I was scheduled to pickup our new puppy from the breeder on 1/27/07. She just emailed me and will be attending a show out of town that weekend. She offered for me to either pick up the puppy the weekend prior or the weekend after. The puppy was born 11/30/06. I would appreciate any suggestions.

I would pick a week after.After 8 weeks is better than before.Those pups benefit more by being with the mother extra days as suppose to less.
Don't rush, I think when she gets back from her show is fine.
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8-9 weeks is my suggestion. I wouldn't go any younger than that at all or the pup is losing out on vital socialization with mom. Some studies have shown that dogs taken from their mom before 8 weeks don't develop good dog to dog skills and can become dog fearful/aggressive. Why take the chance?

Good luck with the pup!

i'd love to see these studies people keep touting about not taking a puppy away from its mom before 8 weeks. 50-20 years ago people took puppies home at 6 weeks, and the dogs grew up just fine. i personally, in my experience, have found 7 weeks to be optimal for bonding with the pup. older than that, the pup can become too "doggy."

i agree if the pup is going to an inexperienced owner, it is better off with its littermates and breeder. but sometimes the conditions in the new home are better for the pup than with its litter.

What Alice said.....my preference is 7-8 weeks.

After 8 weeks I feel that it is best for litters to be separated. IMO it can be very detrimental to the more submissive pups, especially if they are being fed together. The more dominate pups can really start to be bullys.

I agree with Alice and Debbie on this.

My pup's (GSD) breeder started letting the pups go at 7 weeks (I was first and took my pup home at exactly 7 weeks).

She didn't let all the pups leave at once, and spread the process out over 1 week so as not to upset the mother too much. The bitch was an extremely attentive mother and would get very anxious if even one of her pups got out of sight.

Anyway, turns out that the pups that left the litter at 7-8 weeks of age bonded a lot more tightly to their new owner compared to the pups who stayed until 10-11 weeks of age.

The breeder said that next time she would separate the pups from the mother once they reach 8 weeks of age (even if the new owners aren't ready to take them yet) to prevent this "doggyness" from developing. The delays was due to 2 last-minute cancellations from buyers who had already put in deposits.

My pup was perfectly fine with being taken at 7 weeks; he only cried for about 30 minutes on the drive home and that was it!
He's pretty much been my shadow ever since then

We have 3 pups (from same litter)that are now a year old in our Schutzhund club.All with experience handlers and dog owners.The one tha tleft at 6 weeks of age is a very dog aggressive dog.But very very bonded to her owner.
the other 2 pups left their mother at 8 weekds of age.
One is extremely social,with people and dogs, the 3 rd one is very independent could care less about other dogs , very focus on the work that is asked of him.
I have to say that they have had very simular up bringing.
So what would that conclude? Not a fact , you can't say that if they leave the mother later they become too doggie,(what a mith) I believe it is simply what the make up of that pup is.It is simply peoples opinion, no facts here.The breeder should ask what kind the pup is going into when it leaves her house to determent if 6 weeks is good or not.I think 6,7 ,8 and older is fine IF the buyer of that pup is willing to make sure the pup gets what it needs to grow healthy mentally and physically.
Not every buyer commits to those things unfortunely.I think the breeder should make that desicion by what she knows of her pups she is selling, not the buyer.
I knew the pups (a female I had long ago) by heart, I spent every moment I could with them and knew each personalities..I knew the ones that would benefit by leaving early and the ones better off staying till 8 weeks.Not the other way around.
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 Quote: alice oliver

i'd love to see these studies people keep touting about not taking a puppy away from its mom before 8 weeks. 50-20 years ago people took puppies home at 6 weeks, and the dogs grew up just fine. i personally, in my experience, have found 7 weeks to be optimal for bonding with the pup. older than that, the pup can become too "doggy."

I'm sure that the pups bond really strongly to humans at this age. My point was that they might not be as dog savvy as they should be. When I ask the clients I have that have dog aggressive dogs how old their pup was when they aquired it, the answer is often sometime before 7 weeks old (or pet shop, but same principle applies). This doesn't prove anything for certain but it's frequent enough for me to raise an eyebrow.

There are many debates about whether or not all dogs go through "phases" (fear phases, socialization periods, etc.). I can't find links to the particular studies off the top of my head, but I do know that many people (The Monks of New Skete for example) believe that from 4-6 weeks is when the pup learns to socialize with dogs.

This theory means that a pup can still bond strongly with people, but won't learn the proper dog ettiquette, or feel comfortable around dogs and dog aggression or fear may be the result.

Another part of this theory is that 8 weeks is the optimum time for a pup to go to a family because it is the beginning of the "fear period" (I"ve been doing TONS of research on this lately) which means that the pup will want to stick close to his person and will therefore develop a stronger bond. Much after 10 weeks the pup enters a more independant phase and bonding isn't as easy as at 8 weeks or so.

Many (not all) breeders that I've spoken to also think that large breed dogs benefit from being with their mother and littermates even longer, sometimes up to 10 weeks. All of the breeders that I respect will not let their pups leave until they are 8 weeks old and I respect their opinion born of experience.

Of course, there are exceptions to every rule. This "puppy phase theory" may even be different according to breed, who can prove it? What I said I meant as a generalization and won't apply to everyone. And again, the "phase" theory is only that, a theory. Most people will have evidence to support their opinion and should aquire their puppy based on what they think is right.

As always there are many variables and as always it all depends on the circumstances of both the seller and buyer. Ultimately the decision of when a puppy leaves the litter is up to the breeder. A breeder that knows their dogs will know what is best for a particular litter.

There are so many factors to consider, at best all we can do is make generalizations and give opinions based on personal experience.

Brad, I am sure that either way will work just fine.

Best of luck with your new pup. Most of all have fun and enjoy his puppyhood!!!

i don't know how much we can tell about the causes of dog aggression, or lack of social skills, from such anecdotal evidence. i've got my anecdotes too:

one of my dogs came home with me at five weeks, and he was great with other dogs, and was the most stable and reliable dog i've ever owned. i made sure he got all the socialization and everything else he needed at that age, and he turned out great. he was my once-in-a-lifetime dog.

my current dog came home to me at 12 weeks, based on all the latest recommendations and newfangled thinking, and he can be a real monster with other dogs. sure, he's got great social skills in some ways, but he also was the boss of his litter, and he tends to boss around other dogs, and some of them don't appreciate it. he has been a real challenge. i think leaving him longer with his litter just reinforced and solidified his bad behavior.

i also found that although the breeder is very good, and did a lot of socialization, there are things my dog has to adapt to in my environment that aren't in his breeders' environment. it would have been better if his exposure to those things had begun earlier. in future, i won't be bringing home a pup that old. i'm a great puppy mom, and i'd just as soon be the one in charge of his early formative experiences.

now, if i were a breeder, i sure wouldn't let a pup go early to a home that didn't have the experience or skill to provide what a very young puppy needs. so i think both breeder and new puppy owner have to use their best judgment based on the particular pup, and the home it is going to.