what age can a pup leave its mum

[skycat 6,174]

pups should always leave their littermates and dams before the age of 10 weeks. Unless the breeder socialises pups over 8 or 9 weeks old with different situations and people, dogs etc, pups find it very hard to cope with new surroundings. There have been loads of posts on here over the years where people have taken on older pups that have never been outside the kennel and yard they were born in.

 

Once that window of socialisation has closed, at between 10 and 12 weeks, most pups view anything new with fear, and their inability to adapt to new people and surroundings can affect them all their lives. Some pups seem to cope with anything, pups with rock solid temperaments and loads of confidence, but generally speaking, it is best to get them into their new homes as close to 8 weeks as possible: old enough to adapt to being without littermates, and still young enough to readily embrace new things> but it is still important for the breeder to expose the pups to as many different sights and sounds as possible before they go to their new homes.