Mother turning on puppies, so has to leave at 6 weeks, please help?

I had a phone call today asking if we could collect our new puppy at the end of the week (he will be 6 weeks), as the mother keeps turning on them and they have been fully weaned, etc.

Is this going to be ok as I have read of huge problems happening when a puppy is removed before 8 weeks?

Is there anything extra I can do as he will be removed from his brothers & sisters before the neccessary time? x





Hi
Most momma dogs get tired and cranky with their puppies by this age, they need to be able to 'get away' from the pups for periods during the day, and often to eat separately from them.

However, that doesn't mean that the puppies need to leave their canine family altogether. A breeder simply needs to be creative in setting up their living conditions so that the momma can find some space and peace and quiet when she needs it, while the puppies still benefit from her presence and that of their siblings.

In this sort of situation it is often more that the breeder wants to reduce their costs and time commitment to the pups, which isn't in the best interests of those babies. If it were me, I would give the the breeder a deposit on the puppy and ask him/her to keep it with it's doggie family until it reaches 8 weeks of age.

Having said that, the breeder may not be agreeable and you may find you need to pick up your puppy sooner than is ideal. Although not the 'best case scenario', that doesn't doom you and your puppy to huge problems. It just means you will need to put some extra work into socializing him with other dogs (once fully vaccinated), and also may well involve having to deal with some behavioral issues (such as more nipping/biting) than normal. He will also have pretty much zero bladder/bowel control until he's 8 weeks old or more, so you may encounter some initial difficulties with housebreaking/crate training. MANY potty breaks will be needed!

As long as you give your puppy lots of love, attention, loving discipline, training and socialization, he will be just fine so don't panic about this.

As you're a new puppy owner, I think you'll find these pages on my site helpful, so check them out. They will help you provide everything your puppy needs to grow up healthy and happy.



Puppy Development


New Puppy Care


Crate Training


Puppy Behavior


Best of luck with him!