What age do your pups leave at? - Page 4

Here in Oz the law is 8 weeks but at work I see many puppies that have been sold at 6 weeks.

No one actually enforces the law. Same with microchips, law states that all puppies are to be microchipped prior to sale but many are not.

8 weeks. then if they are OK they can stay together. But when they start fighting I separate them.. I dont let dogs sit in kennels doing noting. I take them downtown and crate thrain them and potty train them and start them in all pfases.. it is fun, fun, fun! The mother is usually back in training by then (well getting back to shape)  

I have never had a puppy stay longer than 14 weeks

"I agree, as a general rule..."

The problem with making exceptions to the general rule is that most people will assume that they are wiser and more knowledgable than they actually are when they make that decision.  The end result is that the general rule becomes the exception.

"And Keith, do you really think the pups are with mom until 8 weeks? Ask a few breeders on here when mom weans the pups."

Pups can be weaned at 3 weeks; doesn't mean they're ready for new homes and it's less about the time with the mother than it is about time with the pup's littermates.  Between 6 and 8 weeks, puppies learn about being dogs and one of the most important things they learn during that time is that biting hurts.  I've worked with scores of shelter dogs of all different breeds and am fairly confident that I can pick out those who were separated from their litters at 5 or six weeks vs. those who were left with their littermates a couple of weeks longer.

You might convince me if you limit the exception to a litter with only one pup as there obviously is no reason to keep a pup with littermates that don't exist but aside from that, there is no reason not to wait a little longer. 

In Pa its a state law no pups are sold until 8 weeks of age and if dogs are advertised in our local paper/craigslist etc it is enforced Dept of Ag and also cruelty officers will investigate.  I am a cruelty officer and honestly most times the people that do attempt to  sell them at 5-6 weeks of age the "breeder" is an idiot looking to make a fast buck. Alot of times the dogs aren't cared for properly dam in the basement or tied out etc not fed well and on and on.  Even if the pups don't stay with the mom 24/7 I think its great for them to start learning how to interact and be well socialized adult dogs.  Remember most times the people buying a pup are novice owners who don't title/train etc its just a family pet.

I find they are usually "ready", willing and able to go home from 7 - 8 weeks of age. I let them go at around 7 weeks, if they are going from me to the trainer. 8 weeks if they are going home with owners.

 I have stated before that I think 7-8 weeks is a good time, however, I have frequently wanted to keep some pups longer, and always try to keep a couple, or at least one, several months to see how they are maturing and compare them to their littermates, other dogs, etc. I don't know how anyone can claim to know what they're producing if they don't keep pups longer than 3 or 4 months or ever see what they've produced as adults. If I had my way, and the room and time, I would keep close to half of every litter. I wish my one bitch would have 4-5 pups instead of 9 or 10, but there's not much I can do about that, so I have to sell some. 

I have kept 3 pups until they were almost 6 months old....because I wanted to. I kept hoping circumstances would change and I would be able to keep them. One of them, I kept because she needed a special kind of home. I loved her and would've loved to keep her, but it wouldn't have been fair, so I kept her until I felt I had a good enough handle on who she was and until I could find an adequate home for her. I got my wish, in the end; she was beautifully cared for until I just bought her back;-) 

Keith, I know what you mean, and I do agree, though letting them go that young will never be the norm to me. 

We have kept pups (obviously) after 6,7, 8 weeks of age. At 6 weeks we separate them from Mom and each other. Our training starts as pups, socialization, basic obedience etc. they are taken to as many different venues as possible keeping safety at the forefront. My wife’s grooming salon provides them the important introduction to grooming at a young age as well.

Never dog parks.

We rarely allow them to be around their siblings in a one on one situation at this point, because we want to establish a human/dog bond.

Spending limited supervised time with the older dogs also proves beneficial as well as a good deal of house time. Raising pups is an art form, each time we learn more as each dog is unique.

Sometimes, no matter how careful you are in picking the pedigree prior to breeding, no matter how you raise it, your going to end up with the odd pup that doesn’t cut it.

In a perfect world all dogs would have great homes and not end up in shelters, we don’t live in a perfect world.

No one has all the right answers. This is just what works for us and so far we have been very successful

Kim

Sitas Mom too late for me.. I need my puppy to be 9 weeks old the most.. those two weeks are so important for imprinting.. I even had my dog stay in Prague with my sister and she dragged it to subways, busess, busy streets trafic.. I did not feel my town has enouch noises! lol

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