Illegal to adopt a puppy out at only 7 weeks?? TN?

Question

Iv heard rumors that it was not just wrong of the breeder i got my puppy from to give her away at 7 weeks, but that it is even illegal. Is this true??? Iv had her 3 days. She was born on OCT 28th. I live in Tennessee... If anyone knows of a law like this please send me a link or some proof. Thanks!

Answer 1

Check the laws in your area.. In many places it is illegal to adopt out a puppy under 8 weeks of age.

Answer 2

I live in TN, too and I have never heard that it is actually illegal to separate a pup from it's mom at 7 weeks- Don't quote me, I could be wrong, but I've never heard of it. Now, I don't agree that you should take a pup at 7 weeks if it can be avoided, but it will be okay, I'm sure. Make sure you are feeding it about 5 or 6 times a day- puppy food made soupy with water- not milk! Keep it warm. I've had to take care of 3 day old kittens when the mom couldn't and they were fine, too. Never ideal, but do-able! Good luck!

Answer 3

I live in TN. There is no law regarding at what age you can place an animal. If someone wanted to unload a newborn on you and you were willing ot take it... there is no law against it in TN.
I am not saying that it is right. Responsible breeders do not place their puppies until they are at least 8 weeks but I am talking law here.
I am adding a link for you of all of the TN animal laws. It may take you a week to read them but you will have them to sift through in your spare time.
Good luck to you and Happy Holidays!
~Tyed~

Answer 4

Your puppy is fine and is perfectly legal in Tennessee.

A lot of people get all worked up over the 8 week thing without having a clue of how or why the 8 week benchmark got started.

For years and years the ONLY day to pick up your pup was day 49 (7 weeks) this was caused by a book written by a famous trainer of the day. Before that book came out 6 weeks had been the benchmark for at least 100 years.

Many of us started holding on to our pups until after 8 week for two specific reasons. #1 we could have the puppies eyes CERF certified at 8 weeks, #2 we could better evaluate our puppies at 8 weeks (Pat Hastings method)
The funny part is that the bunny hugger 8 week advocates dont bother to do either of the two.
In time the airlines followed suit and would not ship a puppy before 8 weeks. From there the bunny huggers that don't have a clue decided that it would be nice if they could lobby and make it law. They have seceded in a few places but not all that many.

Now you know the rest of the story:
Good night

Answer 5

That law varies by state. Currently I've been having problems accessing any legal sites (actual sites that are maintained by the government) so I cannot provide you with the link. Contact the ASPCA (or whatever it is in your area) and ask them. It is DEFINITELY very bad for the puppies development. This is the time when they are learning to be a well-behaved dog in dog society. There is also a 'fear stage' coming very shortly (all puppies go through this stage at least once while growing up).

add: Any time I end up having to home a litter (I do not breed my dogs but I will help the ignorant, irresponsible people who didn't spay/neuter) I do not give the pups up until they are between 12-18 weeks. This gives me time to double check their placements to be sure they will fit. It also gives me time to do some basics with them and whatever else I feel is necessary in the circumstances.

Answer 6

most people recommend 8 weeks, or even more for smaller breeds such as chihuahuas. However, whether people agree or not, many breeders still sell pups at 6 weeks if you are local, and 8 weeks to get onto a plane. However, all my litters stay with me until they are 8 weeks. Some breeders feel that since they are already full weaned they should just go to to new homes - but within those two weeks they also learn socialization skills too -

Answer 7

http://www.animallaw.info/articles/ovuspuppysalelaws.htm

I'll try and wade through it for something more brief and concise to post - you might like to do the same.

No good breeder should rehome a puppy before eight weeks of age, and many would not rehome until ten or twelve weeks. Puppies need to remain with their mother and litter to learn bite inhibition and acceptable behaviour. Dogs denied this experience are often more difficult to socialise and more likely to display problematic behaviour later on.

Edit: As far as I can see, Tennesse is not one of the fifteen states where there is a legal age under which puppies cannot be sold and not one of the thirteen where it is illegal to sell puppies under eight weeks. But you certainly bought from an irresponsible breeder regardless - with eight weeks as a good benchmark for the layperson, why would any good breeder try to undermine something which ultimately is beneficial to a puppy?

Answer 8

I am a Tennessee breeder. I don't let my pups go before 8 weeks. I see ads all the time tho where younger pups are for sale. Tennessee does not have very good laws regarding pets. I don't think there is a law requiring pups to be over 7 weeks in our state. There needs to be more regulation over things such as this.

Answer 9

I live in VA and yes the law says that no puppy or kitten should be sold or given away with out the Mom before it is 8 weeks old I'm not sure how many other states have the same law

Answer 10

in your state its perfectly legal...
not suggested by GOOD breeders
but she did nothing wrong,
13 states have laws stating the puppy cannot be sold before turning 8 weeks...
another 2 say 7 weeks....
and theres a few that state 6 weeks

tennessee has NO laws reguarding it however so your "breeder" is safe however its never a good plan...

and while pups can have vision tests at 8 weeks, they cnanot be officially certified by cerf untill 2 years of age...
the reason for keeping pups so long is fear stages and socilization, NOT testing.