# 8 vs 10 weeks for puppy homecoming?



## Elwlyn (Dec 8, 2015)

What are your thoughts on taking the puppy home at 8 weeks vs 10? The breeder we're hoping to get a puppy from prefers to keep them closer to 10 weeks, but sometimes they can go home after 8. It seems that 8 weeks is most common? Are there any advantages/disadvantages for waiting a couple of extra weeks? I imagine they may be further ahead in potty training? Anything else?


----------



## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

I don't personally think it matters that much. For me, it depends on how much socialization the breeder will do. Even the best intentioned breeder is going to struggle to socialize 10 puppies as well as I could socialize 1, so I might want to take the pup at 8 weeks in that case. With a smaller litter and a breeder who does fantastic socialization and exposure to new things, then 10 weeks is totally fine. Really though, I don't think you will notice a difference either way.


----------



## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

I don't have any actual experience with a pup but have read that older pups MIGHT have a good house training foundation as they learn as a pack and MIGHT be better at bite inhibition as mum and other pups get grumpy when playing gets too rough.


----------



## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

For personal anecdotes, I got one puppy at 9.5 weeks and one at 8 weeks. The one I got as an older puppy was far mouthier and had worse bite inhibition than the one I got at 8 weeks. I think that's mostly personality. I also had an easier time potty training the one I got older, but I think that's also just a personal thing - my second puppy had a very tiny bladder and couldn't hold it as long as he could at the same age even as she got older.


----------



## Remaru (Mar 16, 2014)

I brought home both Freyja and Lad at 9weeks. Both had excellent bite inhibition. Freyja took forever to house train, like I thought she might never catch on (even now I often think she goes outside because we send her out not because she gets it). Lad was house trained essentially the first day home. He has had maybe 5 whole accidents including when he was super sick. Remus came home at 8weeks (if I remember correctly) and had awful bite inhibition but I'm thinking it was breed more than anything. HE would still redirect to biting me in play at 2, just the kind of dog he was. He also house trained essentially as soon as he came home. He had a denning mentality. 

Now Blue I had with her entire litter and I had all of them until they were 16weeks. They were very sickly and it took that long to get them all healthy enough to be homed (born premature, then skin infections, under weight, then mange, it was awful). I did have all of them house trained by the time they left me (and Blue who stayed) which I thought was pretty good as they are some sort of chihuahua/terrier/something tiny mixes. Duke did most of the work. Their mom was harder to house train than the puppies were.


----------



## Amaryllis (Dec 28, 2011)

What breed are we talking about? It's standard with the really small breeds- like chihuahuas- for breeders to keep them longer, up to 12 weeks. 

Personally, I think pretty highly of a breeder who wants to keep the puppies longer. That's added trouble and expense on the breeder's part, so there must be a good reason for it.


----------



## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

Amaryllis said:


> Personally, I think pretty highly of a breeder who wants to keep the puppies longer. That's added trouble and expense on the breeder's part, so there must be a good reason for it.


I used to think this way, but I don't anymore. I think a lot of breeders try to socialize puppies, but with so many to care for, it's unlikely that they're getting each and every puppy out for individual socialization experiences every day or even once every 3 days. But I have plenty of time to socialize the heck out of my one puppy. I also think that for sports, the type and amount of socialization that I do specifically is not the same as what many conformation and general pet breeders are doing. Not that they aren't doing great things, but there are a lot of additional specific things that I do, and getting 2-4 more weeks in such an important part of the puppy's life is important. If the breeder is also a sport person and already doing all of the stuff I would think to do, then no problem keeping the puppy longer.

Not saying it's good or bad to give puppies away at 8 weeks or to keep them until 10-12 (other than for tiny breeds where there are health reasons to keep them longer). Just that I no longer think that keeping puppies longer is necessarily desirable or something I would seek out in a breeder.


----------



## Jen2010 (Feb 12, 2013)

I'm not sure you'll notice much difference. We got Pepper at 7 weeks and Kane at 12 weeks. There wasn't that much difference between the two as far as age goes. It's more to do with their individual personalities.

Why don't you split the difference and get your puppy at 9 weeks?


----------



## MastiffGuy (Mar 23, 2015)

As a person who has been the same breed for a long time, I have found bladder control being better at 10 or 12 weeks than 8 weeks.
Think bite inhibition has a lot to do with temperament and the siblings, not real sure there would be a big difference there.

I've found socializing from 8 weeks easier than from 10 or 12 weeks though.

A lot could be the breed or temperament of the pup tho.


----------



## Elwlyn (Dec 8, 2015)

Thanks for all the opinions so far! So it sounds like other than better bladder control, the 2 weeks are probably not going to make a huge difference. 

Amaryllis, I'm talking about a large breed, it's good to know the size matters in this situation!

Jen2010, maybe I'll ask about taking the pup home at 9 weeks to split the difference!


----------



## Galathiel (Apr 11, 2012)

I took home a pup that was 12 weeks old. He ran around with a friend (another pup) and had exposure to adult dogs, but no 'away from home' exposures as far as I know. Made absolutely no difference. A dog with a good temperament is a good dog, regardless of whether or not they have early socialization. He had perfect temperament in public and was unphased by ... anything. Proper GSD temperament.


----------



## PatriciafromCO (Oct 7, 2012)

I think it's great for them to stay longer with an active breeder with a puppy program, have time with the dam and litter mates and have the opportunity to mix with other well adjusted adults in a breeders kennel.. Does it make a difference, yes I feel it does to the owners who never raised a puppy, or out of practice of rasing a puppy ... I loved the fact that doing the home puppy visit's the first year for my mentor's pups everyone was always so happy the pup was good on a daily schedule, was already crate trained, baby gate training , has some leash walking experience, had already thrown up in my vehicle during vehicle training and was over it lol .. was house trained, could get it's nails clipped and know a little bit of Sit, stay, down,.... be confident around children, adult dogs, and have good focus interaction skills with humans...

I wouldn't want my pup to stay at a breeders if they didn't have an active pup program. People who have a plan for the pup it wouldn't make a difference as they would do what was needed for an 8wk old pup anyway to have the same benefits..


----------

