Often times many people have found their way to the forum seeking advice and to share their new puppies/dogs with other like minded folk!

I've seen many people come to the forum in my short time here, getting their puppies under 8 weeks of age which we will all (or mostly) agree is a big no no since puppies learn so incredibly much within that time (the full 8 weeks) they spend with their mother and littermates and they learn incredibly important social habits within the last couple of weeks that will help them later on in life after they go to their new homes.

Now - the question I pose is this: Why do we suggest that someone ask their 'breeder' to hold the puppy until 8 weeks? If the breeder is already placing the other puppies in the litter prior to that point the puppy will be left alone with only it's mother. It will still be missing out on the important interactions with it's littermates where it learns most of the behaviors that are key for social interactions later in life. So then what makes the puppy better suited to stay at the 'breeders' (where if they're placing the puppies prior to 8 weeks they probably won't be getting the proper handling care if the puppy stays their longer anyway) and the mother probably isn't interacting much with the puppies at this point.

Is that extra time better there (at the 'breeders') or (instead of asking for extra time just taking the pup when the 'breeder' had originally planned) better with a person who has already begun the research to try and curb some of the problems they will inherit because the puppy didn't have those critical last few weeks (week) with it's littermates?

I'm just genuinely curious as to what others think of this different view.

In my opinion.. I think it was better to bring Yuki home at 6 weeks. Like you said, all her siblings were in their homes by 6.5 weeks, she wouldn't have gotten socialization there. I had my eskimo, 5 months at the time, that really helped her with her bite inhibition in my opinion, because she hasn't been too bad. He was very gentle with her, but also told her where his boundaries were and when she was being too rough. I started crate training with her the night she came home, and I think those two weeks were crucial in helping her settle in, rather than having all her siblings taken away from her and then when she's finally adjusted she has to adjust again when she gets taken 2 weeks later.

My cue time always has been at minimum 8 weeks, with up to 12 weeks if possible. Not trying to piss others off but my 2 cents is if a breeder even releases them before 8 weeks they're in it for the money not the good of the breed.

I'm not going to lie, I just skimmed the post, so hopefully the parts I skimmed gave me the right idea of what you are asking..


I would not even consider getting a dog from someone who planned on me taking the dog before 8 weeks. Like Len, it pretty much is a red flag that they are not a breeder I want to associate with to get a dog from. In an alternate reality where I am ignorant to what a good breeder consists of, would I take a dog at 6 weeks if all their litter mates will be gone in that time frame as well? Sure, because no sense leaving them with someone who obviously doesn't know what they are doing when they won't be getting that interaction with their siblings anyways would be pointless. May as well get them integrated into my home already and start dealing with any behavioral issues that may occur due to those 2 weeks being taken away from them.

If someone already has their heart and money set on a puppy from a not so great breeder who is willing to sell puppies before they are 8 weeks, I suggest taking the puppy home and socializing it as much as possible and working really hard on bite inhibition. We got Siku at 6 weeks (We have totally learned our lesson with that. We ignored the red flags and bought into this lady as being a decent breeder with only a few dogs, only to watch in horror as her amount of breeding siberians grew from only 6 dogs to over 30! She's simply a puppy mill now.). But I am glad we got her at 6 weeks rather than waiting till 8 weeks. Mainly because I'm sure the puppies weren't kept in really good conditions, the littermates were all being sold around that time too (i.e. no siblings to play and socialize with), and she had a very bad case of worms and if I haddn't noticed she was looking weak the 2nd day we had her and rushed her to the vets, I'm sure she wouldn't have made it.

My #1 piece of advice is to find a reputable breeder who won't sell puppies under 8 weeks. But if you already are set on getting one from a not so great breeder and the breeder is selling them at 6 weeks, I think it's a little silly to tell the person to leave the puppy with the breeder, because 1) siblings are all probably gone by then anyway and 2) breeder probably doesn't do any socialization with the puppies to get them ready for life as a house pet.

I think the suggestion to wait is two-fold.

1. More often than not, people going with a breeder who is releasing before 8 weeks are getting their first puppy. That usually indicates that it's the only dog in the house. In this instance, yes, it is more beneficial for the puppy to wait with its mother (ie- another dog) who can still teach the puppy bite inhibition. Like Megan said, other dogs can teach it, not just the litter mates. If the purchaser has another dog at home already it is less of an issue.

2. But that brings me to point #2, which is us telling someone that is often a HUGE red flag to them that their breeder isn't really a true breeder. This a) makes a person think in a way that isn't blatantly "you made a mistake" and b) gives someone who isn't committed the chance to think twice and back out of this transaction. It's rare that b will occur, but it's possible. Plus, if a bunch of people on a forum know more about breeding that this person's "breeder" it usually makes them think very hard.

I certainly see your point Ceara, but I think in most cases it's more beneficial to leave the puppy with its mother. Encourage the person who didn't know better to really think about where they are getting their puppy from and teach them that there are two different kinds of breeders out there and this was not one that they should be patronizing.

I may be in the minority but I wouldn't consider taking a puppy before 8 weeks, and my preference would really be not before 12 weeks as I really think they are far better off with their mother and littermates until 12 weeks. If a breeder is offloading any pups before 8 weeks I would walk away even if they if they are willing to hold onto them until 8 weeks or longer. A truly good breeder wouldn't consider it.

But really if you think about it, some dogs only have 1 or 2 pups. How is that any different from a single pup left in a larger litter? The pup will still benefit from staying with its mother longer with or without littermates. A pup can learn bite inhibition and social cues from its mother just as it can from littermates.

Huskyluv wrote:

If a breeder is offloading any pups before 8 weeks I would walk away even if they if they are willing to hold onto them until 8 weeks or longer. A truly good breeder wouldn't consider it.

But really if you think about it, some dogs only have 1 or 2 pups. How is that any different from a single pup left in a larger litter? The pup will still benefit from staying with its mother longer with or without littermates. A pup can learn bite inhibition and social cues from its mother just as it can from littermates.

Agreed with completely.

One advantage of being a member of a forum is that we learn when to take and when not to. So many of us have learned the hard way but hopefully we remember for future pups.

We all know that the responsible choice, for both breeders and trainers-to-be, is to let the pup age to at least 8 weeks with it's littermates and mother. That is no secret.

In response to the OP's original thought though, I think the problem isn't so much the knowledge ahead of time. We don't often see prospective owners here, on the forum, seeking advice about a pup they will be bringing home soon that is younger than 8 weeks. Or, owners that say, hey this or that breeder is letting the pups go before 8 weeks, I want one, how can I be prepared. It does happen that way sometimes, but it seems to me that the majority of the time, there are people coming on here between the ages of 17 and 23, who are very excited but very freaked out. They already brought home a puppy who is 6-7 weeks old, and is already displaying a whole slew of developmental problems as a result of their early release from the litter. I think the worst part about this, is that the majority of these kids who have these tough days ahead of them, probably not always, but often times probably weren't fully educated or ready for this breed in the first place. Because, had they done their homework, would have known what a mistake their first decision to bring home a 6 week old husky was.

Of course I'm not saying all huskies separated before 8 weeks WILL end up being destructive problem cases, we have forum members here who have done it, and very successfully so, who have raised their pups into loving, well mannered, well behaved dogs. Case and point is Kale and Brooke. However, i'm sure Brooke will be the first to tell you just how much hard work and commitment it took to get Kale where he is today. I just don't think the majority of these new young owners are prepared, or really even committed to the task ahead of them. They think it's cute, and think it will be easy, and they just have no idea.

It's so frustrating to know that this is happening daily, not just with huskies, but with all dogs everywhere. I think the real question for those of us who have been on the forum for a little while, and actually do have experience raising dogs from infancy (and ended up with good examples of the breed in terms of behavior), is how do we reach out to these younger owners, educate them on the risks of premature adoptions, and help them to actually be prepared for what's coming. It's like they take our warning signs as "hey be careful, it WILL eat your shoe laces", when it is so so much more than that.

Thank you, all for the interesting answers