How old should pups be before bringing them home?
 

Hello everyone!

I am so excited!

One of my ex-wife's Yorkies is having an unexpected litter in the next few weeks. The father is our older Yorkie from when we were married, our boys' dog. Since they're my grand-pups, she's giving me two of them. I'm just getting back into a house after being in an apartment and being pet free for several years and am very excited. Naturally, I'll be extremely anxious to bring my little bundles of love home as soon as possible so I can start spoiling them. No matter how anxious I am though, I want to do right by the pups and give them every reasonable opportunity to have a happy, healthy start. On that note, how long should they stay with their mother?

Everything I've read on the Internet says the pups should be weaned around 7 weeks or so and should stay with their mother from 8 to 12 weeks. 8 weeks seems normal and 12 weeks sounds sort of excessive. I've spoke to several vets in my area and they all agree that, assuming the pups are eating solid food and having good bowel movements from solid food, they should be fine to take home at 8 weeks old. Most of the web sites I've read that promote leaving the pups with their mother longer than 8 weeks say the extra 2 to 4 weeks help with socialization skills, etc.

What is the opinion of the other owners (parents) on this board? 8 weeks? 12 weeks? Somewhere in between? I'd appreciate any advice anyone might be able to provide on the subject. Thanks in advance.

Sincerely,
- Byron Followell

esspecially with these little ones i would lean more twards the 12 week mark, how fun to have two little bundles growing up together

The breeder we got both our girls from said yorkies should not leave their mother until at least 12 weeks old. That would be the min. He told us if we found a breeder that wanted to get rid of their pups any sooner to stay away from them. I trust our breeder and have always went with what he has told us. He has not failed us yet. We also love our vet he recommended. You also want to do what is in the best interest of your pup.

I personally think 12 weeks. I know alot of breeders out there agree with this, especially with the smaller babies. I have heard of some people bringing their babies home at 9 or 10 weeks, but I truly do feel that they need to be with the mother longer (and no offense to those that brought their babies home at this age). Both of my babies came home with me at 12 weeks of age.

I first saw my baby at 8 weeks and the breeder didn't know then when she was going to let me bring her home. She said maybe another week, maybe up to two. When I called the next week she had just been to the vet again and the breeder said come on up, so she came home at 9 weeks (she's 13 weeks now). She was unhappy the first 24 hours (including the first overnight) not sleeping, not liking the crate, not eating. But she was used to the crate by the 2nd day and after I force fed her some nutrical she started eating - turned out for some reason she didn't like the food the breeder gave me but seemed to LOVE the stuff I bought.

This is the first tiny dog I've had, every other dog I've had we got at 8 weeks.

Congrats on your new babies! And get ready for lots of work!

Our puppies go home around 10 -12 and usually it's always 12 weeks of age. Yes, at this point the Mothers have very little and they are a LOT of work! This is the time when they learn from the other litter mates what is acceptable and what is not. If they bite their mothers too hard she will let them know it!

I think 10 weeks is reasonable. 8 is really quite young. They do learn a lot of socialization those extra few weeks. And that could make a big difference in their behavior after you get them home.

What they are learning is good dog etiquette. the playful biting will be more gentle, and they will respond better to you as the pack leader, because they will have been taught subordination.

So I know it will be hard to wait, but I think all in all it would be better to wait till 10 to 12 weeks.

Hi and welcome. How exciting for you to get them.
I think most say 12 weeks.
However, I got Winstin at a little over 8 weeks and he was just fine.
I made sure he ate so he did not run into trouble. He also spent every moment possible with me. I have made sure he has been around other dogs and puppies and I think that helped a lot with social skills. Actually all three of my dogs came home at 8 weeks and all have been wonderful. My big girls like to play with all of the neighborhood dogs. One of our neighbors has a beagle that just loves my girls. However, Winstin is to little so he misses out on that play time.
You could see how the pups are doing at 8 weeks and go from there. I to think 12 weeks seems a bit long. But, I am no expert. :)

No younger than 10 weeks. 12 weeks is best

I brought both of mine home at 8 weeks, Aubrey was fine, but Dakota struggled so I would reccommend 12 weeks.

I brought both of mine home at 8 weeks. My Harley was a biggie pup but my Shooter was the smallest in the litter. I haven't had any problems. I am a stay at home mom so I am home all the time with them.

I think it all depends on the pup. I got both of mine at 8 weeks. and they did great, but I was with them 24/7.
I never let my pups go until after 10 weeks. if they are very small I hold onto them a little longer.

Congrats on getting 2 baby's.

Welcome to YT and congrats on the upcoming litter!

Bringing a yorkie puppy home before 10-12 weeks of age is just asking for trouble IMO

YT has lots and lots of great info for you to read. Now is the time you can be reading up and getting all prepared for your home coming!

You can be getting all the nessessitees you will need for the puppies!

I can't wait to see lots of pics of your babies!

I bought both mine home at 8-9 weeks and they have no problems.

I've always thought the rule of thumb for yorkies was 2 pounds or 12 weeks. My vet says when they are eating on their own and going potty fine then they can go home, after he vet checks them. To make sure teeth are in ok and everyone is healthy. I have let a few of the bigger ones go home at 9 weeks. My moms won't feed them anymore after 7-8 weeks anyways. But the smaller (under 2 pounds) stay with me until they are 12 weeks. I tell all my people that are getting a puppy that we have to play it by ear for the pick up date. But I never get their first shots before 8 weeks and then keep them with me for at least a week after.
Good luck with your new pups.

I brought my puppy home at 9 weeks but she was a bigger puppy (she was 2.8 lbs then). I made sure I had Nutrical on hand and was home 24/7 for the first two weeks I brought her home. I had no issues. She slept in her crate on my bed next to my pillow and didn't cry once.

I do think it all depends on the puppy. Bitsy is a confident and super curious dog. She was the first to open her eyes and the first out of the whelping box.

I think with smaller puppies or puppies who are a little timid or shy do better if left with their mother longer. I can't see how leaving her with her mother longer can be anything but a good thing (especially if it's a good breeder). I would have left Bitsy longer with her mother but I felt the people I got Bitsy from didn't really know what they were doing so that's why I took her at 9 weeks.

12 weeks is the rule of thumb with Yorkies and I think you'd be hard pressed to find any reputable breeders who'd recommend it to be earlier. I know that often larger breed dogs go home at 8 weeks and are fine, but these dogs are very small. The 8-12 week mark is a very critical time of development in socialization skills for these dogs that studies and experts agree are better spent with the mother and litter mates. Chances are that the pup would be OK at 8 weeks, but what risk it when the chance would be greatly reduced by holding out just a little longer. Why take the chance if you don't have to? :)

The Yorkshire Terrier Club of America's Code of Conduct states:


8) All puppies leaving the breeders possession will be a minimum of twelve (12) weeks
of age to facilitate adequate socialization as well as appropriate emotional and
temperament development through interaction with siblings, dam and other dogs.

http://www.ytca.org/ethics.html

Not to hijack the thread, but what are the supposed effects and results of bringing a puppy home before 12 weeks?

I think that if you go to the Breeder Section, there is a sticky regarding puppy development that is broken down by week and explaining the stages of development in detail. :)

12 weeks is the minimum for placement. They still have growing and socialization skills during the 10-12 week phase.

1st of all,Welcome to YT! I would recommend taking the pups at 12 weeks or if they are 2 lbs each at 10 weeks and eating well that would be fine. 12 weeks is not excessive Byron,just being careful! Enjoy, cant wait to see pics of your babies!

I got both mine at 8 weeks old and had no problems with their behaviour..they trained quickly and were very well socialized. I can understand why breeders keep them until 12 weeks though...in my experience 8 weeks was fine though..

Dawn

Thanks to everyone who has and may still reply. This is exactly the type of information I was hoping to see. Not necessarily the answer I was hoping for but the type of advice I wanted nonetheless.

I believe we brought our original Yorkie home when she was just a little over 9 weeks old. It's been a long time ago though so I may not be remembering correctly. I don't remember any ill affects but being my first Yorkie and my first small dog, I had nothing to compare it to. Just because things weren't bad doesn't mean they couldn't have been better I guess.

Regardless of how hard it will be (and I know it will be hard) I think I'll push my ex to keep the pups with their mother for a full 12 weeks. It will be totally up to her if she wants to keep them that long but I know she wants to do everything the best way for the pups so hopefully it won't be an issue. This is her first litter as a breeder and earlier than she wanted since it was unexpected so she is still learning too. I'll make sure to pass on everyone's advice to her.

I’ll have my ex take a couple of photos of the litter after the blessed event and a couple more every week until I bring mine home. You better believe I’ll be showing off my new kids here.

Thanks for all of the advice everyone has so graciously provided.

Sincerely,
Soon to be a Dad again,
- Byron

We go Shelby @ 12 weeks and Seymour @ 16 weeks.

I think that if they aren't so itty bitty, you may be able to do 10 weeks. I am sure you would rather wait a couple of weeks to insure that you have happy healthy pups!!.........