Puppies at six weeks

Is it unusual for dogs to be let go at 6 weeks? I don't know about England, but in Canada breeders don't usually let them go until 8 weeks. Any input into this, anyone? I'd just like to know whether or not to expect to have to do any crate training if I have another dog at that age. Thanks!

A decent breeder shouldn't let their pups go that young - there's a bit of debate about the best age but I'd say the minimum was 8 weeks, ranging up to 12-ish from what I've heard/read.
It might still be of some benefit to crate train a slightly older puppy though

I didn't let the puppies I bred go until they were 8 weeks old, someone did want to take 1 at 7 weeks old and I said no and they decided not to have 1. I got Teagan and Skye when they were 7 weeks old, but I definately wouldn't have 1 if the breeder wanted them to go at 6 weeks old.

Thanks for your replies. Should this be raising any red flags about the breeder? I was thinking that I'd just say I'd have one at 8 weeks old, but how bad a mark against this breeder is wanting to let her puppies go at 6 weeks?

Why don't you ask the breeder?

IMO 6 weeks is too young to leave the mother & siblings. They should stay for at least another 2 weeks & possibly more. Puppies learn huge amounts about adult dog behaviour & how to interact with siblings during this time. They also have the secure base of the mother from which to start exploring the world. If this secure base is removed too soon, puppies may end up reactive, fearful, or have numerous other behaviour problems later in life.

If the breeder tells you that there is a "window" when puppies should be rehomed otherwise they'll fail to bond with the new owner, then that it not true. Breeders have a responsibility to socialise & expose the puppies they rear to the normal things they are likely to experience in later life, in a family home, or as a working dog. But puppies are far better able to cope with all these things in the presence of the mother, than if they are exposed to them in the new home without the security of the mother. And anyone intending to get a puppy from a breeder would be well-advised to check this out &, if distance allows, to visit the puppies a few times, so that the pup can start to get used to them.

Of course the other possibility is that the breeder wants shot of the expense of keeping the puppies for a few more weeks & wants to cash in on their "money-making machine"!! If that's the case, then I'd run a mile from that breeder!

Thanks, Wilbar. It's going to be such the case that I am going to grill this breeder a bit. They are crossbreed puppies, but the breeder does seem professional.

The thing is that my favourite dogs are staffies, and my gf's favourite dogs are huskies... these are staffy x husky pups, hence it does seem ideal.

I just wouldn't like to get myself in for anything that's not going to do any of us any good, in the long run, but I have my hopes high that this breeder just happens to have different ideas about raising dogs... but we shall see.

Anything else I should be aware of?

I think grilling the owner and hearing/reading their replies will give you a good judge of whether they're worth buying from or not.
One alarm bell ringing to me, aside from the age, is why they're crossing these two breeds - both status breeds (huskies probably not so much but I know lots of newbie owners buy them because they're 'cool' and BYBs cash in on their cute factor) and quite different in body shape. I'd be asking what they're trying to achieve with the crossbreed - Staffies have such a bombproof temperament generally that I wouldn't imagine they need outcrossing with another breed to improve that. All new breeds come with selective breeding and crossbreeding established breeds, but I would want to know exactly why the breeder felt this was a good direction to head it, what kind of dog they aimed to reach, how they were working their breeding plans (do they have numerous breeding pairs? Are they working with another breeder to widen the gene pool? How did they pick these particular dogs to start off with? Etc) because otherwise I would be thinking BYB trying to make money off a 'fashionable' crossbreed.

Totally agree with this!! Tried to rep it but couldnt!?
Apart from anything else Staf x Husky would be an EXTREAMLY energetic dog and with a huskies built in lack of recall ability this could be a very big undertaking! Especially as mosts crosses Iv come across the husky personality seems to dominate the character of the dog so its very likily these pups your looking at will grow up with the trademark husky selctive hearing! Are you ready to walk 5/6miles per day with this dog when its an adult and not be able to let it off the lead????
The age their selling the pups at and the fact they have cross bread are both red flags.. How have they selected these dogs for breeding? What are they basing there breed pattern on? Have they carried out any of the health tests, eyes, hips etc? Dont know much about Staf health probs but eye and hip problems are becoming an increasing problem in huskies due to back yard breeders not health testing before breeding! Deffinalty grill this person before commiting to buying one of their dogs!

I agree with krlyr & Mad Huskies ~ this doesn't sound like a very responsible or well thought out breeding programme at all! It sounds more like either an "accident" or a case of pick the two breeds you like best then mate them & hope for the best. Instead of getting the best breed characteristics, you could easily end up with the worst of both breeds.

But best of luck with the "grilling"!

My puppies came in at 15 weeks (Tess), 7.5wks (Jamie), 8wks 2 days (Deacon) and 8wks 1 day (Codee)
Personally I would prefer a pup at 8wks 'ish'... Tess was a run on and that was how we got her at 15 wks.