I'm getting my golden pup very soon and he will be just over 6 weeks. I know the age of letting a pup go at this age is controversial. However, after reading books, including the perfect puppy, reading through the Accosiation of Pet Behaviour Counsellors website and looking through past posts here, i thought this age would be good.

  However while ringing round some vets enquiring over the age of earliest jabs, many receptionists/ nurses/ vets were horrified that i was getting a pup as early as this, and needless to say i did get a strong earful from some. I'm extremely confused.

  On top of that many vets reccomended not giving first jabs till nine, even ten weeks!! Is this not extremely late, i'm saying this as i hoped to get on with socialisation as soon as possible, and as i don't know of anyone with 'friendly' dogs, it seemed very important to me to get out and about.
  To add to further confusion, one vet said they could vaccinate at 6 weeks and then followed by 2 subsequent others ??

  I just want to add, i did visit the pups around a week and a half ago, and they are very big, active outgoing pups who have been weaned for some time.

  Any advice, please?

first as a breeder i would not let any of MY puppiies go before 7 1/2 to 8 weeks old.what other breeders do it up to them.
my vet jab at 8 and then 10 weeks.

My vet won't vaccinate pups before 10 weeks, with the second jab at 12 weeks. Apparently before this time the pup still has maternal antibodies in its system, so jabbing early simply won't work, unless a particular vaccine is used.

Yes, socialising the pup is vital - but you have to carry them before the jabs have taken effect.
:)

Have just read a previous post on here titled Don't rehome pups before 12 weeks of age. And i have to say it has made it clearer in my mind that i am doing the right thing by homing the pup at just over 6 weeks.
  I have to say, i'm really shocked how opinions differ so widely on this matter. One of the veterinary nurses i rang was extremely angry i was even contemplating getting a puppy at this age and was very rude :(
  Needless to say i will NOT be going to that surgery.

Six weeks is a little young, but thats just opinions, dont let that upset you.
Good Luck with your puppy.

A pup of six weeks should be fully weaned although may still be trying to feed from the dam if she will allow it, the main thing that the pup will miss out on it the way to interact with other dogs, to learn to control the amount of pressure applied when play biting and how to approach and make your intentions clear to any dog they have contact with. Because of this you may have to put up with and correct uninhibited play biting and inability to know when you or any other animals do not want to play. The only other possible problem is that the pup will have to deal with the different bugs and infections that are in your home as opposed to the home of the breeder who's bugs the pup will have an immunity too, this may well lead to stomach problems which are more serious in the young but with care can be overcome.

Firstly may I say I am not a breeder,but we had our first puppy at 5 weeks of age ,simply because her mother was too young and wasn't coping with the litter.She came from an irresponsible owner who had let her run free and I'm just glad we saw the ad.for homing these puppies.She was only £10 so they were not in it for 'the money' it was just bad misfortune for the dam to have fallen for a litter at a little over 1year old herself.

Anyhow we took this little mite home and weaned it ourselves the best we could,it was our first ever dog! but she grew into a loving beautiful dog,well behaved and very healthy.She was vaccinated at 8 and 10 weeks and had an annual booster.

She died at 14 this August after losing the use of her back legs.She took ill on the Friday and was put to sleep, on the vets advice that same day so didn't suffer,but losing her was one of the hardest things we have ever experienced.

We now have another puppy,from a reputable breeder,she was 8wks 2days when we collected her,she is absolutely gorgeous,she had her first vaccination last week at 8weeks 3 days and will have her 2nd at 10weeks.

We have taken her out,in hubbys arms,to meet 'people' ,traffic and generally to get her used to things around her in the big wide world and I just can't wait for her to be able to touch ground,as all she has at present is our enclosed garden,where she goes totally 'scatty' running and bouncing about just generally enjoying life.
I hope your puppy gives you the joy ours have and good luck to you!
Jacqueline.

My vet in Ireland does the first set of jabs at 6 weeks.  Although with my current litter they won't be done until 7 weeks, as i didn't want to travel them to the UK for Christmas following their jab, in case they weren't feeling quite the ticket.  Thus they'll be done on our return to Ireland after Christmas.  Although I've not done it at 6 weeks with previous litters (when living in UK), I'm kind of happy to do this, so I'll have the peace of mind that when my pups do go out to their new homes at 8-9 weeks their course of vaccs will be complete, and i don't have to worry about owners not bothering with the second course.  Also, as you say, socialisiation can begin at a time when the puppy will be most responsive to change, rather than introducing a strapping 3-4 monther to the big wide world.

Caroline

Hi

I can say that in Denmark it is illegal to sell puppies before they are 8 weeks old.

I got my chocolate labrador when she was 8½ weeks old, and she has been no trouble at all - not more than any other puppy would.

I could tell that it was the right time because she didn't whine once after leaving her mother and siblings. Not even at night when we wnet to bed!

A colleague of mine have just gotten a puppy from Polen, a sort of hunting dog. I only know the name in danish, I don't know if you recognize any of it but here goes a sort af translation: bayerick (from the city Bayern) schwissmountain dog. He was almost 6 months old, when they got him, that is a kind of a gamble, I would think, to get a dog that age, but on the plus side - he is housetrained.

Jeanette

I also got my puppy at  6 weeks she was vacinated at 8 weeks and 10 weeks she was from a working border collie who was back working and had nothing to do with the pups I think it depends on the type of dog and the circumstances surrounding the dog good luck with your puppy

Hi heres a link that explains vaccines :)

http://www.ivis.org/advances/Infect_Dis_Carmichael/schultz/chapter_frm.asp?LA=1

Christine, Spain.

As a breeder I do not let my pups go before 7.5 preferably 8 weeks as the pups learn so much from the dam and siblings in this time, (nor would I want to take one from its litter-mates before this time)

My Vet will not vaccinate until about 10 weeks with the second at 12 weeks.

Puppies life (approximately):

10 - 14 days eyes and ears open
3 weeks - start getting on their feet and being weaned
4 weeks - learning about their own bodies (biting their feet and finding the move) and weaning continuing, moving away from sleeping area to eliminate (front feet only)
5 weeks - just starting to play with litter mates - moving around still quite unco-ordinated, moving away from nest and exploring
6 weeks - playing with littermates and movement getting more co-ordinated, probably almost weaned by now but still going to dam if she permits
7 and 8 weeks - learning manners from their dam, especially when feeding (or trying to).  Learning bite inhibition from/with their dam and littermates.  Learning body language (to read and use), learning basic hunting tactics and generally becoming more co-ordinated

Christine

Christine, you put it so much better than I, was trying to convey that pups have not finished the 'nest education' at 6 weeks and that although they would be best left in the nest till about 12 weeks the best time to introduce them to a new home is at around 8 to 9 weeks when they have learned to communicate with their own species but are still open to being moulded to our requirements.

Hi Jackie

So many people take pups home at 6 weeks and it works, but just think about what they are missing out on, they learn so much in their first few weeks and once that time has gone it can never be reclaimed, unlike training a pup to your own ways - look at all the rescues that go one to become Hearing dogs etc as adults

Hope you are having a good Boxing Day

Christine

I take it you mean that even up to 5 or 6 months dogs can be integrated into a home with no problem, this is, of course, true, a dog of any age can be introduced into the domestic situation with success, but there is no way you can replace missed time in the nest and the dogs ability to communicate with it's own kind. A guide dog is expected to concentrate on it's owner and ignore other animals unlike the pet dog that is expected to enjoy and even play with any other animal it happens to meet.

That rough develpopment g8uide is interesting, and really shows how different breeds can be in how soon they do things.

With my breed I have found the following timescales with the items you mention:

"10 - 14 days eyes and ears open - (Same her with the Elkhounds)
3 weeks - start getting on their feet and being weaned - (with mine this would be at 2 weeks).
4 weeks - learning about their own bodies (biting their feet and finding the move) and weaning continuing, moving away from sleeping area to eliminate (front feet only) - (again a week earlier, and can usually poo unaided at 18 days, and definately wanting to get away from their beds to be clean by 3 weeks)
5 weeks - just starting to play with litter mates - moving around still quite unco-ordinated, moving away from nest and exploring - (at four weeks movement pretty good, and would be going outside to play, though sleeping a lot between short bursts of activity).
6 weeks - playing with littermates and movement getting more co-ordinated, probably almost weaned by now but still going to dam if she permits - (same in most respects, except movement and play very forward and rowdy by now, Mum wopuld now be playing and roghing up bold pups, and encouraging quieter ones to be bolder).
7 and 8 weeks - learning manners from their dam, especially when feeding (or trying to).  Learning bite inhibition from/with their dam and littermates.  Learning body language (to read and use), learning basic hunting tactics and generally becoming more co-ordinated" - (bytr this stage they are getting a bit much en masses and their exuberance and curiosity kniows no bounds, they are well ready to fly the nest!).

At the height of the Parvovirus epidemic breeders often had just Parvo vaccine administered to 6 week old pups.  They then got their full jabs for everything else (including Parvo) at 10 and 12 weeks).

In more recent yearts (last 15) Now that Parvo is not as prevelent, more breeders waited to do just the two jabas at 8 and 10 weeks (as due to maternal antibodies (remember mums usualy have all had Parvo jabs at some point) doing them at 6 weeks was largetly a waste of time.

Some vaccine manufacturers more recently claim to have overcome the maternal antibody intereference to some extent and are instructing that they inncoculations can be done at 8 and 10 weeks of age.  This is helpful in being able to get pups out for socialisation, especially with other dogs.  Many trainers and owners were finding lack of socialisation in pups a big problem, especially in the avergae Pet home with limited access to other safe canines.

I had my latest pup done at 8 and 10 weeks, mainly because Mum had wwaned them totally by 5 1/2 weeks, and they were extremely well grown.  If Muym had ben still allowing feeds up to say 8 weeks, I would have waited to have the jabs doen at 10 and 12 weeks, to ensure no maternal antibody intereference as much as possible.

My pups get socialised with the home gang, and get taken to my freinds homes with safe dogs from 6 weeks, so don't miss out on socialisation regardless of vaccination times.