How long to keep puppies with mother?

[Banana01]

My dog has eight puppies, and I have already found adoptive families for them. The puppies are two weeks old, just opened their eyes, and still feeding from their mom. I was wondering when will it be reasonable to start giving them to their adoptive homes, once they start on regular food? I do not plan to do any vet work, the adoptors can take them in for their shots. Thanks for any input.

 

[Pyxis]

Not until eight weeks old. They need until that time to fully develop social behaviors, especially bite inhibition which is taught by their mother and siblings during this time.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

8 weeks is usually the shortest if you want healthy puppies

 

[Weeg]

8 weeks minimum. Some even wait until 10 or 12.

 

[LaFleche]

8-10 weeks, and they should be dewormed at least twice until then for proper development.

 

[cassie]

Eight weeks. There is no reason you can't give the first shots yourself. Most feed stores carry the vaccine.

 

[HKG]

You should let them go at 7 weeks. 10 weeks is way too late.

 

[HKG]

Just realized this was in October . Nevermind.

 

[MTKitty]

Late to the post (again!).

As someone who prefers getting a puppy or kitten already in existence rather than breeding my own, I prefer pups stay with the dam and litter for 10-12 weeks.

That allows them to wean completely and develop psychologically enough to handle being separated. This extra 2-4 weeks also means their dam has begun teaching basic dog-manners.

Every cat or dog I’ve adopted in the 12-16 week timeframe has bonded well with my family and had plenty of self-confidence to deal with weird happenings in their lives.