Can you help me find words which could describe a dog's personality?

Stubborn, sharp, willing, stoic, cheeky, compassionate.

placid, easy-going, affectionate, independent, mischievous, inquisitive, naughty, needy, timid, fearful, anxious

Excitable.

@longgone Delightful,energetic, playful and loving. My toy poodle. (no longer living)

Loyal.

House-breakable.

But it’s so hard to tell what qualities they possess especially when they’re a puppy, but I always chose my puppy by sitting down in the middle of the litter, and which ever one approached me, crawled up on my lap and laid down and snuggled was the one I got. Except for Dakota. And I’ve never had a bad dog.
So, how would you describe that behavior?

Most words i’d use have already been said as they’re by far the most common & although i’ve never had a dog that displays this characteristic, skittish is also fairly widely used where appropriate

I distrust skittish dogs.

Yep, surveys suggest they’re the dawgs most likely to have affairs

Social butterfly, family-centered, adventurous, boisterous, home-body, hiker, loves to run, cuddler/snuggler

Nervous, clingy, adoring, playful, joyful, exuberant, relaxed, homebody, laid-back, loyal, dependable, devoted, friendly, patient, high-spirited, uptight, highly-strung, manic, mellow, affectionate, calm, good-natured, sneaky, cheeky, determined, bossy, stubborn, intelligent, clever, simple, entertaining, sneaky, naughty.

Are you dealing with people who are looking to adopt grown dogs, or dogs as puppies? What could you look for in a week old puppy that would clue anyone in on what traits the babies will have as adults?

vicious, neurotic, dull witted, destructive, possessive, sickly, chronic barker, incessant whiner, ravenous glutton, inbred to exotic and horrendously expensive diseases only affordable by the rich, despoiler of carpets, eviction enabler…..

Friendly, intelligent, companionable, biddable, house trained.

OK, I shall use the adjectives to describe the best dog I’ve ever had. She’s a pure bred white German Shepherd. Pertinent adjectives shall be in bold.

Intelligent. She can learn a new “command” in a matter of a couple of minutes, or even seconds, depending on the situation. (I use the word “command” but you can just talk to her like person, explain the situation, tell her what you would like her to do, then she decides for herself. She’s overridden me before.)

Protective..but not aggressively protective unless there an immediate, proven reason to be so. When a “stranger” is in the house, she’s always on alert, even if she stretched out, full length, on her side, snoozing. She’s ready to go in an instant.
I’ve seen her aggressively protective 3 times in the 10 years we’ve had her…and it scared the shit out of me.

Loving. Loves being with you. Would rather be with you than anything else. Demands to know, “Where the hell you been??” if you’ve gone overnight, or more, leaving her at the doggie hotel.
Occasionally demanding about getting love in return, but it’s give and take. She’ll take rejection with a huff, and a couple of accusing looks before she lies down with a sigh, ready to protect you with her life anyway, “Asshole” is what she’s thinking.

Dominate, but cool enough to passively allow others(dogs, cats, people, including Rick and me) to think they’re the ones who are dominate, unless there is a particular and immediate pressing reason to reestablish the hierarchy.

So, we have Intelligent, Protective, Loving, Dominate and Cool. All = Dream Dog.

This is perfect, everyone, thanks!

@Dutchess_III There are no guarantees, it’s about probability. When city people tell me they want a laid-back dog, I won’t be recommending an adolescent Border Collie who has spent his life herding sheep, but rather an older Newfoundland.

LOL! Good call, @longgone! Thanks to the Instant Fluther Identification Guide I found out I have a border collie / springer spaniel mix. She has never herded a sheep in her life, only squirrels. She’s very ineffective at it, but she is simply maniacally frantic about that job. She’s maniacal and frantic about a LOT of things, even at the age of 7. So, no. NO border collies in the city.

Loving, curious, high-energy, sweet, clingy, independent, quirky, calm.

@Dutchess_III Exactly.

No black labs, either. Chewy (even as adults), hyper, loyal, chewy, love to run and swim and dive and swim underwater and run and chew shit up.

I disagree. My Labs are black, and they’re not hyper at all – they can sleep all day. Not chewy, either – the young one likes to grab things he’s interested in once in a while, but he hasn’t destroyed anything since puppyhood. One thing I don’t like about Labs is their tendency to eat food they find lying around outside. It can be difficult to train that out of them. They do like to swim and run, but I consider that a good thing :]

I guess the two I had were Spastic Specials. Man, they ate everything. They ate my back yard, including the metal swing we bought from Walmart.

My Jack Russell, Bella, is vivacious, feisty, brave but also nervous (at times), independent, loyal, affectionate (on her terms), funny, playful, opinionated and vocal with it.

My Staffie, Zara, is intelligent, playful, loving, funny, manipulative (in a humorous way rather than malicious), exuberant, happy, sociable..

These are the two dogs I know best and as there are differences I thought it would help to use them for my answer.