What age should a puppy leave the mother?
Because puppies go through a fear imprint stage at 7-9 wks, it is actually ideal to wait until after that time to let them go to new homes. On a rare exception I’ve allowed a pup to go at exactly 7wks, but I almost always wait until they’re at least 10 wks. Most states require that pups not be sold before 8 wks. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Edit: Anwen- In some ways I agree with you, but it totally depends on the breeder and the time committed to raising a litter. In my circle, litters are socialized in many different places, with lots of people and other dogs (controlled club settings, no random stuff). I don’t accept pups younger than 4 mos. in obedience classes, and don’t recommend that others do. Some programs offer basic ‘puppy play”; classes at 3 mos., but these are more for socialization than anything. I’d rather get a 10-12wk. old puppy from me or one of my breeder friends, than an 8 wk. puppy from someone who doesn’t give half the experiences that we do.
Anwen has hit the nail on the head. It does depend on so many things. I know in the smaller breeds they prefer to keep pups with the mother until around 12 weeks old. In my breed they say no earlier than 7 weeks, my boy came to me at 7 weeks, the general rule of thumb is around 8 weeks though. I think socialisation is a huge part of raising a dog and i myself took my dog to puppy classes at the vets at 10 weeks old. I feel this is very important in raising a pup. My boy was in obedience between 3 and 4 months old. Even before all the jabs were done i was taking him places, getting him to meet people and dogs i knew were fine and had been vaccinated.
