10/03/2025
I STILL NEEDED MY MOM
THE CONSEQUENCES OF TAKING PUPS TOO YOUNG
The early life experiences of a puppy are so important and have a significant influence on how that pup develops - emotionally, mentally, socially and physically.
There are still many so-called “breeders” that allow pups to be taken away at 6 weeks.
Uninformed people just accept this without question and are often unprepared for the consequences.
Just because a puppy may no longer physically depend on mom for food doesn’t mean they are ready to cope emotionally, without the security of their family unit, in a strange new home.
A 6-week-old puppy is still very reliant on mom and their littermates to learn appropriate play behaviour, impulse control, frustration tolerance, bite inhibition, self-confidence and develop the social skills that will help them grow into well-adjusted adults.
Although 8 weeks is the bare minimum that a reputable breeder will allow their pups to leave, some will keep their puppies until 10 or 12 weeks of age, but also make sure that proper, age-appropriate socialisation and habituation is provided.
Habituation is getting a puppy used to different things in an environment in a positive way, at the right developmental time. This could look like introducing different objects, noises, sounds, smells, different textures, places etc, so the puppy learns that these things are not something to be afraid of.
However, we don’t live an in ideal world and having to care for or rescue pups much younger than 8 weeks is often unavoidable due to different circumstances.
In these cases, we need to do what we can and hope for the best.
This post is not about this kind of situation, it’s about spreading knowledge, creating awareness, understanding and encouraging people not to support unethical, irresponsible breeders that allow their pups to leave too early, with no regard for their wellbeing or development.
