The 4 Traits to Look Out for in Mom Dog When Choosing a Puppy

A puppy's personality may start taking shape long before it takes its first steps, or even opens its eyes.

Research from the University of Arizona and Canine Companions suggests that the way mother dogs interact with their puppies during the first weeks of life can be linked to behavioral differences that persist into adolescence and early adulthood.

The study followed 235 puppies from 59 litters, bred by a service dog provider, analyzing video recordings of mother-puppy interactions during the first three weeks after birth-a critical window when puppies are completely dependent on their mothers. Researchers measured behaviors such as nursing, grooming, physical contact and proximity.

“It's so interesting because the time that we're studying them, their eyes aren't even open yet,” Emily Bray, a behavioral scientist at the University of Arizona and lead author of the study, told Newsweek. “And yet we find these impacts that last well into their life.”

The findings don't point to a single "ideal" type of mother dog, but they do highlight patterns that may shape a puppy's future behavior. While most pet owners may never meet a puppy’s mother, the findings suggest that maternal behavior can offer clues about a dog’s future temperament and highlight a handful of traits worth paying attention to.

Strong Human Engagement

One of the clearest patterns in the study was that puppies raised by more attentive, hands-on mothers were more likely to show greater engagement with people later in life.

These mothers spent more time close to their puppies-nursing, grooming and maintaining physical contact-and their litters tended to grow into dogs that were more socially engaged.

Bray said this trait is especially valuable in working dogs.

Service dogs require a specific mix of traits to succeed, including strong trainability, emotional stability and the ability to stay focused in distracting environments, according to an article from Dogster. They must be comfortable around people while remaining attentive to their handler, balancing sociability with discipline.

Balanced Independence

However, the study also found that more maternal care does not necessarily mean “better” outcomes across the board.

Puppies that experienced lower levels of maternal care showed different development patterns. In some cases-particularly in earlier research referenced by the team-demonstrated stronger independent problem-solving skills.

This trade-off is important.

Dogs that are highly human-focused may look to people for guidance, while more independent dogs may be quicker to work through challenges on their own. For service dogs, both tendencies can be valuable depending on the situation.

"It's not necessarily all good or all bad," Bray said. "It might really depend on what role you're putting the puppy in later in life."

Emotional Sensitivity and Reactivity

Maternal care was also linked to how puppies respond to stress and unfamiliar situations.

Higher levels of maternal care were associated, in some cases, with increased fearfulness, separation-related behavior or differences in impulse control during early development.

Researchers suggest this may be related to early attachment patterns. Puppies that receive more intensive care may form stronger bonds, which can translate into greater comfort around humans, but also heightened sensitivity when separated or faced with new environments.

Importantly, some of these behaviors appeared to change over time, suggesting that early experiences interact with later training, socialization and environment.

The Mother’s Own Personality

The study also found that a dog’s personality before pregnancy may influence how she interacts with her puppies.

Dogs described as calmer, more trainable and less excitable were more likely to provide higher levels of maternal care.

This finding has practical implications, particularly for breeding programs that aim to select dogs with the traits best suited for working roles.

Brenda Kennedy, chief veterinary and research officer at Canine Companions, the nation’s largest service dog organization, told Newsweek that this type of data helps improve outcomes across the program.

"All of this is part of data that helps us set these dogs up for success," she said. "Any incremental increase in success means that we're getting more dogs to more people who need them."

Short Window With Lasting Effects

Maternal care changed quickly in the first weeks of life.

The amount of grooming, contact and nursing typically declines over the first three weeks after birth-a pattern seen in prior research. But despite this brief window, its effects appear to endure.

“You can track the impact, years out, even though it’s just this few-week interaction at the beginning of their lives,” Bray said.

The timing of care also mattered. The second week after birth emerged as a particularly sensitive period, with maternal behavior during that window showing the strongest associations with later outcomes.

Does the Environment Matter?

The researchers also explored whether the environment in which puppies are raised-either in homes or at a professional breed facility called the Canine Early Development Center (CEDC)-affects maternal behavior.

The team found no significant difference in how mothers cared for their puppies across the two settings.

For Canine Companions, which raises puppies in both settings, this was an important finding, suggesting that the location itself does not negatively affect maternal care.

However, the environment was also associated with differences in puppy behavior.

Puppies raised at the CEDC were more likely to engage with people during social tasks and performed better on some measures of motor control and visual learning. But, at the same time, they were less accurate on tasks following human cues, showed lower cognitive flexibility in certain problem-solving tests, and were more reactive and less confident when faced with unexpected stimuli.

Not All Puppies Have the Same Experience

Another key finding was that puppies within the same litter can have very different early experiences.

Researchers tracked each individual puppy using colored collars and markings, allowing them to measure how much care each one received.

“Every puppy essentially had a different score,” Bray said.

This level of detail showed that outcomes were not just tied to the mother as a whole, but to how she interacted with each puppy individually.

A ‘Piece of the Puzzle’

Despite the strong links between early maternal care and later behavior, researchers emphasize that it is only one factor among many.

"Mothering matters… but it's just one piece of the puzzle," Bray said.

Training, socialization and life experiences beyond those early weeks continue to play a major role in shaping a dog's personality.

"There are even orphaned animals that turn out to be perfectly great pets," Kennedy added.

What Predicts a Dog’s Maternal Behavior?

The research also found that maternal care is partly linked to the mother’s own traits before pregnancy.

Dogs described as calmer, more trainable and less excitable were more likely to provide higher levels of maternal care. Bray said identifying these traits in advance could help guide breeding decisions.

Kennedy added that this insight contributes to a growing body of data used to improve outcomes in service dog programs, alongside other factors such as health and family history.

“All of this is part of data that helps us set these dogs up for success,” Kennedy said. “Any incremental increase in success means that we're getting more dogs to more people who need them."

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This story was originally published June 1, 2026 at 6:36 PM.