What will happen if you bring a puppy home before 8 weeks?

Question

What will happen to its behaviour in the future? Can you prevent it from happening?

It has been weaned already

Also, it is six weeks old.

Answer 1

I can't understand why Carol was given the thumbs down from someone for simply saying that her dog was easy to train because she had it from 6 wks old? Nor can I understand why people are so *fixed* on 8wks. Is it a case (again) of simply accepting what they are being told? As it would appear that in some areas, pups are not allowed to be sold before 8wks *does not* mean that pups are going to be difficult to house train, difficult to train, difficult period if they go to their new homes at 6wks! Of the four dogs here, the oldest at 11y/o was the result of an accidental mating of two rescue dogs I had in, and that litter went to their new homes at 6wks. The next dog came to us at 7wks.....now 9 y/o. The next, from a *very* reputable breeder, came to us at 6wks...he's now 5 y/o. My Terv came to us at 7wks, again from a very reputable breeder, and is now 4 y/o. We have had *no* problems with these dogs, they are very well socialised, super temperaments, all compete in obedience.

But to answer your question. :-)) What I have done with all of these dogs is take them out with me *every day* to meet people. I take them in the car to the local shops, and sit with the back up, and pup on my knee, and everyone comes up and pets my lovely pup.....pup loves it, and ends up loving people. I also take the pup to a place where there is a large amount of traffic, and again pup and I just sit with the back up, and watch the traffic go by.....pup gets used to traffic. Same with train stations, bus stations, any situation your pup will need as an adult. I also allow contact with other dogs from an early age, but am careful that the pup will not be overwhelmed....so at first, again, the pup is in my lap. (I am not concerned about contacting disease.....pups of that age still have protection from their mother. ) We go to dog shows every weekend, and pup meets other dogs there. These dogs I know well, and their owners well, so the interaction is safe and under supervision. Be sure that you simply don't allow the pup to be "mauled" or frightened by another dog, and you will have no problems. With all of these situations, I start with the pup on my knee, and then graduate to the ground. (We were at a show today, and there were about ten pups around the show, ages ranging from 6wks to 12 wks old.....ideal situation for them.) Manners you simply teach yourself. Obedience training you start asap. At six weeks to twelve weeks, puppies soak up knowledge like a sponge, so you can do lots with them. At twelve weeks, my pups are doing good heel-work, stand, sit, down, come, and the start of retrieve. All with treats. Have fun, be fair, do not allow "bad" behaviour (puppies don't know "bad"....they just "do") by simply diverting the pup on to something you *want* them to do, and not what they thought was fun.....eg, chewing your chair leg! Pups at that age are easy to train. Have fun!!!

PS. As for the mother wanting the pups away at 8wks....has anyone here actually bred a litter??? Have they seen a mother leave the pups at four weeks old, and literally say, "They're tearing me up! You have them!!" Mums in the wild have sisters and half-sisters to help them with raising a litter.......our dogs don't. At five weeks old, pups have razor sharp teeth...as well as sharp claws (no matter how well you cut the things!) and Mum is usually wanting out of there! Especially if she has a litter of around 8. I have bred litters, and most went around 6/7 weeks, because the pups were well weaned, they were house trained......they were ready to go!!! I am *not* an irresponsible breeder, I can assure you.

Answer 2

4 weeks and she's letting it go, first off she is not a reputable breeder and you should avoid buying anything from her, chances are she's never done any genetic testing on her dogs and you have no idea what she is passing down to the puppies. I guarantee she isn't offering any health guarantee with the pup either. Dogs that small need to stay with the mother at least 12 weeks. Most states have a law that states that no puppy can be sold that is under 8 weeks of age, how many laws is this woman violating and let a puppy go at 2 weeks old is she insane?? Puppies need to nurse until they are 6 weeks old at that time then they can start on puppy food and get weaned off the mother, before that time then you have to take over the nightly feedings with puppy replacement milk. RUN AWAY AS FAST AS YOU CAN FROM THIS WOMAN, she should be reported for breeding. Not only what I've stated above but a puppy learns critical manners from it's mother and siblings, critical behaviors that it needs in order to be able to live harmoniously with it's new pack [You] without those lessons you are inheriting a bundle of behavioral issues that won't manifest until the dog is much older. If you purchase a dog from this woman then you deserve everything you get because what you'll get are a butt load of vet bills for a sickly puppy and serious aggression issues as it gets older. I would NOT buy from this woman. Sounds like animal control needs to go and check out her facilities.

Answer 3

8 weeks is reccomended because by this age the dog has had the proper socialization and has learned proper "pack" behavior from it's siblings and mother. The puppy must stay with the mother until 4-5 weeks (when the puppy weans). If the dog is taken away from the mother and siblings too early it won't learn proper behavior and won't be properly socialized. If there is no choice about age the puppy is taken away from mother (like with one of my dogs who was abandonned at 4.5 weeks on the side of a road), then I highly suggest starting obedience classes as soon as possible. Even if the puppy doesn't learn "sit" or "stay" at 6 weeks, just being around other dogs and people could be extremely beneficial to the puppy and help properly socialize it.

Answer 4

A puppy should be an absolute MINIMUM of 8 weeks old.

If a puppy leaves before 8 weeks, it has usually not had enough time to learn 'dog' behavior (the pack, how to interact with other dogs, bite inhibition, etc.). Many breeders keep their puppies until between 10 and 14 weeks. During this time, the puppy is still learning different social behaviors from the mother and the rest of the litter. I recommend waiting to at least 12 weeks to separate the puppy from it's mother and the rest of the litter.

Also, in many places it's illegal to sell a dog under 8 weeks of age.
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Answer 5

Actually, the very best time to remove a pup from the litter & begin the bonding process with the new master is precisely on the 49th day (7 wks for you people in Rio Linda). I didn't pick this arbitrarily but learned about this fact some 30yrs ago. A behavioral study was done by an institute in Maine concerning the low acceptance rate (15%) of guide dog candidates. It was discovered that the training was being started too late in the dog's development. Read Richard A Wolters' book "Water Dog" to fully understand. I have been using the method since 1973. The 1st time was with a Lab & by the time he was 12wks old he would sit, come, stay, heel & lie down on voice command & had started him on hand signals!!!

Answer 6

It may or may not behave in an unsocial way because it hasn't had the interaction with its litter mates and mother.They teach each other were the boundary's of behavior are like not biting too hard and demanding attention etc.Animals behavior is based a lot on instinct and what it learns from its parents so before 8 weeks is a bit young.But your dog will also behave as its own personality dictates ,so why don't you watch how it behaves whilst with the litter and mum ..this might give you an idea of how it will behave with you.Some pups are shy and stand back others are bold and will push the others around.Pups time with there mother is very important and a pup should never be taken away too young.

Answer 7

It all depends on whether they are weaned or not. If you just take them away from the mother and they haven't started eating other food, you definitely will have an insecure, neurotic dog. It's not so much the exact amount of weeks as it is if the mother & puppy are separating. Some are already weaned at 6 wks.

Answer 8

Some are weaned at 6 weeks, this mean two extra weeks of whining and motherly care from you. 8 weeks seems a good time with the mother. The Behavior stems from your interaction. When I get a puppy it sleeps in a box by my bed, it just like a baby. If, it whine in the night I can reach down and pet it and it go back to sleep. Sometimes I have to get up and give it a little food and set it outside after so it pee and poop and we go back to bed.
AND, sometimes it eat and pee and want to play before going back to bed. Agggghhhh!!! ;-)

Answer 9

It depends on how much sooner and what type of environment the puppy lived in prior to coming home, how good of a mother it had, how much human interaction, how many littermates and a whole host of other things.
If raised in a kennel/outside environment with little human interaction you are going to get behavior issues no matter what.
If the mother was taken away from the pups early the puppy will lack skills on just how to behave. Mothers teach their young not to bite and many other things about pack order are learned in a litter. 8 Weeks is crucial IF things are done right. If things were not done right then you need to find a breeder who cared enough about her pups to ensure things were done correctly. Why set yourself up for a bunch of challenges?
You need to purchase from someone who has the pups best interest at heart and run from anyone who doesn't.
Don't support back yard breeders or puppy mills and set yourself and your pup up for a rough start. Buying from such breeders only encourages them to breed yet another litter of puppies who will have issues.
It doesn't matter that they are weaned. That is totally normal for pups starting at as early as 3 to 4 weeks. It does NOT mean they are ready to leave the nest.

Answer 10

Some times puppies can die from being weened too early. Some have depression, it all varies. But the smart thing to do is make sure that the puppy stays with mamma until 8 weeks. At 8 weeks is when mamma will start to get them to be more on their own and less dependent on her.

Answer 11

Puppies Learn alot from their mother in the first few months of their lives, leave it with the Mom for at least 8 weeks!! Alot will have behavior problems and such, because they were taken early..