Just out of curiosity really, how often do you have the new owners visit the pups? I know one poor lady had visits every week from the age of 2 weeks old. I have a visit from prospective owners before the bitch has whelped as I find that time easier to vet, answer questions and go through the health tests and explanations without any time constraints and without the owners hung up on wanting to see the pups as everything goes in one ear and out the other with pups around, it is a good indication also how they react to the older dogs too.  I then invite the 'suitable' owners to view the pups at 4 weeks and then again on collection. I used to get myself so stressed by having visits at 3,6 and 8 weeks as owners tend to stay for hours and when you have a big litter I hardly had time to catch breath. I now set a maximum time limit of an hour and a half at the 4 week visit. What works for everyone else?.

as owners tend to stay for hours

Oops, recognise myself here! :-)

I went to visit the litter my dog came from at 4 weeks. Stayed for about 45 minutes to an hour & then on the day i picked up my puppy was the day i picked him. (i had pick of the litter).
I had a few e mails with pictures attached but that was it.
No wonder you dont have time to catch breath!!

I don't let new owners visit until the pups are a min of 3 weeks, then tell them they are welcome to visit as often as they like, in fact I prefer them to visit often as you learn more about them with each visit.

I like my new owners to visit every week, if they can, from 4 wks of age, that way the pup knows them by the time they leave me and they also pick the pet name they are going to call the pup, so pup also knows its name,  I have found that the pups settle quicker into the new home doing it this way.  It might be different with a large litter we only have between 4 and 6 pupppies usually.  I dont have them coming at the same time, or day of the week, I tend to stagger it to fit in with things I have to do.

I only have one visit at 5 weeks as I need to assess which one(s) I like the best before viewing.  I tend not to have too many visits as in between showing, working and kids I dont have much spare time.  I do tend to send lots of photos and email or ring frequently to talk to the people.

Unfortunately as I have found out before how long you know people does not neccessarily ensure you know enough information.  I was once told my someone much older and wiser than me that if they get turned down they wise up and tell you what they want you to hear.

We now do a weekly update with loads of pictures taken of the pups during the week  to put on our website and have found that this works with the pre-whelp, 3 week and pick up visit. In the past we did stagger the people but found if on the same day usually weekend and mum, dad and kids all want to come that even though we left a clear hour and a half between visits, people over ran and others turned up early.

Mine only visit at 4 weeks, would not allow before then and then when they pick them up at 7 weeks.  If they lived close then yes they could see them more often but most have journeys of around 10 hour round trips, so they couldn't do that every week, they'd be exhausted before they even got the pup :)

I guess I do things a bit differently.  I post weekly puppy pics on my website, but even then I tell my puppy people that they shouldn't pick their favorites because I can't assess for show quality from pet quality til they are 8 weeks old.  So they don't visit til they actually pick up their pup.  At that point I seperate the 2 groups, and then the show people pick in the order they reserved a pup from the show group and the pet people do likewise from the pet group.  If you are last on the list, there might be only one left for you and its take it or leave it.  I find that despite pet people not knowing a whole lot about what makes a show quality dog, if I let the pet people see my show quality dogs they want them instead and are disappointed with their pups.  So I always make sure that the show quality pups are put away when the pet people come to pick/pick up their pups.  Funny how they have an eye for the show quality.

With our last puppy we visited at nearly 3 weeks old, had to dip our feet in some type of disenfectant, met the litter, not allowed to pick them up though and then met the Mum and the other dogs, we then visited again at about 6 weeks, still dipped our shoes in disenfectant and this time was allowed to sit in the pen with the breeder and the litter, not allowed to pick them up though.  Each time we stayed for about 45 minutes top, I could have stayed all day but OH is very sensible and said he felt the breeder and pups had seen enough of us!!!  We then picked up at 7 weeks of age.....ahh bringing it all back now I think I am getting broody!  I did pick my boy at the first visit and fortunately for me I was allowed my choice!

As I have a numerically small breed it is not often that pups are going locally.  So I like people to visit at least once before collection (usually they have visited the dogs before the litter arrived).

I am happy for people to visit as often and as for as Long as they like, after all it is important to them and me.

I tend to have people to visit for the first time at 3 - 4 weeks of age. This is when I go through everything with them and they meet the puppies and other doggy members of the family.
Then every week I send an update on the pups and photos.
I have in the past had lots of buyers wanting to visit every weekend from the 4 week visit and I try to accomodate but I also point out that other families maybe here at the same time. Takes less of the day up for me and the buyers all get on well and can be very excited over the pups all together and discuss anything they are maybe worried about or dogs they have had in the past. The dogs and puppies love it too.

I also have all visits before whelping to meet my bitch and often prior to that, :-)

But my pup visits start at 4 weeks, I won't allow beforehand, I make appiointments at 4 weeks over that weekened and allow no more than 2 hours for that first visit, (depending on litter size) I also leave a 2 hour gap between each visitor, so that the pups have down time and can relax and sleep and feed without interuption, I feel it is just as important for pups to have their rest and sleep, otherwise the next visitor may be looking at half asleep pups with no get up and go which does not look good in itself, let alone exhausting for the pups. So when it comes to the first visit it is very regimented and kept to time limits. And I usually start at 9am and finish at 7pm, within the 2 hour breaks it is enough time to clean, wash bedding, feed, let sleep, and have everything nice and clean and tidy for the next visitor. That first weekend is tiring though I must admit.

Afterwards, I leave it open then for the owners to visit as much or as little as possible, even with weekly photo's and updates, I believe it is important for an owner not to feel they can not see their pup, it helps with all the pups socialisation to have visitors too and most importantly also helps with owner and breeder to become very close, a very important bond for the future. ;-)

To be honest, I have had some new owners with me every weekend, some even call after the main bread winner is home from work too, so I can also have late evening visits and with some people it may feel as though they have moved in and they seem to stay for hours. :-D I've often had new owners call and say can we pop in for a quick play on our way to so and so........ :-D

But it is worth sometimes the inconvienience of forever visitors as you then have that closeness with your pups owner which is what all good breeders want............ or maybe they just really pop by for the biscuits, cream cakes and cups of tea/coffee............ actually, I bet some of them do! :-D

Oh yeah... I mostly went for the cups of tea, excellent cheese sammiches and biscuits... and the Deerhound snogs... hehe.

Sensibly, I think before pups are born (in my case i went several times before the bitch was mated), then a couple of times before picking puppy up, dependant on what is practical of course.

I was very lucky with my pup (now coming up for 5 months) as it was a close friend of mine who bred her.  I saw the mating take place and visited the litter from a few days old.  I then visited them 1-2 a week (she only lives 30 mins away) and built up a fantastic bond with my pup then, she knew her name and personally I found it made life so much easier when she came.  I didnt smell strange to her and she had absolutely no problems in settling in at all. 

ahh dvnbiker your pups breeder sounds lovely...whoever could that be!!!!! ;-D

i think everyone will differ on this one!  i was lucky with my latest litter as most of them went to friends within the agility community, i had loads of visitors, i let people i know visit as soon as they like to be honest, i have never had any problems with infection, i think its a case of being sensible, people with clean hands and clothes can handle when they are strong enough and when sat on the floor, my adult dogs carry the same things in and out of the house, the pups are always in my living room until about 4-5 weeks when they move to the emptied out dining room ( which has garden access!) . i let common sense rule - if its someone i dont know - then i play things differently, but as a general rule, i have waiting lists for well over a year before a litter is due, that way i get lots of time to build up friendships with them....i if didnt know them before of course! i send details of everything, the mating, the scan pictures, messages whenlabour starts, and keep everyone involved.