I am off to look at some puppies tomorrow. The police have bred them and they go out to their puppy walkers at 6 weeks so I have to take one now if I decide to buy one. I see that the guide dogs for the blind also send their puppies out between 6 and 7 weeks but obviously the puppy walkers know what to do and have meets organised. What do I need to do differently for a 6 week old puppy compared to an 8 week old pup. I have bred litters but these have their Mum and littermates. I currently have 2 old dogs but one has to be kept away as she is very grumpy. The other one loves puppies so that is something. Thanks sue BTW This is a GSD pup
Hi Sue , the recommendations on this forum is that no puppy should leave its Mum and siblings under the age of 8 weeks . Sadly, many do and go on to develop behavioural problems as the extra time is crucial to them . We have had to therefore make it a general rule that, for the ethos of the forum , pups must be 8 weeks of age before going to a new home . I fully understand that you are excited to visit and possibly take a pup from this litter, but my advice would be to have a rethink please . I also wonder if maybe the time is right, due to one of your older dogs being a little grumpy , as they often are in old age , it could prove to be very difficult to keep an enthusiastic puppy away from her . I`m sorry if I have come across as negative , but our recommendations have to be met re the age of pups leaving to go to new homes .
Personally, there's no way I would take a puppy at six weeks, whether or not it was "the done thing" for the police/GDBA puppy walkers. I would go and find another litter that allowed them to stay with their mother until eight weeks of age.
Here is an article from our main site with some more information: http://www.thelabradorsite.com/collecting-your-labrador-puppy-at-five-or-six-weeks-old/
I've just had a quick search and apparently under the Breeding and Sale of Dogs Act 1999 a Licensed Breeder must not sell a puppy until it is at least 8 weeks of age (unless to a keeper of a licensed pet shop or Scottish Rearing establishment). Information found on The Kennel Club website and within a 16 page document relating to the legalities of dog ownership. I don't know if the police qualify as a "Licensed Breeder" but would expect them to uphold best practices in any circumstance.
Thanks for the info everyone. It is amazing the strong feeling against having a puppy less than 8 weeks. Some people will have the experience of 6 week old pups versus 8 week old pups but most will not. Still it is good to have opinion and debate. Anyway, if I like the puppy then I will ask the police what I need to do to ensure the puppy is happy and well socialised. Obviously it is OK to do this otherwise the police dogs and the guide dogs for the blind would not be producing the amazing adult dogs that they do and they are the ones with first hand experience. If I think that I do not have the necessary support to bridge this period correctly for the pup then I wont take her. And so this thread has been useful in that I would not have thought of mentioning this to the police if it had not been discussed. So thanks.
Which country are you in, Suejoh? I can't remember... I'm afraid I've not heard of organisations like the Police or Guide Dogs allowing pups to leave their mother and litter at such a young age. I know it sounds like there is a strong opinion or feeling on the forum against pups leaving at under 8 weeks of age, but it's not just an opinion or feeling. A lot of research has established it as a fact that pups need to stay with their mum and litter till at least 8 weeks so they can develop doggie social skills and confidence. Research has also shown that separation from the mother before 8 weeks is associated with behavioural problems as an adult dog, like fearfulness on walks, anxiety around strangers and excessive barking. This means that you have the best chance of avoiding problems and having a well adjusted and easy to train doggie companion if you get a puppy at 8 weeks. And 8 weeks is really a bare minimum (in fact, when I got my first pup the breeder wouldn't let him (or any pups) go till 10 weeks). So, I can totally understand that you really want a puppy from this litter, but I'd very strongly encourage you to look at other litters. You probably know this already but it is important to also make sure that the parents of the pups have had all the required health checks done - with GSDs you'd be especially interested in hip scores to try to minimise the risk of hip displaysia. There are probably a range of tests that good breeders routinely do for GSDs. Temperament of the parents would also be a huge priority for me, given that some GSDs can be anxious around other dogs and people. Good luck in your search for your newest doggie companion I know you had the disappointment earlier of that older dog you looked at not being suitable but I would still walk past this litter and keep looking...
Rachael, apparently it's normal for GDBA having the puppy walkers take them at 6 weeks of age. The reasoning I've read behind this is that this creates a much closer bond with humans, which is important since that is what their job is. For a pet, however, it is far more important to have a more "rounded' dog that is socialised better at a young age with other dogs, otherwise there are many issues that we all know can arise in both the early stages and later in life. Guide Dog puppies are obviously cared for in a much more structured way, too, so their formula for socialisation and early training is tried and tested, with a good support structure for the puppy walkers.
Why are the police 'breeding dogs' to sell to private owners? And what sort of temprement will these pups have if taken from breeding from police lines? When we visited Murphy at 7 weeks, he was a little shaky and shivery as it was his first time away from his mother/siblings - a week later at 8 weeks and four days he was a totally different dog and way more confident and outgoing! He def needed to stay with his littermates and mum until 8 weeks.
Apparently, surplus puppies are sold to either other forces or to the general public. I assume there is only a certain number of puppies required at a time to go onto training, so if there are only ten spots, say, and a litter of 13 is produced, there would be three pups "spare" for sale.
I would have thought the only puppies released were those that fail the early basic tests for suitability in similar way that guide dogs have early testing. If a puppy shows suitability early it should be going on for training as many fail as the training progresses - where I used to work we used to have the local police training some of their "problem" dogs within our secure perimeter and a lot of effort used to go into getting the dogs through the tests, but like guide dogs they have to be 100% to graduate.
Quick search brought up this info which may be of interest, but it is only 1 police force others could vary http://www.west-midlands.police.uk/keeping-you-safe/behind-the-badge/dogs/index.aspx
Well, I guess there are a limited number of puppy walkers/training spots? I may be wrong. But if they have to be placed individually, and there aren't enough spots when they reach the age to leave, then those extra pups would have to be homed elsewhere. I'm sure that the breeder would have been keeping tabs on the puppies to ensure the most suitable ones are kept in the system and ones less likely to succeed are sold off. But it's just a guess. That article talks about surplus puppies separately to failed puppies, so it must be a "thing".
This is quite interesting. I checked on the Defra (UK GOV) website which says not under 8 weeks. So, I have emailed to see why Midlands Police can skirt around it. I wonder if I will get a meaningful reply ........
During my experience with Jet and her puppies so far, ive been reading the "Book of the Bitch" which was recommended on here to me. The book recommends that the pups are rehomed at 7 weeks? This is what i was preparing to do, but if there is "legal reasons" not too, then i will need to take this into consideration before advertising. This is the extract from the book for the reason of rehoming at 7 weeks:- "TIMING Starting showing the puppies to buyers from four weeks old so that the pups can go to new homes at the optimum time for adjustment, around seven weeks old. Waiting until eight weeks takes them into the sensitive period when major changes and upsets are not advisable. Puppies as young as seven weeks bond with their new owners very well and take changes more easily than an older puppy. (Is this an American view that 7 weeks is advisable? Because as mentioned above, 8 weeks is the legal age in UK)
Having done a little research it would seem that the reference to 7 weeks in the book may be more related to it's date of publication than current laws or best practice. Out of interest I have just found this on the .gov website. https://www.gov.uk/buying-a-cat-or-dog It also seems to be that 8 weeks is the standard age in Australia and many of the states in the USA. Here in France the standard is 8 weeks before a puppy can leave the breeder and the preference is for 10 weeks. Juno was 10.5 weeks old when we brought her home and settled in to our home and lives with out any problems. Having previously had puppies at 7 weeks (not just Labs) and having Juno at 10.5, personally I think the extra few weeks with mum and siblings make a huge difference and can be easier to housetrain, less bitey and depending upon the breeder with some basic training.
Guide Dog puppies come out to puppy walkers at seven weeks old, and they do very well indeed - but that extra week with their litter mates is crucial, in my view, for all sorts of reasons - especially bite inhibition.
