The care and weaning process differs between litters, and we are constantly finding more ways to improve this process. Although we are licensed and have a good number of dogs, we are not prolific in the litters. We will always be learning and amazed at how soon puppies can adapt. One recent small change led to the puppies finding their mums food in the early stages which helped to wean them faster and remove some stress off mum.

 

The normal age for puppies to leave has always been set at 8 weeks of age. We followed this practice and still think it's acceptable in some cases but would prefer a little bit longer now after getting the opportunity to have a litter stay some weeks more. We try to hold off the vaccination until 10 weeks. This gives them more time to develop. After reading many books on the best age for puppies to bond with their new families the general guide would be 8-10 weeks. We have found puppies continue to bond well at almost any age, this may vary more with other breeds. If the breeder is short on space and slightly anxious about the thought of them hanging around then it probably would be best that they leave early.

 

If a puppy is in an environment that offers all the space, care, attention, and training that new owners would benefit from then we think the pup should leave at 10 weeks or more. At this age, the character of the pup is substantially different, with much more confidence, a readiness to explore, and no fear of leaving mum. This should provide the new family with a more serene handover experience.