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Abby08 · 04-27-2009, 06:28 PM

Millies Mum, I am sorry, I come across as rather harsh sometimes, I don't mean to. I am not good at communicating with people.

This website that you posted above, is set up in a way to be an informative website and if you go to the "about us" section you can find the website that actually is in charge of that site. It is set up by advertisers to reach consumers and it does have "expert" writers and researchers, but you have to take the info with a grain of salt because they are "targeting" certain consumers for advertisers on each website that they are in charge of.

Back many years ago, many people who bred their dogs for puppies were told that 6 weeks was the age to wean them so they could give away or sell thier puppies. But since then, because of a lot of animal research in the area of animal behavior, we are being informed by animal behaviorists that the pets are better off if they are left longer with the mothers so that they can learn normal behaviors to thier species. Otherwise they do tend to be ignorant of behaviors that would otherwise be normal for a dog or cat.

I'll mention biting again as an example. Puppies that are not brought up with thier own littermates and mothers,don't learn not to bite so hard. It takes along time to teach a puppy or dog not to bite if they don't have this experience. Hurt people fingers and other bodily parts are a result of this.

This website means well, but it is not up to date on this kind of information and this animal behavior information for pet breeders has been around for 20 years. Most of the reputable AKC and even cat show people are following this recomended length of time for keeping their litters before selling them.

Most mother dogs will do natural behaviors to wean their own puppies themselves. They get up and leave them for instance. They will also snap and bark and growl at them.They allow the puppies to eat some of their food, especially if the owner leaves enough food for the puppies to eat.
They will experiment on their own and try some adult dog food. But it won't really be good for them until their little systems are ready.

I bet your local library has a good book on raising a litter and I would try to get one that was published in the last few years or from the '90's onward. Something more up to date!

Good luck!

04-27-2009, 06:28 PM	#5
Abby08 Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: ,nc,usa Posts: 193	Millies Mum, I am sorry, I come across as rather harsh sometimes, I don't mean to. I am not good at communicating with people. This website that you posted above, is set up in a way to be an informative website and if you go to the "about us" section you can find the website that actually is in charge of that site. It is set up by advertisers to reach consumers and it does have "expert" writers and researchers, but you have to take the info with a grain of salt because they are "targeting" certain consumers for advertisers on each website that they are in charge of. Back many years ago, many people who bred their dogs for puppies were told that 6 weeks was the age to wean them so they could give away or sell thier puppies. But since then, because of a lot of animal research in the area of animal behavior, we are being informed by animal behaviorists that the pets are better off if they are left longer with the mothers so that they can learn normal behaviors to thier species. Otherwise they do tend to be ignorant of behaviors that would otherwise be normal for a dog or cat. I'll mention biting again as an example. Puppies that are not brought up with thier own littermates and mothers,don't learn not to bite so hard. It takes along time to teach a puppy or dog not to bite if they don't have this experience. Hurt people fingers and other bodily parts are a result of this. This website means well, but it is not up to date on this kind of information and this animal behavior information for pet breeders has been around for 20 years. Most of the reputable AKC and even cat show people are following this recomended length of time for keeping their litters before selling them. Most mother dogs will do natural behaviors to wean their own puppies themselves. They get up and leave them for instance. They will also snap and bark and growl at them.They allow the puppies to eat some of their food, especially if the owner leaves enough food for the puppies to eat. They will experiment on their own and try some adult dog food. But it won't really be good for them until their little systems are ready. I bet your local library has a good book on raising a litter and I would try to get one that was published in the last few years or from the '90's onward. Something more up to date! Good luck!