Recently I've been looking for a puppy. I found a litter advertised and after making contact and asking about parents etc I agreed to pay a reserve fee for a female puppy. It was from a family, not a professional breeder. I went to visit last weekend, the puppies were 5 and a half weeks old. They all looked healthy although my reserved pup had some tear stains, which I'm not too concerned about. I was told the mother had been taken away from the pups at 4 weeks as she was losing a lot of weight. I did see her and certainly her ribs were showing. The father was present and seemed healthy. I got a text last night saying the pups had been to the vet and had their 1st vaccination and been chipped and were now ready for collection - at 6 weeks. I replied that i felt this was too early and was told "no worries, collect any time you want" I'm happy about the health of the pup and I don't believe it's a front for a puppy mill but I'm not confident about the breeder. Should I walk away?
https://www.thelabradorsite.com/when-can-puppies-leave-their-mother/ Hi, have a read of this helpful article as to why you should not collect a puppy at 6 weeks. I have always got my at 8.
Thanks, I wouldn't collect her before 8 weeks, I'm a bit concerned if all the other buyers collect theirs prematurely then she'll be under socialised. This wasn't a planned litter and I think they would prefer to off load them sooner than later
I'd walk away, 6 weeks is way too early and even if they keep them until 8 weeks the fact they said you can have them at 6 is a big worry. It's said to be better they stay with their mom until 10 weeks but mostly it's 8. The mlm still needs to teach them a lot of things like bite inhibition
In the US, 7 weeks is common for Lab breeders. Not sure what the effect of taking mom away at 4 weeks would be, but I would be a bit concerned about that.
Hi Stephen, welcome to the forum I think your instincts and the replies you've already had are all spot on in this case - don't do it! It sounds like the breeder wasn't prepared for caring for a pregnant Lab and her litter, and has ended up completely out of their depth. Sadly it sounds like the mum is already suffering because of it, and I wouldn't have any faith left in them to sell me a happy, well adjusted puppy.
Update. After a lot of thinking, I decided to walk away, despite losing a very hefty deposit. A dog is a +10 year commitment and I don’t want to have that sabotaged at the start. I feel sorry for the puppy but I’ve already seen the breeder advertising one of the “sold out” litter on another website. Seems I’m not the only one to have had second thoughts. The search continues...
Hi Stephen, Thanks for sharing your update. It's horrible walking away from a puppy once you've paid a deposit and starting imagining the place they'll fill in your life. It takes resolve and integrity, and is much harder to actually do in practice than to convince yourself you'd do in theory. Best of luck with your puppy search from here on - I hope you find a great pup soon. Please come back and tell us all about them when you do!
Update 2. I have a puppy! I collect him in 3 weeks. The experience could not have been more different than the one above. I made contact with a family who had a litter in order to get another dog for themselves and another family member and they had taken great care in choosing the stud dog and looking after the health of the mother. They hadn't bargained on a litter of 9! They were very happy to answer questions and for us to visit the litter. They had a lot of questions for me, which made me realise the previous seller had asked me nothing about my circumstances and experience with dogs. They talked us through the different personality traits of the puppies and we met the mother and saw her with the dogs. They were really keen to get good homes for the puppies. I'm very glad to have found them and I'm sure this is going to be a great dog. Unfortunately there's a lot of opportunists and frankly criminal activity in the UK just now to do with puppies. I've heard all sorts of stories over the past week or so. I was probably quite naive, in retrospect, with my previous experience. Lesson learnt. For all those out there looking for dogs, take your time, do your research and be 100% sure of who you're dealing with before you go ahead.
What a lovely happy conclusion! Well done for standing firm and using your common sense. It's not always easy with emotional decisions
Great news. Do check that the parents are health tested (hips, elbow, eyes and DNA). Keep us posted on your new addition x
