We intend on training our Oliver to be a therapy dog and were going to tell the breeder that we were looking for a "confident yet mellow" dog. I'm getting some conflicting info since some say you should get the MOST mellow dog for therapy work, while others suggest that a dog that is "too" mellow will have difficulties in training...So, what do all of you suggest I do/look for when picking a puppy?

(Also, just to add: I don't think I'll have any problems choosing a puppy since I've looked at all of the various tests that you can perform and our breeder consistently breeds both therapy and guide dogs and will definitely help us find a puppy that is perfect for us, I just wanted to see what all of you had to say as well!)

[20xlhzzaoccks]

If you look at my post on the general discussion under the group I put some things to look for. I think there is a point where you just have to go with your gut and just know that lots of dogs with different personalities make good therapy dogs. I will just say that Steve is not a mellow dog in any sense of the word. He is very submissive and wants to please people but he is very active. He requires at least 1-2 hours of exercise a day but if he gets it he is a great compliant dog. He was also easy to train it just took him a long time to stop jumping on people in greeting because he would get so excited. For the work he does now, his personality is perfect. I am a counselor and work with a lot of kids with ADHD and almost all of them have a ton of energy. Steve is a great fit because he has a ton of energy and will play with them as much as they want and loves to fetch and run with the kids. I can't imagine a really mellow dog being a good fit for the work that I do but a mellow dog would be a great fit for other types of therapy work. So, whatever dog you choose, there is a type of setting that will be the perfect fit for him. Keep us posted in the process for sure. I'm so excited you are getting Oliver soon!

[Oliver]

Thank you so much for your reply!