Puppy Weaning Age

[HoosierMike]

A couple of friends at work are getting a puppy soon. They have been asking me tons

of questions, which I don't mind, because I was able to talk them out of two siblings

and they've settled on just one pup. The question I raise here is, the pups are

6 weeks old as of today. I told them to wait at least until they are 8 weeks old. That

will make it the 22nd, Friday ,weekend, good time to get the little one settled in.

It's been a long time since I've raised a "just weaned pup" and I come here asking

is just turning 8 weeks old enough to have gone through the puppy socialization period

or is it better to let them get through their 8th week? I don't know if I'm splitting

hairs here, but I don't want to give them bad info.

Thanks, Mike

[njnovice]

I think 8 weeks is a good age, personally. My family's GSDs always came home at 8 weeks.

[Journey]

And I prefer 10 weeks. They have the social skills, they've learned pack dynamics, they should be "through" the first fear period. JMO, but I wait to bring home or send till week 10. They just seem a whole lot more settled, more mentally stable and confident.

[Pippin's person]

We've had pups come home at 7 weeks, 8 weeks and 10 weeks. 10 weeks is definitely easier in terms of their social skills and they are able to sleep through the night.

 

I don't know that it's made much difference to the adult dogs they become, but the 10 week olds were definitely a lot easier for *us* and just generally seemed a little more sturdy.

[hsnrs]

Not sure the ideal age but our Chula was 7 weeks. She is such a fun puppy; we love her antics. Most do well at 9 or 10 weeks (this is my experience anyway).

[border_collie_crazy]

7-10 weeks, Misty came home at 7 1/2 weeks, Happy came home at 10 weeks. Misty is 1000 X more mentally sound then Happy will ever be, but a bunch of other factors played into that I think, I have never atributed that to the age they came home lol