What is the best age to get a puppy? "..At six weeks our puppies were little hellions -- cute, affectionate, but biting, scrapping, squalling constantly...."

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Subject: Age To Go To A First Home

A number of people have commented on the proper age for puppy to go
to his new home, with answers ranging from as soon as they're weaned to
16 weeks or more. 

The reason this is important to wait is that mom (and possibly dad if he's
involved) can do so much better a job teaching a puppy the basics than
people can that it's not even funny.   We have a litter of pushy, mostly
fairly dominant Whippet puppies here and mom and dad work with them
every single day teaching "You are *not* the boss here -- you are a !&)#$
*puppy* and you *will* do what I say".   In theory a person can do the
same job but it takes exceptional skill, time, and persistence and how
many people buying a pet puppy will have what is needed?  

Again we see mom working on misbehavior -- if they bite her too hard or
push another puppy more than she thinks is okay, she's on their case and
she doesn't quit for a while, either.   When you get on mom's 'list' you
can count on staying there long enough to wish you weren't.  Again,
people can teach the same lessons.   It is a lot to expect of a new pet
owner and basically in most homes, it won't happen.

What mom and dad do for the puppy is get him on the right track.  He
knows that there's a boss and *he's not it*; he's ready to accept
someone else as the boss.   He knows there's such a thing as good and
bad behavior, he's used to learning details and ready to learn more.   The
new 'human parents' need only connect with this basic training and give
the 'advanced course'.   

You'll know immediately when you meet a pup that hasn't had the basic
training because he flies into a fury when you cross him.  "How DARE you
treat me like that?"   I'm sure the behavior problem people on the list
have had the experience of evaluating these guys and having to
recommend that they be put down; sadly that is often the kindest
answer.   You simply cannot have a 16 week old puppy who does the
canine equivalent of pulling a knife when the teacher tells him to be quiet
in class.   And even if the breed is too small to much hurt people what are
the odds that this puppy could *ever* be a happy dog?  

At six weeks our puppies were little hellions -- cute, affectionate, but
biting, scrapping, squalling constantly.   They were *much* better at 8
weeks.  Today -- 10 weeks -- they're showing signs of being proper young
children with just as much cuteness and a whole lot fewer toothmarks on
your face when you pick one up.  We have done our part, but mom has
done most of the work.   We had an 8 weeks rule this time; next time I
bet we'll opt for 10.  Yes, it is some more trouble but the payoff lasts a
lifetime.  

I have probably answered the issue of the bottle fed puppy.   The 'human
parent' has to do it all and most likely will be only partly sucessful.   The
puppy will bond wonderfully with that human but (depending on details
and luck) may have serious problems with other dogs (because he doesn't
know dog language) and other humans (because he hasn't learned to be a
member of a group instead of Mom's Boy).  

There is no hard and fast rule about what is the right age.   Certainly 8
weeks seems like a minimum.  Breeds do mature at different rates and
larger breeds take longer so probably they should stay longer.    There is
*no* upper age after which a puppy is harmed in bonding to his new
family; we have had dogs of all ages arrive over the last few years and
emotional health/upbringing rather than age was the issue in how they
adapted.   Probably the best 'fits in' is our old Smooth Collie, Silver, who
was 8 y.o. when we got her; we know she was in her birth home for most
of a year.   About the worst is a rescue Dobe I got at around 1 year
after she spend a large fraction of her early life alone in a backyard.  
Second worst is my beloved shelter pup who was dumped before 12
weeks (we don't know how soon she left her litter) as "unable to care
for" and though she has learned in 7 years of constant training to
tolerate others, is still basically clueless as a member of a family of
people and dogs.

It *is* important for puppies to be regularly and gently exposed to
*people* from a very early age because 'imprinting' -- accepting humans
as being 'us' rather than a foreign species -- happens early.   That's part
of the breeder's job.    Once puppies know that dogs and people are the
same species, they can bond in a new home at any time.

Among wolves, when the pack expands beyond its available resources it is
common for one or two to move on at age 2 years or so and join (bond
with) another pack.   There's nothing in the species which says 'now or
never' for entering a new pack.

Walt Hutchens

Petdogs-L

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