So your a breeder and you think it is fine to take him away from his mother and siblings and leave him home all day by himself.

If you're bound and determined to get your baby at 8 wks a lot will determine on the weight. A lightweight will be susceptible to hypoglycemia. That will require vigilance and your being there. I left mine alone for 2hrs and at 12wks Bug nearly died, she had reached the point where her neck was already stiff to one side and it took me nearly 45 min to bring her completey around with nutrical and furious stimulation. I had to literally peel her off her blanket. Had I not come in when I did she would have been dead within a few more minutes.

You will need to make sure the room that she is kept in (in an xpen) is warm, very warm... no chill ever. A chill can bring on a hypo attack. I made the mistake of leaving an air conditioning vent open in the room that they were in and I believe she got chilled, she was extremely healthy and fine when I left, playing and bouncing around. As long as you keep puppy warm, well fed, watered and preventative doses of nutrical whenever you leave. It should be okay. Note,I said should, no guarantees.. these are little dogs....

If your mom is going to come over to play with it, is it possible she can just be the daycare for you while you are at work?

Good luck and congratulations.

My Breeder showed me this and it worked wonders. I still have it set up only it is longer now. I use it to feed her in and when I leave she knows she goes in there and I don't have to worry what she is getting into. I am home most of the day I only run errands and go to the gym in the morning but Pixie knows when it is time to get in the ex-pen and I have peace of mind when I am gone. Plus Daisy gets a bit of a break from her sister biting her ears;)

Wow this thread really opened my eyes! I have a 9 week old puppy that the breeder just sold to me 4 days ago. She never once mentioned that he was too young to leave his mom and siblings. Luckily I'm able to be with my baby constantly and have been doing everything I'm supposed to be doing to socialize him, potty train him and love him, but I hope he's ok being away from his mom! I LOVE the x-pen and I'm picking that up today since I hate leaving him in his cage and he cries. Thanks for the advice!

This is a learning moment for you. Also pick up nutrical just in case he goes into hypoglycemic shock. Since you're with him all day, every day, you'll be able to catch it easily. Remember that now you're in charge of teaching him manners, not his mom and siblings. Don't set your expectations too high, since he's just a baby, and you'll do fine! Whatever question you have, don't hesitate to post a question. If it's a health one, call your vet first. :)

My girls are over 1yr old and we still use an xpen. They have the little one in the living room (the 4 panel one with the little arched door) that has their potty area and can quickly be accessed to shut them in when strangers such as workmen, delivery people, strange dogs, whatever suddenly appear and the long large xpen in our bedroom with potty on one end play area in the middle and sleeping/eating area in the other end, where they go to bed when we do, or stay for extended periods when we are going to be gone so that they don't get into trouble. Could not imagine not having an xpen...

Soo I literally JUST went to the store and got some nutrical for puppies. It came in a little tube (kinda like toothpaste) and says 1/4 teaspoon daily (basically a lil dollup on my finger). Before I give him any, is this meant for puppies ONLY when they might need it or should I give him a lil dose each day to keep him healthy?

I also picked up some of the rubber finger pads that came with some toothpaste for puppies. His vet showed me how to brush his little teeth and said I should get him used to it, how many times a week do you all brush your puppies teeth?

Also (sorry for all the questions, I'm just so paranoid about making sure I'm doing everything right!), I wanted to make sure it IS good to keep his food dish in his cage overnight. I read somewhere that pups need to eat every 3 hours and I don't want him to go into hyperglycemic shock while I'm sleeping. The first few nights I didn't keep his food dish in there and he went poo poo like clockwork every morning at 6:00 am outside. Well last night, because I read its important to keep his food in there with him, he pooped in his cage at 4:30 am :( Just want to see what you all think about that. Thanks soo much for your help!! :)

My vet told me to only give the nutrical if they need it in an emergency. Some people give it a couple times a day as a preventative. My vet says its not a preventative so he wouldnt agree with them. You want to keep food out for him all the time and yes he needs to eat about every 3 hrs. It doesnt have to be much but he needs to eat

Great reminder, it's a "treatment" for low blood sugar, not a "preventative", in fact, too much Nutri-cal, can cause hypoglycemia. Nutri-cal is mainly an easy to digest sugar, similar to white corn syrup, such as Karo.

To the OP, Joey's breeder suggested free feeding till he was around 7 months, some people do it throughout the dog's life, but I highly recommend it for a young puppy, this more than anything, can help prevent hypoglycemia. I personally would not buy from a breeder who sold her pups this young; the minimum recommended age is 12 weeks. Many breeders do sell them earlier because they are time consuming. Puppies learn important lessons from mother between 8-12 weeks, such as inhibition of the biting reflex, and some mama's will even train puppies to use the pee pad; they will nudge them over to the pads. Finding a breeder who breeds responsibility can help you with housebreaking and biting behavior.

I want to clarify, when I said preventative it is what I did because of my experience with my particular dog's vulnerability. Every pup is unique. And I am not a breeder or an expert, I've only learned from this forum and my own research and experience with my furkids. Please listen to those more experienced than me, glean and learn from everyone and apply the best to your situation. Being susceptible to hypo appears to be related to weight more than anything, I've heard of full grown dogs that had problems with it if they were teenies. But, I could be wrong on that, in other words, read and then confirm!!! Mine are fortunately over a year old now and right around 5/6lbs, hale and hearty.

Sorry I have not problem with a pup coming home at 8 weeks.

If you can get a lot of hands on and helping and socialization than the pup is fine.
And if a breeder is sending the pup home at 8 weeks do we know she is up to giving that pup the social skills it will need to be a good dog in the world.

There is s short socialization window that closes at 18 weeks and I want all the time I can get to get 100 places people and things seen by the pup.

All the they are too young and hang on to them means that they have less time to get out of the house and get the social skills they need.

Now that said if the pup can get good socialization and not just with the mother and the litter but sounds and sights and people with the breeder it does not hurt to leave them until 12 weeks.

JL

Huh?:confused:

I think your life is going to be a lot easier and less worry if you are able to get your dog at 12 weeks instead of 8 weeks.

I had a tiny yorkie at 12 weeks and her not eating was a constant worry - due to the hypoglycemia issues already mentioned. Sometimes I had to hand feed her; anything to get her to eat and drink. Especially, if they are little . . it doesn't take much to dehydrate. And I was here 24/7 as well.

It's great that you can come home at lunch time; but I do think this set-up is going to be better for a little older pup than an 8 week old pup.