Some of y'all cull waaay too early!
Unless there's a physical or mental issue, there's no way of judging how a pup under a year old will turn out. Those six month old firecrackers are usually disappointments by the time they're two or three years old.
I judge pups between age one and two... usually don't start them in the woods until a year old. Sometimes earlier depending on their maturity levels. They should steadily progress from there and get better with age.
Different lines if dogs mature at different rates. If I've got 10 pups in a litter, I'm not waiting until they are 20 months old to pick my 1 or 2 to keep for myself. I can't afford to feed that # of dogs, much less spend individual time with that many. At 12 weeks, I can make very good assumptions as to what out of that litter will suite me best. Have a goal, and do everything within your means to stick to it.
