by Vinnie and Beth
(Franklin, TN)
Picking up our new girl January 1, 2016. Her birthdate was November 30th. We are very excited. House is “puppy-proofed” and we are very experienced dog and cat owners as well as former Rottie owners.
We have a reputable breeder. She is experienced and has the grand mom, dad and mom on premises. Pups have been seen regularly by their vet and they have had the appropriate puppy shots and worming. Our breeder says that our Dame has had several litters. No health issues at all. Pure German with papers and a DNA bloodline. The pups were starting on solid food at 3 weeks and beginning the social part of their journey. Our breeder says that she has never kept a litter much past 5 weeks. Her Vet seems to be okay with this. No earlier though.
I’m concerned that we will be missing out on some important socialization with her litter mates and mother. Specifically the “biting and mouthing” part?
Should we be concerned?
Vinnie and Beth
Hi Vinnie and Beth. Sorry I didn’t see this post earlier, but by now you will have your Rottie pup and hopefully will have an idea of her personality and any problems which may arise.
You are right to be concerned about the probability of increased nipping and biting in a pup removed from her momma and littermates before 8 weeks of age. Weeks 5 to 7 are a critical time in the social development of puppies and is when they learn bite-inhibition. You sometimes also see increased nervousness and anxiety in pups who leave their first family too early.
However, although this is far from ideal, both problems can generally be handled with extra patience, consistent correction and lots of love. As you’re experienced owners I doubt that you’ll be too flummoxed by these issues and hopefully are already on your way to handling them.
But, although your breeder sounds to have had many of the ‘reputable breeder’ items in place, no good and responsible breeder I know would ever allow puppies to leave their momma and littermates at 5 weeks of age. It’s just not the right (or best) thing to do. Hopefully your pup is happy, healthy and all that you hoped for. But in the future you may want to avoid breeders who have this policy.
Hope this helps and I wish you all the very best of luck.
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