Quote:
Originally Posted by Corfield  We generally let them go at 7.5 to 8 weeks onwards if they are going to experienced dog owner homes.
There is real controversy as to when is the best time but we are swayed by the fact that by 7.5 weeks the puppies are weened and very well socialised with our other dogs, environment and mum. The sooner they get to their homes the sooner they get to socialise with their "family" before the fear imprint period ends around 12-16 weeks.
There are guide and police dog trainers that prefer a puppy at seven weeks to 12 precisely because being chewed to pieces in a litter for an extra few weeks is a lot less productive that the work they can do with a younger puppy that's been well socialised in the litter to seven weeks and learnt more than enough from its litter mates.
Now if you are dealing with an inexperienced owner with young children it is a different kettle of fish.
You have to try and find the right balance and i am not going to bad mouth people that take the view that holding onto puppies to 12 weeks is a bad thing - it isn't.
you have to bear in mind that the first 4 weeks of having a litter are not anything like the fun to be had wit ha litter that's 4-12 weeks (poo aside!) There are selfish motives at play to keeping a litter beyond 8 weeks and of course people breeding for show may want to hang on to [puppies in order to assess which they wish to keep or which they want to try sell for a higher price because of their show potential.
So swings and roundabouts.
If you can't have a sensible discussion with the breeder about the right age to home a puppy you are certainly not talking to a good breeder that knows their stuff.
Lot of emotion in dog breeding and buying. Logic and science don't always win out ... |
Quote:
Originally Posted by Corfield ]
Still lacking any scientific study here.
People claiming to be using scientific methods to sell a book isnr good evidence
Breeders dont get the experience of knowing what happens to their puppies in a scientifically controlled way by releasing them at x weeks and collecting bits and pieces of feedback from some of their owners. If they keep the dogs themselves thats not valid evidence either.
Again I reiterate that IF toy breeds were different from large breeds studies and professional opinion offered about dogs would need to make that distinction in their recommendations, in order to be quality advice. They dont on the issue of when to home a puppy. They do on other matters such as when different breeds reach adolescence, breeding age etc. There doesnt seem to be a widely held professional opinion that toy breeds need special treatment when it comes to the age they can leave the breeder. |
Can you share the scientific study(ies) that conclude puppies should stay with the breeder for 7 - 8 + weeks? I've always wondered what discipline of scientists and/or which veterinarians organized and charted the study(ies) and what scientific trial(s) decided basic parameters for separating puppies from mom and how they scientifically arrived at the decision.