# at what age can a pup leave its mother ?



## enfieldchar69

hi all spoke to the assistant at the vets and she told me 6-8 weeks is fine if the pup is eating and drinking fine.what do others think i always thought it should be between 8-10 weeks ,x


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## aurora

ideally 8 weeks is the best time to pick up puppy from mum, we had Poppy at 7 weeks and Meg at 8 weeks, i would :thumbdown:not get a puppy before they were 7 weeks, as they learn so much from mum in the last couple of weeks before they leave the nest. We had Poppy because we are experienced dog owners and the breeder was happy for us to have her, other wise she only lets them go at 8 weeks. Many dog breeders that have puppy's and let them go after 10-12 weeks are show people and can't always make up there mind which puppy to keep so they run them on a bit longer.


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## enfieldchar69

ah thats interesting, my breeder has said 7 weeks hopefully if things go ok ,but i would feel happier with 8 weeks if i am honest.x


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## Sophiex

I heard that some breeders with very small breeds keep them a bit longer but I'm not sure on that one. About 7 to 8 weeks sounds right to me. I got Oscar at nearly 9 weeks.


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## Gil3987

we got our puppy at 6 weeks and mother was taken away at 5 weeks. he is a big chunky puppy, 17 weeks now and doin really well. The breeder basically cudnt be bothered with him any more there were only the two of them and she was keeping the other one and he was goin straight out into the kennels with the rest of her dogs, so our pup was basically an inconvenience to her. and she basically said that if we didnt pick him up that weekend she had had lots of interest in him and he would go elsewhere.


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## Guest

When we bought our first Yorkie Pepper, 20 yrs ago, the breeder let us have her at 6 weeks, at that time it seemed the normal thing to do. When we chose Holly last year the breeder said she would not let her puppies go to new homes until they are 10 weeks old. We agree that 10 weeks was the right time to be seperated from the rest of the litter.
Pamela


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## Guest

They do seem to say 8 weeks now - we have however, had pups at just 6 weeks and there have been no problems whatsoever.
Ih fact a long long time ago I bought a bitch thats pups were just 6 weeks old and the breeder let me take her no problem - maybe because she knew she needed urgent medical treatment - but thats another story!
DT


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## Blitz

8 weeks is ideal. Personally I think 10 weeks is a bit too old. An 8 week pup will learn a lot and I would rather it learnt from me than from its mother and litter mates. Very few breeders would actually be keeping the pups with the mother after 8 weeks anyway as they would be well weaned. If they are home bred with an inexperienced breeder and less than ideal conditions I would be happy to take a pup at 6 weeks.


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## spot

Ideally 8 weeks but it can vary slightly between 7-9 weeks.


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## enfieldchar69

so ,interesting ,i think my breeder is experienced from what i can tell and feel abit better about the 6-7 weeks if thats what she suggests thanks for all your help x


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## Guest

We chose an Accredited Breeder from the Kennel Club to buy Holly from and was pleased with the idea that they insist on 10 weeks so that the puppies are all injected and treated for fleas/worms etc and also microchipped before leaving them. They have supplied the Royal Family with dogs and the same rule applies. I wanted my new friend so much it was worth the wait. 
Pamela


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