Here's
my opinion, as a breeder:
Aside from the obvious research that indicates the social development recieved by staying with the mom/pups until a minimally 12 wks of age. I realize there will eternally be people who are of the opinion that this ISN'T the case, but it is my opinion based on my experiences.
In addition, I prefer that the pups have ALL of their vaccinations before they leave my home. I don't even begin with the vaccinations for ours until around that age. If the pups are going to have adverse reactions to the vaccinations, I want to know and I want them to be with me, not the new owners when this happens.
I like to keep them longer to see what types of personalities they develop. Otherwise, how can I determine at such a good age if the home they are going to is going to be a good match. I look back and see how our previous litters have had personality changes from 8 weeks until when they left at 12-16 weeks. I think there are alot of breeders who want the pups gone earlier just so they can avoid continuing the cost of caring for the pups. I guess an important conversation to have w/ any breeder you may be considering is to get their reasoning on WHY they choose to place their pups at the age they do. Regardless of what age that is, they should have thought their decisions through and should be able to give you their IN DEPTH reasoning behind their decision.
Anyway, just a few of my thoughts on the matter.
