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ForumsGerman Shepherd Dog > Is seven weeks too early to go to new home? (28 replies)
Is seven weeks too early to go to new home? by HighDesertGSD on 19 September 2011 - 22:13 |
Would a GSD pup be too early to go to its new home at the end of the seventh week? I mean from a behavioral perspective, future social skills among dogs. |
by GSDNewbie on 19 September 2011 - 22:20 |
| I think so. I would not receive one that early nor let one leave at that age. |
GSDNewbie by Donnerstorm on 19 September 2011 - 22:47 |
| If it's the end of the seventh week, that is pretty much the beginning of the 8th week, don't see the problem. |
Donnerstorm by minro on 19 September 2011 - 22:49 |
I think so too. 8 weeks is the norm, and if you're willing to wait 7 weeks, what's another week? 
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by GSDloyalty on 19 September 2011 - 23:12 |
| If your only talking a few days shy of 8 weeks, then I dont see a problem. |
by Emoore on 19 September 2011 - 23:26 |
| I brought mine home at 7 and a half weeks. If you've got some time, grab a cold beverage and read this thread: http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/bulletins.read?mnr=457023 |
Emoore by isachev on 20 September 2011 - 01:54 |
| I let one go at 7 weeks without any problem's. The norm is 8 weeks. It was a close friend of mine and was able to help if a problem would of came up. He lived a long happy and healthy life. Don't think I would let one go early to a unknown person. JMO Pete |
isachev by Jenni78 on 20 September 2011 - 02:03 |
| It's all a matter of opinion; there are "studies" saying both. I have had buyers want their puppy on day 49. It's their puppy, so if I trust them enough to sell them a dog and they're firm believers in the 7th week being the right age, then fine by me. I've let several go around 7 weeks because of logistics, mostly (someone driving right past their house, so we can skip a flight, etc.) and never had even the tiniest issue. |
Jenni78 by windwalker18 on 20 September 2011 - 05:21 |
| It depends on the people and dog involved. If a pup is being developed well by it's breeder, getting socialization, environmental stimulation, and the buyer is not experienced with the breed I would wait till 8 weeks. But if it's an experienced person buying the dog, 7 weeks is excellent also. Ikons' breeder only breeds occasionally... (she is now expecting her next litter after 2 years with no breedings) so he was getting a lot of enrichment, traveling, different experiences there. But if I got a puppy when the breeder had frequent litters, or even several around the same time then I feel I'd be able to develop the pup better. It's not just the age to be considered. I'm in my 60's, and the research back then was done in Bar Harbor Maine for the Seeing eye by Fox andScott and reported by Pfaffenberger. They measured pups who were successful at becoming guide dogs against tests done as pups, and factored in the age they were moved from the breeding facility to a foster home/ trainer. They felt that all else considered 7 weeks subjected the pups to one trauma instead of two. Weaning from the mother and moving into the new environment. More pups (with identical puppy test scores) became guide dogs if they were weaned and moved @ 7 weeks than @ 8 weeks, and the % decreased as the time held back increased. ( The New Knowledge of Dog Behavior by Clarence Pfaffenberger .. ) |
windwalker18 by SitasMom on 20 September 2011 - 05:44 |
| vets are recommending that puppies are given their first set of shots no earlier then 7.5 weeks, if this is indeed tury than 8.5 weeks is the earliest a puppy should go. |
by judron55 on 20 September 2011 - 11:37 |
| 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:-) |
judron55 by AmbiiGSD on 20 September 2011 - 12:13 |
| 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) |
AmbiiGSD by VKGSDs on 20 September 2011 - 12:25 |
| 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. |
VKGSDs by judron55 on 20 September 2011 - 12:32 |
| 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. |
by Vom Brunhaus on 20 September 2011 - 12:36 |
| Desert , breeders like to move them as early as possible. Myself I dont take any home earlier than 10 weeks old. I llike to see development of the young ones. I guess to each his own I stay in my old school ways VB |
Vom Brunhaus by Two Moons on 20 September 2011 - 12:46 |
| 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. |
Two Moons by Chaz Reinhold on 20 September 2011 - 12:55 |
| 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. |
Chaz Reinhold by 3Shep2 on 20 September 2011 - 13:12 |
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. |
by Cassandra Marie on 20 September 2011 - 14:11 |
| 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 |
Cassandra Marie by Cassandra Marie on 20 September 2011 - 14:31 |
| 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 |
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