Age for bringing your puppy home

[myzeus]

When I purchased my 2 rott pups from the breeder, the breeder would not let me have them until they were 8 weeks old. Zeus and Apollo are wonderful boys now at 13 weeks old. They are brothers and cry for eachother when I separate them. I am having the typical puppy problems with chewing, dominance, potty training. I have it under control though. It's rough raising 2 rotties at the same time. I love them both. My vet and other people have complimented my rotts on their wonderful calm and reserved temperments. I tell them that my breeder did a great job breeding champion bloodlines. My boys have quite an assortment of International and American Champions in their pedigree. Years ago, I raised a doberman and he was such a nice dog.

[GuySusanDurnil]

At the pet store last night we ran into a 140 lb female Rottie, who was coming in to get food for her new little sister, age 6 WEEKS! There's a breeder in Indy who lets puppies go at 6 WEEKS!!!!

She's adorable, but still....she's too little!!!!!

[shastaofmo]

What are your opinions on older pups - around the neighborhood of 7 months and up? Is there a chance for more behavior/temperment problems if brought home at this age and not having been very socialized? Will socialization have the ability to go "smoothly"?

[Judi W]

If you reference the behavior sites mentioned earlier by Elizabeth and myself, you will see what the ramifications are of missing imprint and readiness periods. There is something called "kennel syndrom" which takes place with dogs that missed the important socialization periods and were just ignored and warehoused. Normally this ends up with dogs that are fearful and lacking in confidence and are miserable. Now, this certainly does not apply if the dog spent the time in a normal home environment and was taken places and introduced to the world. It is not the age at which a dog is acquired, it is what the dog experiences prior to that. (this assumes that the pup is past the age where it should be with its littermates and dam)

[MissouriRots]

Judi,
This is an excellent post. Not only are the socialization and dog skills that you mention very important, but there are health issues as well. With the ease at which Rotts seem to attract Parvovirus, if the breeder is responsible, he can have two doses of puppy shots into the litter at 8 weeks. Not that this guarantees protection, but it is at least a good start!
Shawn

[kaitlyn]

uh oh. My uncle sent me to the pet store with the cash to pick up this adorable bullmastiff i saw there. He wanted me to bring him back to work for him to have the next day. Now I think our family is keeping him. He's 9 1/2 weeks. I don't know when he was taken from his mother. I wish I had read this or done research first.

[murdock maclean]

Hi there
Just wondering if a week or two would make a big difference in your pup?
If you took them home at 6 weeks instead of 8 ?

[Judi W]

Yes, it does which is what this thread was all about. You are talking about 25% of the pup's life experiences. Many of the rules for living are learned from mother and littermates. It is where they first learn self-control and they are learning it from those who speak dog, not from another species whose attempts to mimic a dog is weak indeed.