YorkieTalk.com Forums - Yorkshire Terrier Community - View Single Post - How old should pups be before bringing them home?

bfollowell · 10-20-2007, 11:20 AM

Hello everyone!

I am so excited!

One of my ex-wife's Yorkies is having an unexpected litter in the next few weeks. The father is our older Yorkie from when we were married, our boys' dog. Since they're my grand-pups, she's giving me two of them. I'm just getting back into a house after being in an apartment and being pet free for several years and am very excited. Naturally, I'll be extremely anxious to bring my little bundles of love home as soon as possible so I can start spoiling them. No matter how anxious I am though, I want to do right by the pups and give them every reasonable opportunity to have a happy, healthy start. On that note, how long should they stay with their mother?

Everything I've read on the Internet says the pups should be weaned around 7 weeks or so and should stay with their mother from 8 to 12 weeks. 8 weeks seems normal and 12 weeks sounds sort of excessive. I've spoke to several vets in my area and they all agree that, assuming the pups are eating solid food and having good bowel movements from solid food, they should be fine to take home at 8 weeks old. Most of the web sites I've read that promote leaving the pups with their mother longer than 8 weeks say the extra 2 to 4 weeks help with socialization skills, etc.

What is the opinion of the other owners (parents) on this board? 8 weeks? 12 weeks? Somewhere in between? I'd appreciate any advice anyone might be able to provide on the subject. Thanks in advance.

Sincerely,
- Byron Followell

10-20-2007, 11:20 AM	#1
bfollowell Donating Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Newburgh, IN, USA Posts: 81	How old should pups be before bringing them home? Hello everyone! I am so excited! One of my ex-wife's Yorkies is having an unexpected litter in the next few weeks. The father is our older Yorkie from when we were married, our boys' dog. Since they're my grand-pups, she's giving me two of them. I'm just getting back into a house after being in an apartment and being pet free for several years and am very excited. Naturally, I'll be extremely anxious to bring my little bundles of love home as soon as possible so I can start spoiling them. No matter how anxious I am though, I want to do right by the pups and give them every reasonable opportunity to have a happy, healthy start. On that note, how long should they stay with their mother? Everything I've read on the Internet says the pups should be weaned around 7 weeks or so and should stay with their mother from 8 to 12 weeks. 8 weeks seems normal and 12 weeks sounds sort of excessive. I've spoke to several vets in my area and they all agree that, assuming the pups are eating solid food and having good bowel movements from solid food, they should be fine to take home at 8 weeks old. Most of the web sites I've read that promote leaving the pups with their mother longer than 8 weeks say the extra 2 to 4 weeks help with socialization skills, etc. What is the opinion of the other owners (parents) on this board? 8 weeks? 12 weeks? Somewhere in between? I'd appreciate any advice anyone might be able to provide on the subject. Thanks in advance. Sincerely, - Byron Followell