# Take home at 7.5 or 8.5 weeks?



## McWeagle (Apr 23, 2014)

My new puppy was born on Monday, May 26 , and the breeder is willing to let him go home with us on Friday, July 18. That would make the puppy just over 7.5 weeks. The other option is July 25th, and puppy would be just over 8.5 weeks. I was wondering what age would be a better "take home" age - 7.5 weeks or 8.5 weeks?

I know that some (all?) puppies go through a fear period at around 8 weeks, and I was thinking that if we left the puppy with the breeder until 8.5 weeks, the puppy would have fewer new (maybe scary to the pup?) experiences during that fear period. Am I wrong here? 

However, my heart wants the puppy home with us as soon as possible! What to do??

I work Mon-Fri and will be taking 3 weeks off when we bring the puppy home. This means that a Friday or Saturday pick up would be best for us.


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## Pax8 (Apr 8, 2014)

I think either one would be fine. That week long span is generally when most go home. I usually like to err on the side of later rather than sooner, but do you know how many other puppies are staying longer? If yours would be the only one staying till 8.5, there wouldn't be much purpose of leaving him longer.


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## McWeagle (Apr 23, 2014)

I'll find out - we're going to meet them this weekend. The litter isn't huge (4 males, 2 females) so even two or three going home earlier would be hard on the little guy, wouldn't it?


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## Pax8 (Apr 8, 2014)

Eh, if there's going to be at least two left, I personally might let him stay that little extra bit of time. Ultimately it's up to you. I just get paranoid about early time with the litter because my job is inundated with the results of people who pick up 5 and 6 week old puppies.


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## McWeagle (Apr 23, 2014)

Oh, jeez, no! We're definitely not getting him THAT early! No, I was more thinking that the later we pick him up = more time with the litter and mama = good. Also, then he'd be a full week older when I went back to work. 

We're also a bit paranoid about the fear period because our current dog was beat up, in the shelter, by one of the other shelter dogs during her fear period. We worked really, really hard on dealing with that, but she still has fear issues (mainly just runs back to us if off leash, but will bark and growl if she's contained ie on a leash). We're starting from a better place with our new guy and we don't want to mess anything up for him!


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## Pax8 (Apr 8, 2014)

Honestly, in well-bred temperamentally stable dogs, I don't see too much of a fear period. Normally when I see a traumatizing fear period, it is because the dog is very poorly bred or just unstable. The fear period is very widely talked about in my classes, but when I see an actual extreme fear period, I can be about 98% sure that it was a backyard bred shepherd that didn't have any thought put into its genetics.


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## lauren43 (Jun 14, 2014)

I always say wait, the longer the better. Even mom can teach valuable lessons. I haven't fully discussed this with my breeder, but my pup will be 8 weeks old on August 7th, as much as I want her right now!!! I am probably going to ask to pick her up at the 9 week mark, I have two weeks off at the end of August and I just think it will be a better time for all of us if I can spend as much time as possible with her in the beginning.


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## KayDub (May 4, 2014)

I had to bring my girl home very early. She was nearly 5wks, I didn't have a choice though it was take her or not, and she only had two siblings. I agree with Pax8 it's great for them to stay longer and learn things from their siblings & such. That time frame is also when a lot of pups begin their journeys to their new homes. It's just a matter of your preference here I think. You won't end up in a mess like I did, and if few to any of his siblings are sticking around that long I'd say bring him home! Congrats on the new addition, and it's great you've got so much time to devote in the beginning that really makes a difference in rearing a pup especially GSD's I've found. Post pics for us when you get him!!


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## Pax8 (Apr 8, 2014)

lauren43 said:


> I am probably going to ask to pick her up at the 9 week mark, I have two weeks off at the end of August and I just think it will be a better time for all of us if I can spend as much time as possible with her in the beginning.


Once you get to 7.5 to 8 weeks, the next biggest impact is your interaction with your dog. 

So to the OP, 7.5-8.5 weeks is a safe range on either end to pick a puppy up in my opinion. So what I would consider is what would coincide best with your vacation. If you could pick him up at 7.5 weeks but might still have a couple days of work, you might consider picking him up later so his first experiences with you can be very closely monitored. 

I think this is more a question of at what point can he be worked in most smoothly rather than exactly what day age.


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## McWeagle (Apr 23, 2014)

That's kind of what I was thinking too, Lauren. And Pax, you're probably right about our girl - she was definitely an accident (litter almost certainly had 2 dads as none of the other pups looked anything like our girl) and although she's very sweet, loving, great with people & children, intelligent, etc, she is definitely not brave! No, her nerves are not strong, although other than when she feels threatened by another dog or hears loud noises (gunshots, thunder, etc), I would say her thresholds are pretty high. I'm so glad to hear that a well-bred, temperamentally stable dog has less of a fear period!


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## McWeagle (Apr 23, 2014)

My vacation days can be a bit flexible. I have a lot of vacation time saved up, and this time of year is pretty slow at work so I can kind of take any days I want off. I probably shouldn't go over 3 weeks though.

And I'm going to meet the litter this weekend, so I'll take lots of pictures! Not sure which one is mine yet, but I'm sure they're all great! And completely adorable!


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## lauren43 (Jun 14, 2014)

Pax8 said:


> Once you get to 7.5 to 8 weeks, the next biggest impact is your interaction with your dog.
> 
> So to the OP, 7.5-8.5 weeks is a safe range on either end to pick a puppy up in my opinion. So what I would consider is what would coincide best with your vacation. If you could pick him up at 7.5 weeks but might still have a couple days of work, you might consider picking him up later so his first experiences with you can be very closely monitored.
> 
> I think this is more a question of at what point can he be worked in most smoothly rather than exactly what day age.


Are you saying I'm making the right decision in waiting an extra week or the wrong one?


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## Pax8 (Apr 8, 2014)

lauren43 said:


> Are you saying I'm making the right decision in waiting an extra week or the wrong one?


I'm saying once you get to that point, it's more of a personal preference. It might help the puppy, but it's not going to make a major difference, and it's not going to hinder it picking it up at 9 weeks instead of 8. So it's really up to the individual.


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## lauren43 (Jun 14, 2014)

That's how I see it as well. Somehow I got confused reading and couldn't figure out which way you were swaying...LOL


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## scout172 (Sep 14, 2013)

We brought scout home at 7 weeks only beacause we had to because the lady's husband was sick and she had 6 puppies running all over her house. But I recommend the later the better.


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

I prefer them older than 7.5 weeks. But only if they are with their sibs and mom and are exposed to plenty of people as well. I got mine at 10 weeks. I don't (want to) know what the shark would have been like when I had taken him at 7 or 8 weeks.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Either is fine. A few days one way or the other will not make or break a good puppy. I would assess your situation and the breeder's situation. If you feel the breeder will interact with the puppy and play with it, and start house training, etc, having the extra 1/2 week there will be good. If the breeder is working full time outside, or has a lot of dogs or another litter to manage, getting the puppy 1/2 week early will be just as well. 

If all other things are equal, but you have an open house or out of town company this weekend, wait until next weekend. If this weekend will be calmer and more stay-at-home, then bring it home on this weekend. 

These are the things you want to consider on when to bring home the puppy. 

Good luck with your new addition.


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## McWeagle (Apr 23, 2014)

The breeder seems pretty good with toilet and crate training so far (she had another litter about 1.5 months before ours that she did a lot of work with), and it looks like the pups are getting lots of interaction. (Don't worry - not a puppy mill-type breeder - she only has a few females, just 2 came into heat pretty close to one another.) And we don't really have anything going on, on either weekend. My head is really telling me to see if he can stay for an extra week. Unless all the other puppies go at 7.5 weeks. It's just so hard to wait another 5 weeks - I want him now!! :wild: Oh, those 5 weeks are going to crawl by...


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## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

I personally LOVE and prefer older puppies. 

The last 3 puppies I have had were all brought home at 11 weeks old.

I usually take 1-2 weeks off of work when I bring them home too.

IMO 10-12 weeks is the best time to bring home a puppy. The puppies are more fun and playful than 8 week old sleepy puppies, they have bigger bladders and can usually hold it a little longer and they pick up with training quicker. Plus if you have a really good breeder, chances are the puppy has other puppies or dogs to interact with and sometimes the breeder has already started potty training. 

I also live alone and I have to work so having an older puppy that can hold their bladder a little longer is a huge help to me because I have to leave them for 4 hours at a time.


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## Shade (Feb 20, 2012)

Personally I'd go with the 8.5 weeks, but there's no wrong answer in this scenario


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

Either is fine. I've taken two home at 7.5 weeks (where the weekends fell), one at 8 weeks, and two at 9 weeks. No noticeable difference. 4 of those 5 were from large (9-12) litters and had plenty of socialization amongst their peers. It's very important to me that my dogs get acclimated to my household routine, my other dogs, traveling, and training very quickly so I prefer to get dogs no later than 9 weeks. There's really no more lessons they need to learn from other puppies. I have stable adult dogs at home that are a great help when I'm raising a puppy and I want that puppy home with me, learning how *we* behave and interact.


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## Rangers_mom (May 16, 2013)

If I were you I would wait until 8.5 weeks. It can't hurt and it can only help.


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## Yoshi (May 12, 2014)

I think either age is fine.  But if it was me I would personally pick younger, not below 7 weeks, but around that time would be good, 7.5 just sounds like the perfect time.

It's just my experience, but I believe that puppies bond quicker and easier when adopted at this time. You become their surrogate mother, or leader figure to look up to and learn from. Here in Australia it is generally accepted that puppies are re-homed at 8 weeks. My last dog was 9 weeks old when we took him home and he still bonded with me just fine but it seemed to me that he changed quite a bit during the two week difference from when I last met him at 7 weeks old. He was much more confident and when I came to pick him up he was a bit wussy, doing a lot of whining and shivering. The breeder said that from the last time I met him that his litter mates were picking on him. 

Also, just a personal family experience when I was growing up my parents brought home puppies of different breeds around 6-7 weeks old and they fit in snugly with the family and were confident from the start. Recently my mum has been bringing home pups that were 12-14 weeks old and they were timid little things, and they stayed timid. But it could possibly be other factors? Just my personal experience anyway. 

I have also been talking to some breeders and they said that they usually give their pups to the police agencies at 6.5-7.5 weeks old. I found this very interesting.


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## Ace GSD (May 30, 2014)

I got mine at 10 weeks old and we bond just great.. Too great that he always have to be next to me... It may sound cute but its a little disturbing when your dog never leave your side... i mean NEVER , even meal time. He would leave his meal if i step away...

I dont know much bout the fear stage and all that but bonding shouldnt be a problem if you treat him/her right


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

If it was all the same, I'd wait that week too


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