How Old Should My Puppy Be When I Bring Him Home?

#AlphaDogTraining #dogtrainingsaltlakecity How Old Should My Puppy Be When I Bring Him Home? Published by Alpha Dog Training https://alpha-dog-training-slc.com/ (801) 910-1700 It’s critically important to realize that puppies need to stay with their mother and littermates through 7 weeks old, at minimum. Staying with mom and littermates during the 5-7 week period is vital. This is when puppies learn social lessons on how to control the intensity of their bite (through play with littermates), how to accept discipline and respond to it properly (through discipline from the mother), and how to correctly interpret canine body language. Pups placed in homes before going through this stage tend to play-bite harder and have exaggerated reactions to frustration. They have poor dog-to-dog communication skills. Their lack of understanding canine body language can lead to a host of problems – inability to play properly, fear, over-excitement, or even aggression toward other dogs. Another consideration is that 7 weeks is the age when most experienced breeders and animal professionals believe that puppy aptitude and temperament testing is the most reliable. If your breeder or rescue organization is doing one of these tests to help determine which puppy will be best for you, placement would be at or after 7 weeks old. That said, oftentimes pups will do better going home somewhat later than 7 weeks old, provided the breeder is equipped to train and socialize the litter. Some of the smaller breeds can take longer to mature physically, and may adjust more easily – and housetrain more readily – when they are placed at 10 or even 12 weeks of age. But I feel it’s important to say that a prospective puppy adopter needs to take extra precautions if bringing home a puppy at a later-than-usual age. While it’s always important to make sure your pup received thorough socialization, it’s absolutely critical in puppies placed past about 9 weeks old. If the pups are left to themselves, just hanging out in a pen with their littermates for those extra weeks, think twice (or more) before taking home that pup. Puppies left too long like this have a harder time forming a bond with their new families. They tend to get very competitive and play much rougher (and those habits can remain lifelong). Additionally, the shock of having to deal with the wide world can come as traumatic. Some pups never fully adjust to life in their new home. If your breeder or rescue group intends to keep their pups past 8 or 9 weeks old, do yourself a huge favor and make absolutely sure they will be actively socializing the pups individually. They must be committed to taking the time to regularly and thoughtfully introduce each pup individually to new sights, sounds, surfaces, people, animals, and places. The puppies shouldn’t be kept together night and day, but separated out with designated play periods together. Housetraining and crate training should have started. As you can imagine, this is a HUGE job, and very time-consuming. Only the most conscientious breeders and rescue groups will go to the trouble.