Oh Wise ones when is it best to take a puppy from its mum

[dinamum]

I may be overthinking this but:-

We are due to collect a new puppy soon. The breeder recommends 7 weeks - if I do this I have to work and the puppy will be left for two hours in the second week on two days as my OH will be around for the puppy.

If I collect at 8 weeks the puppy will not need to be left as I can take holiday at this time.

Would you take a seven week old puppy and start the socailising (including being left for two hours) or leave till 8 weeks and loose a week of vital socialising

or am I making this into a bigger issue than it really is?

8 weeks is the minimum. Absolutely everything that Mutt says.

Seven weeks is definitely too early, and you will seriously set back your toilet training if you're not around to constantly keep watch. Between 8 and 12 weeks is the norm - ours were 9 and 10 weeks. Basically, the longer the better for doggy-manners sake, especially to stop play-biting.

8 weeks if you can.

7 weeks is actually a good (assuming it's not a toy breed) time as puppies enter a 'fear period' just before 8 weeks and so can often adjust better if they go to their new home before that.

However, leaving the litter at 7 weeks does mean that puppy loses out on a huge amount of socialisation with mum and litter mates and would therefore only work if the new owner was experienced and either had other dogs or the puppy would be able to spend daily time with other dogs.

As you are unable to devote all your time to puppy if you take it at 7 weeks, regardless of anything else, puppy would be better off with the breeder until 8 weeks. If the breeder is insisting you take the pup at 7 weeks I would even go so far as to walk away from this person. The timing of when a puppy goes to it's new home should always be flexible. I have let puppies go at 7 1/2 weeks and kept others until 12, but my reasons have always been in the interests of the puppies, not myself, and I personally prefer pups to go on seperate days as it is easier for mum that way too.

Thanks for your advice. I was aware of the fear period at 8 weeks and that some dogs are ready to go at 7 weeks but I think that in this instance the pup will benefit from the extra socialisation from his litter mates. I will proceed with caution on the socialisation on my end at 8 weeks.

The breeder is very reputable and is making sure all the pups are going at different times hence the spread over 7 - 8 weeks. She is able and willing to keep the pup for me so middle of May it is then!

I know this thread is a few days old, but I took my new pup at 7 1/2 weeks, a week earlier than planned because it worked out that I would have 6 full days at home to spend with her (due to school holidays). She was in a litter which was housed in a garage which linked to the farmhouse and I was also a little worried about lack of socialisation in a normal family home even though the breeder was lovely and the pups played with other animals, including cats and lots of kids. I thought that taking her at 7 1/2 weeks might make the transition easier.