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Originally Posted by stovesj  Just curious about not letting puppies go until 12 weeks. If you have another dog in your home can a younger pup get the necessary socialization from them or only from their parents and litter pups? Just wondering and trying to learn all I can. |
Socialization is not the only area affected. Any dog goes through an adjustment period when they are in a new environment. The effects this can have not eating, still sub-par immune systems, etc will have a much greater impact in a much shorter amount of time on a 8 week puppy who is just learning social skills vs a 12 week puppy who has developed social skills and a better since of independence.
Ideally, the new owner can spend time with the puppy before bringing it home so that the puppy is familiar with him/her. Spending time w/ a pup when they are very young is not going to be sufficient as the pup will not be at a stage developmentally that the interaction will have a huge impact on them, whereas it would if they were exposed to their new human owners later on (say, 8 week range and later). (Not sure I explained that like I meant to--I'm at a loss for how to word it...
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BTW, there is a sticky at the top of this section that briefly describes the developmental stages of a puppy and is broken down by age that may give you more info.