Puppies Age

[Boneshaker]

Good morning!
I am new to the forum and I have a question regarding a specific age regarding the time to accept a puppy from a breeder. Our breeder, that has been having litters for many years, asks that his puppies be picked up at 6-7 weeks. My question, as I see a lot of different opinions when I search it, are there any issues with receiving the puppies this early? Just asking for some guidance. Thank you in advance.

[zeta1454]

Here in England it is against the law to sell a puppy younger than 8 weeks and that age has been generally accepted by most breeders as reasonable for a puppy to leave the birth home so you would need to check what the situation is regarding this in your locality. In areas where there are no restrictions on age, pups may go at a younger age and it is difficult to generalise as to whether for an individual puppy it is best for them to leave earlier. Critical things to bear in mind are whether the puppies are fully weaned and whether the breeder has been doing any enrichment / socialisation with them at all. Some breeders want to sell puppies as soon as they can to avoid putting in the time to carry out socialisation, house training etc. Of course, if the breeder has done little or no work prior to you taking the puppy and you are confident that you can put in the necessary work yourself, it may be one positive of taking him earlier but IMO there is little else that would support a puppy going younger than 8 weeks.

With puppies we have bred in the past, none have left before 8 weeks and a few have stayed until up to 15 weeks before going to their new home. Usually we have kept puppies longer on the request of the new family to ensure the puppy is going at the best time when they can be settled in well with no distractions e.g. holidays, guests staying etc. We have undertaken all the socialisation for these pups ourselves to ensure they are house trained, confident on lead and meeting people etc.

A good guide regarding age of puppies leaving is this one from the American Kennel Club which covers the possible issues with a puppy leaving the birth home too early..and too late. Much really does depend on the quality of the breeder as regards their rearing of the pups and the reasons given for why they want the puppies to go at that age.

https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/puppy ... uppy-home/