Picking up my puppy too early from breeder?
Hello guys,
I just wanted your input on something. Japanese law states that breeders can't sell their puppies until the puppies are 45 days old. I'm planning on picking my puppy up at the 48 day mark. However, I've researched that people don't normally pick up their dogs until the 8 week mark. Should I wait?
My puppy will be a Kai Ken.
I just wanted your input on something. Japanese law states that breeders can't sell their puppies until the puppies are 45 days old. I'm planning on picking my puppy up at the 48 day mark. However, I've researched that people don't normally pick up their dogs until the 8 week mark. Should I wait?
My puppy will be a Kai Ken.
Comments
If it were me, I would try to wait until he's at least 56 days or 8 weeks old (with 8-10 weeks being ideal in my mind) Leading up to 8 weeks is a critical development time for puppies who are learning important socialization skills from both their littermates and their mother that their going to use for the rest of their lives.
Almost 7 weeks old isn't that bad, and shouldn't be a deal breaker, but it may make your work a little harder. That's of course considering that they only are getting a benefit if they are living in a good environment at the breeder's. If they're not being cared for then staying longer will only do them harm.
What's the reason that you're picking him up at the 48 day mark?
Not much you can do if its due to work or travel responsibilities, but if it the breeder is insisting that you pick him up when it's just barely legal then that would be a red flag to me.
If you are concerned about getting an early pick from the litter, perhaps you can buy the puppy at that time and then offer the breeder an extra fee to keep him for an extra week or so to benefit from the socialization.
We got Ajax from Shigeru at 10 weeks and while he wasn't Ajax's breeder I know that he was socializing him during his stay and I think that was part of the reason Ajax was such an easy puppy.
Anyway, congratulations and good luck with your new puppy.
Thank you for your input. I trust this breeder and I did ask them at the time if taking the puppy right after the 45 day mark was too early, they told me it would be fine. However, they also left the decision up to me for when I wanted to pick him up. I knew that puppies usually get to their homes by the 60 day mark but I never knew why. So I opted to pick him up as early as I could, not knowing that the last two weeks were vital to learning their bite inhibition and socialization. I'm most likely leaning towards calling them up and asking to see if they can hold them until 60 days old.
I believe this is the current thinking...
Canine Socialization Period: 3-7 weeks
This is when your dog learns the species-specific behaviors that make him a dog.
Through interaction with mother and littermates, the pup learns the body language, facial
expressions and vocalizations of canine communication. It’s important that puppies
remain with their littermates for this entire period. Modern thinking is that it is beneficial
to extend this until 8 to 10 weeks, as long as the breeder provides a rich, stimulated
environment.
Just a side note, I would try to pick him at the start of a weekend. If you can dedicate those first few days completely to him, they make a huge difference in house training.
What I would absolutely recommend though in any case is making sure you talk with your breeder about as much of this as you can if possible and work with them to ensure a good outcome (if that kind of dialogue is possible). I think that was key in my case. They were always there too along the way if something did come up, which was so nice to know they were always there for me.
I think 8 weeks is the standard if you can, but be flexible and educate yourself if that is not something that's attainable, whether you have to pick up earlier or later than 8 weeks.
I'm making loads of assumptions here, but if they're sending them home early then usually they just want them out of their hair sooner rather than later (weeks 7/8 are when they are most mobile and start eating / pooping more).