Quote:
Originally Posted by gracielove  It's not about weaning so much as socialization and reaching a healthy weight and maturity level. Yorkies and other small breeds tend to mature more slowly and the tiny pups sometimes have difficulty and extra stress when they get put in a new home at such a young age. Some get hypoglycemic and die.
12 weeks is the age when most pups are mentally and socially ready to go out on their own. At they age they are ready to go out exploring on their own and are not as dependent on the pack. Most larger breed dog will survive when taken to a new home at 6 weeks but it is like taking an infant home. You have a baby that needs all it's bodily functions taken care of and they cry when they are alone because they are scared and uncomfortable without the pack. Really a new owner that brings home a puppy 6 to 10 weeks of age is going to have their hands full for over a month when that puppy could have spent the time with it's pack learning how to socialize and become mentally and emotionally mature.
Many breeders that don't much care about these issues will sell the pups at 6 weeks of age because once the puppies start eating solid food the mom stops cleaning up after them. That means 10 times as much work dealing with a litter of puppies. If a breeder has not taken the time to have the right amount of space and the right surroundings for a growing litter of puppies they will get those pups out of there as quick as they can despite the fact that a puppy may not be ready to go out into the world yet.
Yorkies tend to have more of an issue with adjusting at a young age. The breed is famous for being finicky eaters anyway. They are so small that if they are not eating well the blood sugar level will drop rapidly and it can cause death if the owner does not spot it and act quickly. I suppose I could write part of a book on this but I hope you get the idea. I don't breed dogs but I did use to work closely with a relative that did. Years ago I did show and breed Himalayan cats and believe it or not 12 weeks is the recommended age for a kitten to go to it's new home also. There are so many uninformed and uncaring breeders out there that this type of information seems to be greatly lacking to the general public. |
To add to this ( and I'm sure I have little experience compared to many on the site). My sister brought home a 6 week old yorkie. When I brought mine home, he was 12 weeks. They are like night and day. My sister's yorkie is anxious and clingy. She typically does not take well to strangers or new places. She also doesn't know how to play with other dogs. Tucker, on the other hand, loves new people, is calm ( no anxieties), loves playing with other dogs, and is fine in pretty much any situation. That's just my experience.