to their new homes?

Usually from the first weekend after they're 7 weeks old.

Mine are off next weekend.  They will be 8 weeks on friday.  Having said that, in all honesty they seem so well adjusted that they could have gone this weekend.  I just like to keep them just that little bit longer for my own selfish reasons I guess.  It is going to be very quiet around here without them....but am looking forward to not having to get up quite so early  :)

Ditto Jeangenie.

Some toy breeds are not ready to go to new hoems until aroudn 12 weeks, so it does depend a little on breed.

8 weeks

8 weeks  to.  give or take the odd day.

I aim for 10 weeks with mine, but am flexible from 8 weeks depending on experience of owner.

Have found the ones that stay with me longer seem to be more settled when starting in their new homes, had one pup til just after 12 weeks, and it was nice to spend a bit longer with him :)

The KC states 8 weeks, I have just been in touch with them.

Linda

>The KC states 8 weeks

On the Kennel Club website it states that the ideal age to buy a puppy is between 7 and 8 weeks.

8 weeks :-)

> The KC states 8 weeks, I have just been in touch with them.

On a Sunday ?

I got Wukee when he was 6 weeks old, fully weaned & very independant, but I'm not  novice owner & Obedience & working dogs build better working relationships with their handlers/owners from a younger age.

Toys are much better leaving at 10 weeks & upwards, the smaller the dog the older I would expect they to leave

IT depends on the breed, for me.  The Yankees go from 8 weeks, the pugs usually between 8 to 10weeks.  My rule of thumb is that they have to be eating completely independently for 2 weeks before going.  I also carefully monitor each litter/pup development to make sure they are ready for "leaving home".

Just to go a bit against the received wisdom here, we often keep pups until they are 12 - 16 weeks old when deciding which ones we will show and which to let go.  Whils tthis is contrary to the accepted rule that pups bond better and socialise better before 12 weeks, none of our new owners seem to have problems with the older pups.  Of course, we do socialise them ourselves, and it seems to me that a "well brought up" pup will have few problems with adapting to a new enviroment. 
bye
Gwen

Moonmaiden sorry it was Friday and the emailed me back.

Linda

Between 10 and 12 weeks of age. 

I would let a pup go sooner, for example, to another pin breeder.  But I find people with little experience about ears arent up for the work involved, so I make sure their ears are at least taped once before they go.  My pet stock usually go to their new homes at around the ten week mark. 

Ours leave us at 8 - 9 weeks

> Whils tthis is contrary to the accepted rule that pups bond better and socialise better before 12 weeks, none of our new owners seem to have problems with the older pups.  Of course, we do socialise them ourselves, and it seems to me that a "well brought up" pup will have few problems with adapting to a new enviroment

I go with Gwen on this one.  Having a toy breed that often weighs under 2lbs at 8 weeks, I will often have them longer.  No bad reports back from new owners, so agree that if you are socialising well, there should be no bad feedback.about this.  My pups are always bold and confident when they leave.

Yes depends on breed. My Malis go at a few days after 7 weeks normally, but I am just getting into Papillons, have a great mentor who is extremely experienced and she has explained that I should never let a Pap pup go before 12 weeks at the earliest and I will stick to that. Having had my first Pap (NOT from a good breeder!) at 7 weeks, I can understand it as well -they are just TOO small at that age. I have a pup that will be 5 months old tomorrow and she is tiny and more like a much younger pup of a bigger breed mentally and physically I feel.

I got my puppy at 7 weeks exactly. In hindsight i think he wsa slightly too young. However, he is a min poodle, so maybe as hes a smaller breed he could have benefited from an extra couple of weeks.

at 8 weeks also

Between 8 and 9 weeks. I like to do first jabs so I tend to let them go a few days after that.

As the pups are particularly dinky I like to leave it as long as possible, but not so long that it affects the next stage of socialisation. I tend to send them to their new homes with a bell for their collars, this way you can hear them coming and they dont get accidently stepped on! :)

Same as Jeangenie- the weekend after they turn 7 weeks :-)

Stacey x

Reply to pugnut. Re 1st jabs, do you make sure that the vet that the new owners will be using use the same make of vaccination as you, otherwise wouldn't they need the whole course again?
Sorry, bit off topic.

I can second this about giving first jab only. I will NEVER do that. I have recently been looking after 2 pups for a friend who had to go into hospital. They had had their first vacc before they arrived, needed the second whilst here. My vet said they had to have the same brand vaccine. It was not the brand he used. He phoned round several vets in the area, my husband phoned the rest. Not ONE vet in the area used the same vaccine! Nobody! In the end we had to travel for 1 ½ hour (each way!) to get to a vet that used the vaccine in question. Alternative would have been to start off again from scratch but really didn't want to do that, especially with small toydogs.

I must say I have never had a problem with buying a pup with first vaccine then going to my vet for the second, my pups all go with first injection and microchipped.

Linda

I had this problem a couple of times a few years back, and stopped doing the first vaccination only, the pups either went un-vaccinated or had to wait till both were done.  But it did worry me a lot, so I have started doing first vaccinations again, and not had a problem in the last 2 years.   My vet uses vanguard at 7 (and 10 weeks) and I do tell prospective puppy owners to check this out with their own vets before getting the pup, have had 2 vets who insist on a 3rd vaccination at 14 weeks, but apart from that the 2nd vacciantions have been no problem.

bye
Gwen

mine normally go just after they turn 7 weeks, i have the 1st jab done IF the owners have checked that their vet uses the same brand as mine ( nobivac in this case) if not they wont have it done til they go to their new homes

Is it ok to have the 1st jab done this early, doesn't the pup have mums immunity till 8 wks which cancels out the jab?

i try and have the 1st one done spot on 7 weeks, i normally go by my vets recommendations as to what is best

Hi cocopop,

I wouldn't have vacs done this early for the puppies safety (there's plenty of info on vac reactions etc on previous threads etc to explain this) - puppies have the benefit of maternal antibodies (at least those raised and fed by the mum - not sure how effective for hand raised litters) until approx 12 weeks. 

My current vet wouldn't give the first vac until a pup is 10 weeks with the follow up being a minimum of 2 weeks later.  My own puppy has only just has his 2nd injection at 13 weeks and that's more because he will be going to regular doggy intense socialisation areas (clubs, shows etc) rather than just occasional short lead walks.

My first litter was vaccinated at 8 weeks for those leaving to owners with vets using the same vac but others were missed out so all in all I don't think I would do that again - IMO it's a lesser evil to delay vacs while still taking a puppy out for socialising with day to day sights (in dog free places) than to give vacs too early on when there could be health complications for the puppy or effectiveness of vac compromised by being given too early :)

regards, Teri

> Reply to pugnut. Re 1st jabs, do you make sure that the vet that the new owners will be using use the same make of vaccination as you, otherwise wouldn't they need the whole course again?
> Sorry, bit off topic.

Yes,

The pups get sent away with a card from the vet with a sticker on it stating the brand and what the vaccinations were for. That way the new owners vet knows what they have had

8 weeks at the earliest. The pups then go with a vet check, their first jabs and a microchip.
We also insist that from about 4 weeks, the new owners visit at least once a week to begin to bond with their puppy. That way, when the pups finally leave the comfort of their littermates, at least their new home won't be completely strange. We usually give the new owners a piece of bedding which the pups and mum have been sleeping on - again a little bit of familiar comfort in a strange new home.

I assume the weekly visits are for local buyers :D

My pups often go to far flung parts of the country and most new owners only manage one visit before collection.

Depends what you mean by "local" - some have done a 200 mile round trip each week to see their pups. To be honest, we need to "bond" with the new owners as well. We wouldn't sell one of our pups to someone we didn't get on very well with.

We went to see ours at 4 weeks and then didn't see him again until collection as it was a bit of a trek but were in contact with the breeders via 'phone or email each week to chat and see how he was doing.

If they had insisted weekly visits then we would have done so but we got to know them via these methods equally as well I think.

at 8 weeks, but i wont allow anyone to see the pups until they are 6 weeks old

The last two we've had we also saw at 4 weeks, then not again till collection at just over 7 weeks, but we knew one of the breeders, and the other we met a couple of times at shows and also had email updates.

> at 8 weeks, but i wont allow anyone to see the pups until they are 6 weeks old

Why do you do that.

if it is because of risk of infection then in fact you are safer letting people see pups younger when they have the full benefit of maternal antibodies, which start to wane from weaning until 12 weeks so the pups are at highest risk between the time the maternal antibodies wane and the vaccinations take.

I do tell people who have a very long way to travel (like 4 hours or more each way) that pups are not going to be really fun to look at until 4 weeks old when they are much more active and their individual personalities much more easily seen.

I have had people who lived a reasonable distance away come every week to see the pups from birth.  I also get as many doggy Friends and relatives with children and all ages to visit the pups from the time their eyes are open to maximise social contact.

Never had to conciously socialise the pups when kids were yougn,b tu nwo they are basically adults I ahve to invite little ones.  Get plenty of young adults and teens.

one reason is because of the risk of infection to the pups but also due to risk of infection to all my other adult dogs, and really theres not much point of people lookiong at pups when they are 4 weeks old cus they dont do anything, plus i dont want to put my bitch through any un neccesary stress as she doesnt like strangers and she may accidentaly harm the pups

4 weeks is the cutest and most endearing age :D

> plus i dont want to put my bitch through any un neccesary stress as she doesnt like strangers and she may accidentaly harm the pups

That is worrying as visitors at that stage should not cause a bitch with a steady temperament any stress.  As for hurting her pups?  My bitches are happy to show their puppies off from birth but especially once they are mobile, but actually prefer to monopolise visitors for themselves.  I assume that you expect most of your pups to go to family homes as companions?  If so the potential owners will be judging the potential temperament and suitability of the pups based on your adult dogs.

Puppies benefit greatly from lots of socialisation with many different kinds of people before they leave,a nd waiting until 6 weeks gives you much less time to fit it all in.

As for infecting your adult dogs, surely they are going out in the world and challenging their immune systems constantly?

The risk of behavioural problems leading to re-homing or even euthanasia is far greater than the small risk of disease from visitors, as after all you will yourself be as much a risk unless you do not leave the premises for the duration.

Human babies often have little or no maternal antibodies if their motehrs are not breast feeding, yet I know no parents who isolated their infants from the rest of the human population who are the biggest risk to their newborn in terms of species specific disease.

My bitches are happy to show their puppies off from birth

i dont mean to be funny but thats your dogs not mine, lots of bitches arent happy with strange people poking around at their puppies,
and they do get socialised with other people and children, one of our friends daughters is 8 and she comes up regularly, my son is 3, and other friends come round, i just dont allow absolute strangers round b4 6 weeks,

I wouldn't be happy waiting to see the people with my pups until that late, and why would a bitch be unhappy having people around her pups once they are mobile, by 4 weeks they a re integrated into the rest of the canine pack so over protectiveness just wouldn't be an issue, by 6 weeks I think they would be happy to see the back of a couple :D

I agree that not all bitches would be happy to have people traipsing in to see newborns (mien are) but puppies at the running about stage?  Maybe my breed are more physically and mentally forward than yours?

I still find I haven't as many visitors as I would like especially men, though my kids friends are now in that category so things are better.

I wouldn't be happy waiting to see the people with my pups until that late

why not? id still have a couple of weeks to find suitable homes for them if i didnt like the people that wanted a pup

by 4 weeks they a re integrated into the rest of the canine pack

my pups are 5 weeks old now and have only met the other dogs through a crate, my dogs are too rough to meet the pups face to face

I'm with Brainless here Hayley :)  I wouldn't want to miss out on the valuable socialisation period by keeping visitors away until 6 weeks and upwards.  My pups had close friends and family seeing them from around 3 weeks and puppy visitors coming regularly at 4 weeks onwards :)

I can't see why there is any risk of contamination if basic cleanliness is up to speed - we had a door mat outside and inside the main door soaked with parvovirucide and also everyone got sprayed top to toe (and allowed to "dry" LOL) before handling the pups :)  Other doggy residents getting to mix with them was also a valuable part of their development IMO and again, unrestricted although always supervised.

My bitch was delighted to see visitors - if anything only upset by too much cooing and whatnot over the pups so always pushed her way in first :-D

regards, Teri

like i said in a previous post, friends family etc do get to see the pups when they are young, just absolute strangers who want to buy a pup arent until 6 weeks, and im not being funny but at the end of the day its up to me what i do with my puppies

Hi Hayley

>and im not being funny but at the end of the day its up to me what i do with my puppies

I don't think anyone's laughing at you   Equally I don't believe anyone is trying to convert you or somehow via cyberspace take control of your litter.  You've commented on the thread the same as everyone else so I'm not seeing the point of the attitude coming across in this latest posting

You're at liberty to do what you want with your litter and everything associated with it but having chosen to post your preferred methods of raising them you can only expect that others with a different view of best practice will comment if they so choose.

Just to keep everyone happy i will say that i see where both people are coming from :-)

Hayley, if that method works for you then that is fine. Like wise if people let new owners see the dogs that bit earlier and have had no problems then so be it.

Dont think theres any need to go down a personal route or start putting people down for their chosen way to do things. :-)

You wouldn't be trying to join the ranks of the UN would you :-D :-D :-D  I'm guessing popular though this forum is, there's bound to be a better route to getting there!

Im far to gobby to join UN :-)

7 weeks and no younger

    8 Weeks and no younger to conform with KC regulations