Age to get pup

hughjohn

Is 8 weeks a bit early to collect a pup. The breeder is keen to move them on but my gut feeling is it's a bit too soon. Whats the norm.
BTW have seen dog and bitch and full litter at breeders home and all are well cared for etc.

andreac

8 weeks is a Normal age to go to their new home.

What breed is it? Some of the smaller breeds do a bit better if left a week or two longer.

hughjohn

andreac wrote: »

8 weeks is a Normal age to go to their new home.

What breed is it? Some of the smaller breeds do a bit better if left a week or two longer.

Thanks. It is a springer spaniel.

Wobbly_Legs

I would say 8 weeks is the right time. Ideally never before 6 weeks I believe, also some recommend waiting up to 12 weeks.
Breeders are often keen to move puppies on as quickly as possible, as each week longer they have them, the more money it costs.

Knine

Reputable Breeders are never in a hurry to move puppies on.

Personally for me it depends on the individual litter, last time I just had 3 & they needed extra time to socialize so I kept them a bit longer. They have all turned out to be fantastic well adjusted dogs.

DBB

I think a huge amount depends on how good and attentive the breeder is to the socialisation process.
If the breeder is regularly exposing the pups to lots of children, men, women, the regular arrival of visitors to the home, other dogs (vaccinated), cats, hoovers, washing machines, traffic, journeys in the car, handling, sudden noises, and lots of other things a puppy will be expected to confront in a new pet home, then I'm happy to leave the puppy with the breeder for a little longer.
However, if the pup is being reared outside the breeder's home in a shed, and especially if the breeder lives in a quiet, rural location with feck-all visitors and feck-all exposure to life inside the home, well, I actually wouldn't buy a pup from this set-up at all, but if I HAD to, I'd be taking the pup at 7-8 weeks and doing all that work myself, bearing in mind I've a lot of puppy-rearing experience... this is not an easy task for an inexperienced dog owner.
There is some evidence to suggest that some breeds have longer socialisation periods than others... labradors for example have a longer socialisation period and are safer to leave with the breeder longer, whilst German Sheps have a shorter one, and they are better to come away from the breeder at 8 weeks. This makes sense, when you think about it, as there are a lot more nervy, timid GSDs than there are Labs, even though they were brought up in similar-ish environments.

Gael23

8 weeks is about standard. When we got ours he was 9 weeks and the last left in the litter

Outkast_IRE

I seem to hearing from alot of people they got theirs at 8 weeks. However some breeders will wait towards nearer the 12 week mark as they find it gives the pup more time to learn proper manners and behaviours from its parents/siblings.

gregers85

Knine wrote: »

Reputable Breeders are never in a hurry to move puppies on.

Personally for me it depends on the individual litter, last time I just had 3 & they needed extra time to socialize so I kept them a bit longer. They have all turned out to be fantastic well adjusted dogs.

Solid advise here if you ask me!

Every litter and pup is different! A good breeder should know when to let the pups go and should never be in any kind of hurry to move them!!

My last Litter, I had a pup that got very ill in the second week so I bottle fed him for a nice few days until he was strong enough to go back ion with the litter then the poor lad got an infection in his tail at about 6 weeks and he lost about a quarter of it! He was nearly 15 weeks before I felt comfortable giving him to his forever home!! broke my heart too was so attached at that stage but glad to say he is in a great home and is strong happy chappy now

jimf

8 weeks is perfect for a springer and as already pointed out by others get as much socialisation into them asap lots of springers are bomb proof but also are very prone to be edgy nervous if left too late

hope you have bags of energy to expend as you will need it pretty soon

also get them used to being brushed/combed on a regular basis as they are very prone to the hair on their ears knotting

hughjohn

jimf wrote: »

8 weeks is perfect for a springer and as already pointed out by others get as much socialisation into them asap lots of springers are bomb proof but also are very prone to be edgy nervous if left too late

hope you have bags of energy to expend as you will need it pretty soon

also get them used to being brushed/combed on a regular basis as they are very prone to the hair on their ears knotting

Thanks.
Going to collect her this week. 8 weeks exactly.
Dont worry about my energy , I walk dogs 2-3 hours/day every day.
Have had spaniels before too, just not a pup. Usually get them 18 months old or so.
hope she'll get on with the rest of the pack!

jimf

hughjohn wrote: »

Thanks.
Going to collect her this week. 8 weeks exactly.
Dont worry about my energy , I walk dogs 2-3 hours/day every day.
Have had spaniels before too, just not a pup. Usually get them 18 months old or so.
hope she'll get on with the rest of the pack!

best of luck with her they are fab little dogs