Is seven weeks too early to go to new home? - Page 2

I personally like taking a pup at 6 weeks. I like getting it away from the litter as soon as possible. I have never had a problem and the dogs bonded very quickly. My last pup I got at 7 weeks. I don't worry about shots...the immunization is there:-)

I like to bring a pup home at 7 weeks....  I don't tend to vaccinate so it's never been an issue.  (The only times I do give puppy shots is down to big environmental changes i.e pup bred in the countryside coming into an urban setting, and I still wait til 14 weeks before they get those shots)

I brought my last two home at 7 weeks.  Seriously, if a matter of like 3-4 days makes such a huge difference than I wonder what is wrong w/ the dog's temperament in the first place that they will be scarred forever if they come home like 5 days too soon?  I love my dogs, they are my companions (live in the house, not kenneled or crated almost 24/7) and I spend a lot of time and energy training, going to trials, keeping their minds and bodies in shape, but I also work, I don't have a bottomless bank account, and I've had to travel to pick up my dogs.  So it's always convenient for me to get a new dog on a Saturday and that's what I do whether that means 8 weeks and 0 days or 7 weeks and 3 days or whatever.  To me the 8 weeks is rather arbitrary.  Probably good for someone with little experience raising a puppy but kind of pointless when you already know you're getting a dog with a sound temperament from a decent breeder.

on the shot issue....I give 1 shot period....rabies, because it's mandated by law or I wouldn't give that either, but puppy inoculations.....nope not me....and I have NEVER had a problem.

I don't believe seven weeks is too soon, eight seems better, ten almost too long.
Pups are developing fast and it's a judgment call depending on circumstances.

I like getting Pups at 7-8 weeks. If a breeder has multiple Pups til 10 weeks, there is no way they can do as much as I can, one on one with a pup. Besides, at 7 weeks the pups have had a good 3 weeks with its littermates to learn pack instincts and how to read body language. The dam at this point should really be out of the picture anyhow.

Of my six dogs, I brought four of them home at six weeks of age-I prefer that age as they bond to me tighter-the other two were not seen till they were eight weeks of age-and then had to wait a couple of weeks on one to be delivered.  The group does not have social issues, nor have they had developmental problems.

Based on my experiences with litters, I would say the very end of 7 weeks should probably be ok.  I like to keep my puppies until 8 weeks because that's when they learn "dog manners" and socially accepted dog behavior from their mom, other adult dogs and their littermates.  By the way, I do temperament testing  on the 49th day.  One more thing, I never place puppies in new homes during their 4th to 6th month of age.  Too stressful for them as they go through a new developmental stage, sometimes referred to as a fear stage.

Cassandra

I should also add that during the infancy stage, I really put tons of time into preparing them for their future as a companion first and a working dog second. 
Pre- weaning, I invite my friends children/grandchildren to come and hold the pups.  As soon as they are weaned, I take them to nursing homes where they see people using walkers; take them to work with me where I am stationed at an alternative high school and are played with by the teens;, to the police and fire stations where the pups hear sirens,  are around big trucks, etc.; to the gun range.  They  learn about stairs and different floor surfaces.   I also intro them to cadaver.  By the time they are 8 weeks, they already know how to do puppy runaways and are doing beginning tracks.  They go to our barn and learn that the horses and goats are a "no no" - so crittering is discouraged.  Plus anything else that my hubby and I think will prepare them for the real world.  So keeping the pups until 8 weeks gives us the opportunity to put a strong foundation on them.

Cassandra