im off on saturday to view and put a deposit on a boxer (he is a singleton).
is it ok if i pick him up at 7 weeks instead of 8. he will be seperated from his mum
at 5 weeks to wean him.
em

I wonder why he is being separated from his mum so early, especially as he has no siblings to keep him company and teach him canine behaviour. Poor pup. :(

what i understand is he will have contact but not for feeding. he is already eating pedigree chum. but the breeder is aware of the pups loneliness from other pups so we will get him booked into puppy socialising clubs asap. how do you wean a pup
what do i look for health wise in a 4week up. health charector etc.
he is kc registered and so are the parents tested etc.
thanks for your help
nervous but excited
m

My bitches have always weaned their pups themselves. As the teeth get sharper (ouch!) and the pups get stronger, and I'm giving the pups solid food (and so is the bitch) they feed less and less. At 5 weeks she feeds them standing up, and pulls away when she's reckons they've had enough! At 6 weeks she'll still 'top them up' occasionally, but by 8 weeks all her milk has gone and everyone is happy and stress-free.

4 weeks is very young to assess character - that won't start being evident for another week or so, but for health, a shiny coat, no sign of fleas/lice/scurf, bright eyes (no sign of discharge), clean, sweet-smelling ears, correct 'bite', sturdy body, and if male, 2 descended testicles (again, at 4 weeks these are unlikely to be evident!)

Good luck!
:)

will i need to expose him to alot of puppies as hes a singleton or puppy club every week be enough to teach him how to play with other dogs.
my mum has a 12 1/2 year old boder collie who has not had his booster because the vet said it would be a waste of money, should i not socialise the pup with the collie
em

My personal opinion (so not Gospel, mind!) is that he will need to meet pups more often than once a week. Find out if your local vet does 'puppy parties'.

And I'm afraid your mum's unvaccinated Border Collie is most definitely not a suitable playmate.

Are both the parents heart-tested and clear for Aortic Stenosis?
If the breeder only owns the mum, you should be able to see the
heart-testing certificate which shows the grading.
Ideally you want a grade 0 (best score) or 1.

You can see the UK heart-list up on the web, this is where all
the clear dogs pedigree names are listed along with grade 0/1/D
D = Dopplored.

I'll try and remember the address and post it up for you

Is this the one?

http://www.boxerunderground.com/uk/

thanks for all the replies i will go to the breeder with my £250 deposit armed with knowledge. I wish i had a laptop so i could take u all with me.

>m<

Yes :D
Thanks Jo!