A lot of folks seem to think that they way they do things is the only right way. In the case of puppies, I think a lot of them are unaware (or have forgotten) that until very recently (last 20 years or so), puppies in America ordinarily went to their new homes as soon as they were weaned...about 6 weeks of age. These puppies grew up to be normal, healthy, well-socialized dogs, assuming their owners took good care of them. The fact that America now thinks puppies should be kept with the dam until 12 weeks does not mean that is the way it should be, only that is the way many Americans THINK it should be.
I'm an American, but I live in South Africa. Puppies here routinely go to their new homes at 6 weeks. Puddin' is in a puppy obedience class now (must be 10 weeks to enter the class), and virtually all of the puppies were obtained at 6 weeks of age. It is the norm here, apparently, and we have a wealth of healthy, well-adjusted dogs in this country!
Personally, I think 12 weeks is past the optimum age for bonding. I think 8 to 10 weeks is ideal. At 8 weeks Puddin' was still wanting to be cuddled and nurtured. By 12 weeks, a lap and a cuddle was far less interesting than what might be under the sofa or behind the curtains.
Some people forget that the customs of their country are not shared throughout the world, and that people who do things differently are not necessarily wrong, just different.
Puddin' came with no guarantees or contracts of any kind and no testing. I met both her parents and was in the home she was raised in. It was clean, the dogs and puppies were obviously loved and well-cared for, and very well socialized.
Perhaps I am taking as risk by paying top price for a dog without a "genetic defects" contract, but I think of her more like a child in that regard: I would unhesitatingly pay top money for a good doctor and birthing facility and it would never occur to me to expect someone to refund my money if my baby was born with some kind of genetic defect. It seems rather crass...and unrealistic...to ask a breeder to provide a guarantee against something over which s/he has no control.
The breeder you contacted sounds like a nice, conscientious person who thinks highly of her dog and pups. She sounds like the kind of person I would want to purchase a puppy from, as I would expect the puppy to have been gently reared by loving humans and a well-cared-for and loved mother dog, giving the pup the best start in its life as a companion. The final choice is yours, of course, but this sounds like just the kind of home I would want my puppy to come from.
