Is 12 weeks too old?

[Sunflowers765]

We have found a lovely puppy but he is nearly 12 weeks old. Not sure why he wasn't sold at 8 weeks but I guess the breeder was let down by a buyer.
Is 12 weeks too old? Plus side vaccinations done, pretty much toilet trained apparently. Pup had been brought up in home not a kennel so I think well socialised. But obviously we have not been in pups life during key time between 8-12 weeks.
Any thoughts or experience of getting a slightly older pup?

Have you asked the breeder why he is still available at 12w?

We got our puppy at just over 13 weeks. He is lovely but there is an obvious difference in him and our older dog who we got at 8 weeks - the pup scared of people he doesn’t know. Not at all aggressive but hides behind me if he strangers talk to him, or come to our house. He is scared of anything unknown actually, he hid from a crow as well recently 😂 Fine with other dogs though.

He is getting there with being braver though, a few months in. He didn’t come from a great home though, he was advertised as a family dog brought up in a home - the reality was that it seemed more like a puppy farm, I think he had been in a crate the whole time (obviously didn’t know that when paying deposit or before going to get him , our first dog was advertised in the same way and he genuinely was from a family pet and had been well socialised so I suspect he would have been confident and happy even at 13 weeks.)

Not at all. We got one of ours when he was 12 weeks. There are various legitimate reasons why a puppy isn’t sold earlier. Sometimes it’s been a big litter and there weren’t enough buyers at 8 weeks, if the breeder shows, s/he may have ‘run on’ that puppy to see if they wanted to keep it to show, sometimes a buyer pulls out at the last minute for various reasons. If everything else looks right, I wouldn’t let that put you off.

We got our beautiful boy at 15w and he has been an absolute dream of a puppy. Settled in really well with us. Toilet trained quickly with the added bonus of being able to hold it a bit longer, unlike an 8w old. Is wonderful around the children. Never touches anything that isn't his despite having toddler toys knocking around all over the show. We couldn't have had a better experience

Not at all.

We got our beagle at 12 weeks and he was a dream. Mostly toilet trained and slept through the night!

My first dog was older than this and my third. You should be fine with him as the breeder is doing her/his stuff.

I’d ask the breeder for the reason why it’s still available. Most decent breeders have a wait list- so it might be something legitimate like someone got cold feet- or someone might’ve taken it home and had a vet check which it failed.
look at the contract-do you have a right to return following a vet check? You might not want to-but would let you know where you stand

Got ours at 11/12 weeks due to Bonfire night. Worked out brilliantly as he got to learn more from his mother and litter mates. He toilet trained in 2 days, or rather he trained us! 12 weeks isn't old at all, some breeders prefer to wait until at least 10 weeks anyway.

Noooooo, older pups are brilliant! We got ours at 5 months - he was housetrained, crate trained, slept through the night...couldn't have asked for better.

We fotbour puppy at 12 weeks as we had a holiday booked when he was 10 weeks old so it was decided with the breeder that it was much better to wait.
There were no issues.

Depends on why & make sure it’s not because it’s been returned to the breeder
8-12weeks is crucial development phase as others have said it can have no issues at all but you need to understand why the breeder has still got him so you can make an informed decision

We got our pup from Battersea when he was about 16 weeks , he was handed in as a stray and had very obviously never been in a house , he’s a docked patterdale x . Despite having such a delayed start in life he’s fabulous , can be a bit reactive when on his lead but that’s hit and miss but perfectly ok off lead .

I think 14 weeks is a better age for pups. They have more time with their mam to learn. I dont know why people expect to get puppies younger. The youngest I've ever brought up and the hardest of all was less than 7 weeks. I've took in a lot of rescues. The pup I took in through no fault of his own was by far a hard one to deal with due to not learning things from the mother like bite inhibition etc. He was a working breed and was lovely once he was about 3 years old lol.

DiddyDoggo was 12 weeks when we got him. He's been fine sleeping through the night on his own and is 99% reliable with being house trained. We bought him at 9 weeks, but had a holiday booked (dates rearranged by travel company) and arranged for him to stay with the breeder until we came home.

I think it's been easier than friends who got their puppies younger. But this is my first dog so I know nothing. 😁

We took ours at 8 weeks and it was devastating - i felt awful as it was absolutely too early for this pup to be away from his mum/litter. It was actually quite distressing. Whilst its lovely to have them at that young stage, i wouldnt do it again.