For a Calm Family Dog, Pick the Middle Puppy of Any Breed

Cesar Millan, the dog trainer who rehabilitates difficult dogs, says a puppy's birth position in the litter matters more than the breed for finding an easy family dog. Choose a middle of the pack puppy, he says, and you get a natural follower who is happy and easy to guide.

Millan divides every litter into three temperaments. The front puppy is confident and pushy, built to give direction and protection. The middle puppy is happy-go-lucky, what Millan calls the HR of the family of the pack. The back puppy is sensitive and shy, and the easiest to live with if handled calmly.

You can read those jobs at the food bowl, he says. The front puppy is often the biggest one, the one shoving brothers and sisters away from the mother and practicing dominance early. The middle puppy gets in second and plays. The back puppy waits, hangs back, and watches.

If the mother is in another room, he offers a simple test. Walk in where the puppies are, stay quiet, and set down something they have never seen, even a pillow. The more confident puppy will come over to investigate first. The middle puppy will come over and play. The back puppy will not get close to anything new. Millan claims the response is hardwired, which is why he says it can guarantee the result you want.

Millan puts it this way: "I want a middle of the pack border collie. I want a middle of the pack golden retriever. I want a middle of the pack pitbull." You can have it, he says, because that puppy was born a natural follower and is easier to tell what to do. A front puppy, even a Chihuahua, is born with the disposition to give direction and protection, so its owner needs more knowledge. Millan keeps middles and backs himself, and says he would need to find a front dog a job, like his example of one officer and one dog doing border patrol. A back dog needs gentle steadiness, or fear takes over, and a middle dog needs calm limits, or too much excitement turns happy into hyper.