I havent read this entire thread (but I will) so Iīm sorry if I repeat anything someone else has said
I have had 5 yorkshire terriers including the two I have now.I have also fostered puppies,Iīve adopted many dogs,not to mention bigger breeds that I have actually bought to guard our house etc.I have even fostered new born pups and raised them with a bottle.
In all the years I have been a dog owner I have
never had a single issue with any of my pups (and one of my yorkies was 2lbs as a adult) and each and every one of them came home before the age of 8 weeks.As a rule,the age you can take a puppy home
here is 45 days old.
Milo and Bella (my two 1 year old yorkie pups) came home at 6 weeks old.Was it hard? No.To me,itīs all that I know and itīs how things are done here (Mallorca,Spain) so all dog owners here take their dogs home at the age of 6 weeks (45 days) and they get on with it just fine.Chihuahuas,yorkies,german sheppards etc etc,it doesnt matter what size or what breed they are,at 6 weeks old,they go to their forever homes.
We cannot buy Karo syrup,NutriCal or other products to prevent hypoglycemia here,yet people get by and they always have.
I really do think (and this is just a personal opinion based on experience and the way things have always been done here) that saying that a puppy cannot go to its forever home until 12 weeks is a little steep,because it
can be done and it actually is done is most countries all the time
I also think that in America everything is more strict (which is good of course,dont get me wrong)
.
Here a purebred dog doesnt cost thousands even if you go with the most reputable breeders,dogs are
rarely spayed and neutered,regular people breed their purebred pets,very few purebred dogs have paperwork,vet bills are
very cheap,no breeder sells a puppy with a breeding contract (I think thatīs what you call it?) and everything is more laid back.
I think
everything depends on where you are