# When is a puppy ready for a new home?



## RikiDaisyDixie (Apr 15, 2008)

I would like an opinion from those of you who breed. I assist in rescue and wonder if some of the challenges people are having with their dogs (besides those who came from mills) is that they have left home too early. It seems recently that I have been reading about dogs leaving their dams by 8 weeks which seems very young to me.

My breeder told me that havanese tend to mature slowly and that 11-12 weeks was a good window for finding a new home with a loving family.

Also another huge challenge in rescue is housetraining. Does the dam teach the puppy anything about where to eliminate? Or is this purely something the hu-mom has to teach? 

I know well that consistency is the key to housetraining, and that a puppy left alone will make errors and not realize that he or she is doing something that would be better done outside.

Also what teeth cleaning instructions do you give your new owners? I was really surprised when Riki's hygenist told me he had some gum disease above one tooth and he is only five. I wonder if there was something I should have been doing more than the brushing and the brush away as well as the cleanings.


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## pjewel (Apr 11, 2007)

Clearly I'm not a breeder so I can only speak anecdotally about my experience with the boys. Milo came to me at 5 1/2 months and he had some really bad habits ingrained that plague me to this day. On the other hand, I got Bailey at just under 9 weeks and was concerned about it being too early. Potty training with Bailey was a cake walk. He was reliable by the time he was a few months old and has caused me no problems since. Milo's training, as many of you know, has been a challenge at best.


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## irnfit (Nov 21, 2006)

I got both of mine at 11.5 weeks. I think it was a great age to get them. They slept throught the night from the minute I got them. Sleeping in my bed might have helped. :biggrin1: But when I picked them up, they just adjusted and fit right in. 

When I got my German Shep (a shelter adoption), he was 8 weeks old. He used to have a favorite rubber ball that he would use like a pacifier and rock himself to sleep. Really! The vet said it was because he was probably weaned to early. He was like that until the day he went to the Rainbow Bridge at age 16 yrs.


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## ama0722 (Nov 28, 2006)

I think it would depend on if my Neezer came from a good breeder. I got dora at 5 months from a not so great breeder and she wasnt socialized or potty trained. It was more difficult. I got dash at 4.5 months from a great breeder and he had great doggy manners, socialization, completely housebroken, etc! If I could pay kathy to keep all of my future puppies to that age I would in a heart beat. It made the puppy age a joy and his fur family taught him things I couldn't


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## RikiDaisyDixie (Apr 15, 2008)

*so I am wondering...*

what is the absolute youngest a havanese should leave his/her mother and siblings? Probably around 11 or 12 weeks, right?


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## nanatotwo (Dec 21, 2008)

Michelle when you say the puppy slept in your bed when you first brought it home was that still in a crate or just cuddled up with you? I have a king size bed and have wondered if a pup would just go to the end of the bed to potty or if it should sleep next to me in a crate till it's house broke.


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## Scooter's Family (May 23, 2008)

We brought Scooter home at 8 weeks and he did well. He really wasn't left alone though, only for very short periods of time so maybe that helped. I don't have any idea, but we are considering adding another at some point and I sure know more now than I did then. (Thanks to this forum!) I'd like to know what's recommended as well.


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## Tom King (Aug 2, 2006)

We find that 10 weeks works good for our pups. Between 8 and 10 Mom and the pack teach them manners but by 10 weeks they are ready for individual attention and training which is hard to do when they are still part of a litter.

After pups start eating food their mother is through having anything to do with their potty habits. This is the reason puppy mills raise puppies on grills.

Housetraining is the number one reason that dogs end up in rescue. These dogs in particular are creatures of habit. If they developed the habit to let it fly any kind of way I would say that it would be nearly impossible for a person not very experienced with training dogs to be able to train them. I have a lifetime of experience, now 58, and I wouldn't want the job.

By the way, without looking up the other thread: http://www.chrissystems.com/peace.htm


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## windfallhavs (Oct 19, 2006)

The HCA website has the minimum recommended age as 8 weeks. I prefer 9-10 weeks as I don't do shots or BAER testing until the puppies are 8 weeks old. I think a lot has to do with the individual breeder and how well they socialize their puppies....but 10 weeks to me is just about right!


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