Quote:
Originally Posted by speleogirl37  "THE WEANING PERIOD: WEEKS 3-7
At this age, your puppy is starting to learn dog behavior. Its at this age that your puppy learns how to be a dog. The mother plays a large role in this stage. The mother will teach your puppy bite inhibition. Meaning, if your puppy starts to nip too hard, the mother will usually let out a growl, snarl, or even snap at the puppy. These are all parts of learning process that every puppy goes through. Your puppy will also learn bite inhibition from playing with their litter mates. When a puppy is playing with a fellow litter mate, you will likely hear yelps and screams while the puppies are playing. This is perfectly normal and part of the learning process which teaches your puppy not to bite so hard. This stage in your puppies life is very important. Never buy a dog from a breeder that releases puppies before 7 weeks of age. Again, if you are looking for a toy breed dog, I would not take your puppy home until they are 10-12 weeks of age. Taking your puppy home too early can cause future complications such as:
1. Aggression towards other dogs
2. Difficulty house training
3. Separation anxiety
4. Excessive barking
5. Biting the owner
6. Nervousness
7. An unhealthy attachment to humans |
Wow..one of my dogs has all of the above except #5, and part of #7...I wanted to pick her up one DAY before she turned 12 weeks old (as I took my vacation to coincide with getting her and wanted that first day of vacation with her to get her used to her new home, etc during my time off) and the breeder would not let her go until she was exactly 12 weeks old and a day earlier she wasn't "exactly 12 weeks", which I thought kinda odd but I accommodated the breeder. I think it all depends all so much. I highly doubt it's "how she was raised" as we got another a few months later and that little one is so mellow with none of the above, so I really believe genetics, personality, etc is what decides the above. (Though I support keeping them with their mother until 11/12 weeks.)
Kendra