# Appropriate age for puppy to leave litter?



## CrystalG (Aug 12, 2009)

Hi everyone, our family is awaiting to bring home our Golden Retriever pup who was born on July 27th. The breeder we are getting him from is wanting to keep the pups until they are 10 weeks old. I was just wondering if they are usually ready to go before this time and if waiting until 10 weeks will have an effect on training? Thanks in advance for any input!


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## Maya's Mom (Apr 13, 2009)

I think 8 weeks is very typical, although I personally wouldn't take a puppy any younger than 8. Some breeders let them go at 6 (although I don't think any good breeder does that) or 7 weeks. Beyond that it is largely a matter of personal preference and what the breeder is doing with the pup. I love the tiny puppy stage so I wouldn't want to miss any of that. But if you don't have a lot of time and energy to invest in a very young pup, 10 weeks might be better. However, if you consider taking a 10 week pup, you will want to be sure that the breeder is doing a lot of socialization. Puppies need to be exposed to lots of different people and situations between 8-12 weeks old. I would also want the breeder to do some work towards house training and basic commands, but that would be less important to me than the socialization piece. I would guess that a breeder who wants to keep pups til 10 weeks would be doing lots of great work with them, because usually the breeders that are more focused on $ rather than the well being of the pup want to get rid of puppies earlier rather than later.


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## LibertyME (Jan 6, 2007)

Any where from 8-10 weeks is really nice....
It would be great if the breeder was crate training for you and had a puppy stimulation plan....If they are just being left to play and wrestle together past 8 weeks without much thought put into their enrichment..I would be disappointed.


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## CrystalG (Aug 12, 2009)

Thank you both for your quick replies. I'm not sure if he will be socialized much other than with the breeder and the other pups. I have two children so that aspect is very important to me as well as the early puppy stage. I wouldn't want to take him home any earlier than 8 weeks for sure. This is our first pup to get directly from the litter and I don't want to miss any critical times for training and getting the pup socialized and used to children and other pets. If they are physcially ready around the 8 week mark, maybe it wouldn't hurt to ask the breeder about letting him go a couple of weeks earlier. This is also the breeder's first litter so maybe she is just doing what she thinks is best.


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

8 is the norm among hobby breeders, but anything after 7 is usually OK. Before 7 is kind of a red flag for me. 10 is great if the breeder is full time with puppy socialization and pre-training. If the puppy's going to just be in a whelping area and a backyard during those two weeks, then I wouldn't really be happy. I'd rather take him myself at 8 weeks.


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## CrystalG (Aug 12, 2009)

tippykayak said:


> 8 is the norm among hobby breeders, but anything after 7 is usually OK. Before 7 is kind of a red flag for me. 10 is great if the breeder is full time with puppy socialization and pre-training. If the puppy's going to just be in a whelping area and a backyard during those two weeks, then I wouldn't really be happy. I'd rather take him myself at 8 weeks.


I'm not 100% sure, but I think he will just be in the yard with the mom, dad and 10 other siblings as the breeder said she was keeping them until they were 10 weeks so the pups could spend a little more time with mom. As I stated above, this is the breeder's first litter and she works outside of the home right now as well so I don't think the pups will get much socialization or pre-training. In your personal opinion would you think it was out of place for me to ask to get our pup at 8 weeks instead of 10? We are relatively new at this whole thing!


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## wagondog (Aug 24, 2007)

My breeder was very specific to picking the pup up on day 49. no sooner no later. just something that she really stressed. but I have to say she had those little guys working, and following her around like little soldiers. the only puppy i ever had that came to me completely house broken to the outside and has never had one accident inside. she really did her job as a breeder. 10 weeks seems a little long unless as a previous poster said the breeder is fulfilling socialization needs with the pups. an addittional two weeks sounds too long for them to be with the litter without work.
wagondog


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

CrystalG said:


> I'm not 100% sure, but I think he will just be in the yard with the mom, dad and 10 other siblings as the breeder said she was keeping them until they were 10 weeks so the pups could spend a little more time with mom. As I stated above, this is the breeder's first litter and she works outside of the home right now as well so I don't think the pups will get much socialization or pre-training. In your personal opinion would you think it was out of place for me to ask to get our pup at 8 weeks instead of 10? We are relatively new at this whole thing!


I'd ask to pick up the pup at 8. But, to be perfectly frank, since this the breeder's first ever litter, a policy like 10 week pickup would make me wonder if everything else was being done according to standard best practices. I'd go back through and examine all the little details of the breeding (like double checking proof of clearances) and the way the pups have been handled (or not handled) up until now.


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## CrystalG (Aug 12, 2009)

wagondog said:


> My breeder was very specific to picking the pup up on day 49. no sooner no later. just something that she really stressed. but I have to say she had those little guys working, and following her around like little soldiers. the only puppy i ever had that came to me completely house broken to the outside and has never had one accident inside. she really did her job as a breeder. 10 weeks seems a little long unless as a previous poster said the breeder is fulfilling socialization needs with the pups. an addittional two weeks sounds too long for them to be with the litter without work.
> wagondog


Thanks for your reply. Sounds like you have an excellent breeder! The house broken part would be nice for sure!


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## Ash (Sep 11, 2007)

Lets just put it this way I would rather a breeder keep the pups until 10 weeks than get rid of them at 6 weeks. If you are getting your puppy from a breeder that is looking to keep a show puppy for herself it may be because she does not know who to keep. Been there, done that LOL. I would not try to argue with her on picking the pup up sooner although I would respectively ask for her reason why


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## CrystalG (Aug 12, 2009)

tippykayak said:


> I'd ask to pick up the pup at 8. But, to be perfectly frank, since this the breeder's first ever litter, a policy like 10 week pickup would make me wonder if everything else was being done according to standard best practices. I'd go back through and example all the little details of the breeding (like double checking proof of clearances) and the way the pups have been handled (or not handled) up until now.


I will stress that I would prefer to pick him up at 8 weeks and see what happens. Like you said, the pup may as well be with me for those extra weeks to get everything started. Thanks for the advice, it is greatly appreciated. I will check things out for sure.


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## wagondog (Aug 24, 2007)

Ash said:


> Lets just put it this way I would rather a breeder keep the pups until 10 weeks than get rid of them at 6 weeks. If you are getting your puppy from a breeder that is looking to keep a show puppy for herself it may be because she does not know who to keep. Been there, done that LOL. I would not try to argue with her on picking the pup up sooner although I would respectively ask for her reason why


Ash
Can you really see the diffesrence from 8 weeks to 10 weeks when looking for conformation?


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## CrystalG (Aug 12, 2009)

Ash said:


> Lets just put it this way I would rather a breeder keep the pups until 10 weeks than get rid of them at 6 weeks. If you are getting your puppy from a breeder that is looking to keep a show puppy for herself it may be because she does not know who to keep. Been there, done that LOL. I would not try to argue with her on picking the pup up sooner although I would respectively ask for her reason why


I think 6 weeks is far too early to let pups go for sure. It's funny you mention it, because she is keeping a pup for herself although I'm not sure for show purposes or anything. From what she has told me, she already has her's picked out of the litter. And I did ask her why she was keeping them longer and the only reason she gave was for them to spend more time with their mom. Thanks for your input!


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## Ash (Sep 11, 2007)

Eight weeks to the day is the ideal time to look at conformation of a puppy. But that being said if I had two or even three puppies that I just loved and could not pick between I may keep them a little longer just to see who I like best. Could be anything attitudes or that she has another breeder that can't get their to grade them for 2 weeks. Who knows could be many different reasons. If I can't choose and someone has to wait then thats just the way it is as show puppies have prefrence


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## Ash (Sep 11, 2007)

Hmm well as far as weaning goes that should be done. The only time my girls go in with the pups after 6 weeks is to teach them their lessons. But like I said better 10 then 6.


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## Thor0918 (Feb 28, 2008)

Maybe my experience is different but, when we went to get Leo at 7 weeks his mother wanted nothing to do with him, or the others. I have to laugh because when we go to school and see her she actually growls. It's like she's saying "When you left I told you, DON'T COME BACK" lol


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## CrystalG (Aug 12, 2009)

Thor0918 said:


> Maybe my experience is different but, when we went to get Leo at 7 weeks his mother wanted nothing to do with him, or the others. I have to laugh because when we go to school and see her she actually growls. It's like she's saying "When you left I told you, DON'T COME BACK" lol


That is what I always thought, that after a certain period of time the mom doesn't want anything to do with the pups. Cute story though about seeing Leo's mom afterwards!


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## Ladyinblack (Jul 20, 2009)

I went to see the puppies at 7 weeks to choose mine, eventhough I knew I could not have him until he was almost 9 weeks. The breeder said that she always has them have a heart check and a poop check before they go home and she was keeping one for show so she needed to bring a 3rd party to help her pick one. She had kept the two best from a previous litter who were 10 weeks already. The tiny babies (at almost 8 weeks) were cute, I was there for 3 hours and they only woke up for about 5 minutes before they all fell back to sleep. I just fell in love with the 10 week one and she agreed to let me have him. He is such a good boy, since day one, at night at put him in his crate no accidents, no crying through out the night, he still does sleep a lot during the day but the has spurts of energy and is so much fun. The breeder and her family spent a lot of time with the puppies... no problems with jumping and biting....


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## fostermom (Sep 6, 2007)

I think that there is really no difference in how the puppy will be with you and your family if you get him at 10 weeks instead of 8. They don't really need mom all that much after they are weaned, but they learn crucial puppy skills like bite inhibition from their littermates. 

I have a dog that I got at 4 1/2 months old. He was with his litter for that entire time. He is totally and completely bonded with me, loves kids, is a therapy dog and has absolutely the best doggy socialization skills you could find in a dog. So those two extra weeks really should not affect your new pup's interaction and bonding with you and your family.


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