have you checked with the breeder? When i was puppy hunting alot of the breeders were offering to cover holidays.

My pup is just 5 months and I just really couldn't imagine leaving him for a week- he acts like he hasn't seen me for a month when I come back from a twelve hour shift and that's when he's with my mum who he's used to.

We have JUST got him toilet trained and i really wouldn't want to jeopardise that.

Can you not maybe get a different pup at a different time?

Labman is wrong---not for the first time.

Please take no notice of him, you don't want to bring your pup up the way he suggests you want to do right by him.

I'd cancel the break and have it at home enjoying the pup while he is a pup----it doesn't last long and they are great fun.

rune

Ever read a book about dogs? How much training have you had? Nobody unfamiliar with their work should be commenting on early socialization of puppies. I have not actually read the noted behavioralists Fuller and Scott or Pfaffenburger, but have read quotes from their work in dozens books including the Art of Raising a Puppy by the Monks of new Skete. ''...pups raised without human contact would show fearful reactions to humans at five weeks of age but could readjust over 2 weeks time if handled often, Puppies first exposed to human contact at twelve weeks of age, however immediately reacted very fearfully and fled from the experimenters. They acted essentially like wild animals and were socially irretrievable. They had missed the vital contact during the critical period.'' p 43, First Edition.

Same old same old. I have more training and experience in housebreaking puppies than the whole lot of you put together.

Hi Suezy I have to agree with the others who say it is not a good idea to leave your new puppy in a kennels and I say this for a number of reasons.

At twelve weeks allowing for vaccination and the period following when you still can't take the puppy out on the ground , this will be the first chance you have to take your puppy out properly to further his socialisation (which should have begun as early as possible by introducing the puppy to different sights and sounds in the home and taking it out in the car and in your arms ).

You can expect a set back to training including house training if you leave the puppy in a kennel for a week.

Your existing dog may not get on too well with the puppy which will want to play all the time and to begin with he should have the ability to escape from it . So putting them together in the confined space of a kennel is not advisable.
The alternative, leaving your puppy in a kennel on her own is not something I would want to do either.

Personally I would cancel the holiday,you say you haven't paid for it so won't be losing anything.
The puppy you are about to get will hopefully be with you for many years. The first months are so important, the treatment your puppy receives at this time will lay the foundations for the behaviour it will have as an adult. Missing a weeks holiday is a really a small price to pay for giving your puppy a good start

ETA Suezy your post says the puppy will be three months..
..the title of the thread says four months..

I think 3-6 months is a crucial part of your dogs life, any experience good or bad can really shape the adult it becomes.

Personally I would not leave a puppy that young in a kennel , though some are excellent. I think it is way too young,if in together the young pup could really annoy the older dog, and you wouldn't be there to sort it out. Also, if the kennels aren't so nice, what if the pup has a bad experience

For me your still socialising a pup at that age, many go through several fear stages, where something can suddenly worry them, and how you deal with it affects them later on.

I'd cancel your holiday, or wait until you come back to get a puppy. Like Rune said they are little for such a short time, enjoy it

PS. take whatever advice Labman gives you with a pinch of salt, the man is so inflated with his own self importance, it's unreal He gives his expert advice *cough* on several internet forums, but never discloses his qualifications, or who he raises these pups for.

And you would know that ---how?

rune

That sounds like the best idea, please dont put a pup in kennels.
Go and enjoy a holiday and get a pup when you are ready and know you will be around.
Hello and welcome BTW

PS, lots of pups in rescue