Can a puppy leave litter after 6 weeks?
 

Is it healthy for a puppy to leave litter after only 6 weeks? I heard you're not supposed to let them go until they are at least 8 weeks old, but somehow my breeder said they are safe to leave litter after 6 weeks, but she may keep them up to 7 weeks just to make sure they eat right, is that safe?!

A Yorkie puppy should not leave their mother until they are 12 weeks old; certainly 6 weeks is far too young.

That breeder is just a greeder. She wants her money now and to be rid of them asap.

Not really. It is the general opinion of many here that a puppy should stay with mommie until 12 weeks. They have a chance to gain a little weight,have been eating on their own for more than just a day or two and learn alot of social skills from being with mom. My understanding is that a 6week puppy is just starting to wean from mom. They dont understand potty on paper or outside at that age. Because my baby came to me at 13 weeks she was already in a routine for pottying where she was supposed to.
There are many breeders out there that just want to produce the babys and move them out the door. I dont think that a puppy would even have any shots by that age and they have very little immunitites.
Patience on your part to let baby stay with the breeder longer would pay off in the end. You get a more mature and physically stronger baby.

A toy breed puppy should not leave until 12 weeks old. I just took in a six week old maltese/yorkie mix and have a thread here. There is a lot of worry and prep, knowledge and zero sleep plus she is with me 24/7. Right now my girl is doing great but unless you have rescue or breeder experience, I do not recommend even attempting a 6 or 7 week old it is hard could be heart breaking and/or even fatal for the furbutt. Even a decent breeder will not release the pups that young.

thanks! that helps me alot.

Here in Fl. pups and kittens must be 8 weeks old and have a health certificate signed by a Vet, to be sold. I know people give away pups and kittens as young as 5 or 6 weeks old. Many are dropped off at the animal shelter that are very young. Some states do not have puppy age laws. Where the law allows, puppies are routinely taken away from bitch and litter mates at 6 weeks and sold. Mothers start to wean puppies at 4 weeks. Puppy Mills and breeders that are in the business to make quick money, sell the babies as soon as possible. It is not a good idea to sell pups at 6 weeks. Puppies can survive but, they miss out on many important social skills taught buy the mother. Interactions with litter mates are also important and teach a dog how to behave with other dogs. Smaller breeds seem to need more time with the mother, than larger breeds IMO. YTCA says pups should stay with the bitch and litter mates until they are 12 weeks old. (When I had a litter of Yorkies, I did not let them go until I was convinced they were ready. Only one was placed at 12 weeks, one at 14 weeks and the last two at 16 weeks. BUT I was providing the one on one time and early social experiences they needed to become calm, well socialized and secure. Some breeders can not, or will not do that. If that is the case IMHO, the pups are better off when placed in their new home at a younger age. IF the new owner is educated about puppies and what they need. It is very important for puppies to have early handling, grooming, training and social experiences between 7 weeks and 16 weeks. If you would like to learn more about the puppy learning stages, Google this: Super Dogs Are Made Not Born. Also YT has many good threads to read too.

12 weeks is best for the pup. If your breeder is in Florida, it is illegal for them to sell the pup before 8 weeks of age, so you are dealing with someone who either doesn't know their business or is purposely a law breaker. Not a breeder I would want to deal with.

Here is a table with the legal age to sell a puppy, I had a hard time getting the page to open, so you might have to try a few times: Age to Sell Puppy Table

I'd rethink getting a puppy whose breeder is willing to release them at 6 weeks. Where else are they cutting corners? Are the dam and sire health tested and certified? Have they been shown, championed?

Good luck and I hope that the breeder will see reason, or that you move on and get a pup from a reputable breeder instead.

:thumbup::thumbup: I wouldn't have anything to do with a breeder who allowed 6-week old puppies to go to a new home.

Run very far from that breeder yorkies shouldn't leave there mommys until 12 weeks and good yorkie breeders know that.

A breeder that lets pups go home that young just wants the money and doesnt care at all about the pups well being. She just doesnt want to be bothered with them so she gets rid of them that young. In some states it is illegal to sell them that young

While most on here are against yorkies going to homes before 12 weeks of age, there are more than a few of us on here that got our pups much younger.

I got ZoE at 6 weeks & thought it was the absolute best puppy experience I've ever had. I'd much rather train my own pup than have the breeder do it. She potty trained in a matter of weeks. That being said, she was a healthy, good-size puppy, not an extremely tiny lil itty bitty thing, and had teeth was eating kibble, and I had yorkies before and was able to take time of work to be with her 24/7 for the first few weeks she was home. If that wasn't the case, I would have waited til she was a few weeks older.

You were very fortunate. The majority of Yorkies are too small at 6 weeks (Max is a big boy, but he was barely 2 pounds at 6 weeks), and the majority suffer behavioral problems if they leave mom and their litter too early. (biting/potty)

The chances for medical problems are quite high. Assessing a yorkie puppy at 12 weeks for health and structure and more is much easier than 6 weeks, so from a "buyer's" perspective, I would wait.

Although I feel pretty confident in my basic training abilities, I trust that my breeder is even better.

I got my Bella at 6 weeks. Naive was me....thank goodness she is the smartest, best dog I could have asked for!! She luckily never had any health issues!!!!! We were very lucky!

Well you were lucky most people don't get that lucky, most people cant stay home 24/7 with there new puppy that could have hypoglycemic issues when there not home and bad breeders not following guidelines for yorkies are the ones that let them go at 6 weeks which can open another door for many many problems.

morgan was 10 weeks old when we got him

I got Cesar at 16 weeks, he was a rescue. He was pad trained but a very shy little dog. His mom had died right after he was born so his mom had not trained him.

Last week I bought a female from a friend. She was 8 weeks old. She is a big puppy and is eating well. My friend let me have her early because I had experience with yorkies and would be home with her all day. She has 2 small children so the holiday season was going to be hectic at her house and felt she would get more attention with me. Sometimes it works out to get them earlier, it really depends on the dog and situation. If I had questioned her health, I would have waited about taking her.

Its not just the health though mother dogs teach them a lot pertaining to socializing and being a dog.

I completely forgot about hypoglycemia. Good point. Even if someone is home with the pup all day, a 6 week old pup is probably going to be over-handled by new owners. Pups need lots of rest.

If the health and behavioral issues don't concern people, I would stress again that as a buyer, you cannot adequately assess a 6 week old pup. If you want a quality yorkie, best to wait until at least 12 weeks. When good breeders are looking for their next show dog, they can't tell for sure which will be great at that age.

I got my yorkie at 7 weeks old. A man came to my clinic and had him for a week already, so 6 weeks, and he was mad he hadnt potty trained already, and gave him to me. NO problems what so ever!! Thankfully. Unfortunately in our area, everyone sells/ gives away 6 week old puppies all the time!!!!!! And i have seen a few with problems, but very few compared to how many go out. Mine was 2.2 lbs at 7 weeks, and is 7 lbs full grown. And he has never had any health/behavior problems.

Just wanted to throw my 2 cents in... :D

The answer is NO!

NO puppy should be removed from it's litter that early.

Puppies of any breed should stay with their litter as long as possible.

They get vital nutrients from Mom
They learn acceptable social behaviors from Mom and littermates in order to get a long with other dogs
They learn their social placement in a pack/family
They learn security

Some large breeds do ok with letting the pups go at 8 weeks old. They usually have larger litters and the pups can learn faster from their littermates.

Toy breeds should NOT be let go until they are 12 weeks old.

It's not always about size - it's about maturity and health. You can have a larger pup (toy breed) but it does not mean that the pup has learned the social skills it needs.

Check this article out.

This will let you know what the pup would be missing out on if you take them too early. It's a pretty decent article with generic need to know stuff.

Puppies and Learning - Dog Facts

I got my golden, Lucky at @6 weeks but he was a big baby 10.5 pounds average is 6.5 pounds for this age. He ate like a horse and someone was going to be home 24/7 for several momths. The breeder said he could go but any weight loss or problems to call.

That being said yorkies are prone to hypoglycemia. If someone can be around 24/7 you may be okay. I kept Cozy's puppies til at least 10-16 weeks depending on the pup and home environment they where going to. I kept the runts from her 1st litter.

If it was me I would wait.

Just because everyone does it dose not make it a good nor right thing to do. Im glad you got lucky though.

Which is why i said unfortunatly!! I never said anything about it being good or right! I just gave my experience

I never said you did.

Then I hope they never have kids! Taking time off work or reworking your schedule to accomodate a new baby to your family, during the few times a baby joins your family in your given lifetime...fur OR skin...doesn't have anything to do with being "lucky"...it's about responsibility for a living being.

And speaking of babies...most mothers are discharged from a hospital just 24 hours after giving birth, and are then expected to care for a newborn....and many of those same moms, just SIX weeks later, return to work and leave their infants in the care of another! So why is such a big deal made about an adult caring for a 6+ week old puppy???

Most mothers when having a human baby get maternity leave and you don't get that just because you got a new puppy plus most jobs if you take off a long time such as weeks then you either don't get payed or don't have a job after. A puppy should be with its mother until 12 weeks because there are things a human cannot teach there dog that the dog mother can. Most people get a dog and leave it alone for a certain amount of time and if you do that with a 6 week old puppy you could really come back to some problems. Why are so against doing what is best for the puppy?

Please don't !!! It's not healthy, and it's a terrible idea regardless of whether you are giving away a baby or getting it. Not just Yorkies, either.

At that age, the baby still needs mother's milk...and you won't have a ready supply of that without a mommy.

Even at 11 weeks, when a feral kitty mommy started wanting new mates and we took her to the vet for spaying 'cuz she was starting to wean off her kittens, she let herself out of her cage and neither the vet's office nor us or her kittens ever saw her again. I still have three of her babies...now 13 years old...and one still wants to cuddle with me on the kitchen floor. They need their mommies until at least 12 weeks or more !

Puppies, I have never found homes for before 12 weeks, and later than 12 weeks is better for mommy and babies...and you can send them out the door with good manners, too, making fabulous companions for their new families !

- Cat