SmoothieGirl Posted March 28, 2009 Share Posted March 28, 2009 Hi all Firstly thank you to those of you that provided me advice when this was posted on the General pages, but thought I might get a few more opinions if post here too. NOTE - I AM NOW LEANING TOWARDS PICK UP AT 8 WEEKS, BUT MORE OPINIONS WELCOME. I have a bit of a dilemma which I thought I had solved, but I keep revisiting it, so clearly I'm not set on the solution. I have a deposit on a puppy which will be eight weeks at the end of April. I picked up my last puppy (many moons ago) and then took a week off with her to settle her into the new household and routine. With Bronte I will not have the luxury of doing this when she's 8 weeks as I have a major project about to implement at about the same time. My current plan is for the breeder to hold her for me until she is 14 weeks, then I pick her up and take some time off with her. We then go through a settling program to ensure we establish a good relationship of trust and security to avoid separation anxiety, this will include leaving her alone for progressively longer periods over three weeks and will include her going to dog day care two days a week. However the more I think about her critical socialisation and 'imprint' age, the more I think 14 weeks is really just too late for me to pick her up as we will miss most of that time together. Yes she will be with the breeder, but she won't get to be exposed to any new situations that what she has previously been used to. I'm therefore considering the following instead: Pick her up at 8 weeks and in the first few weeks she can go to dog day care Mon-Frid at a very good Dog Day Care Centre (they have a puppy only section in a quieter part of the centre and as long as they have had their first injection they can attend). In this way I will have to wean her day care attendance back to two days a week, but she may not then associate being left at home alone as a good thing. But this way I can still expose her to new situations after work and on weekends, eg. puppy school at my local vets, rides in the car, my dad's house etc. I will still take time off with her when my project is implemented. What do you think? If you have any other suggestions, I'd love to hear them. I just want to do the best by Bronte at the end of the day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanglen Posted March 28, 2009 Share Posted March 28, 2009 8 weeks of age for sure, I also wouldn't have her going everyday to day care and then reducing back, it makes it fun everyday and then quiet time, more likely to get destruction! allow her to learn play time and quiet time from the start. Wht sort of pup is she? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christina Posted March 28, 2009 Share Posted March 28, 2009 My puppies never leave at 8 weeks. They are desexed 1st & go after 11 weeks at the earliest, usually later 12/14 weeks. No problems. Puppy cant go to daycare at 8 weeks anyway, not vaccinated fully. I wouldn't want to leave an 8 or 14 week old puppy at daycare with a heap of other dogs anyway. You are anticipating severe seperation anxiety, it may not happen. All pups kick up a bit alone at 1st but most soon adjust. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huski Posted March 28, 2009 Share Posted March 28, 2009 I would bring her home at eight weeks, I personally would not leave a pup at the breeder when it was in it's most crucial phase of development... there is a lot of socialisation, training, bonding etc that I like to do before the puppy's first fear period. I wouldn't bother with the day care, just leave her at home for the first week and see how she goes. She might surprise you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmoothieGirl Posted March 29, 2009 Author Share Posted March 29, 2009 8 weeks of age for sure, I also wouldn't have her going everyday to day care and then reducing back, it makes it fun everyday and then quiet time, more likely to get destruction! allow her to learn play time and quiet time from the start.Wht sort of pup is she? I was worried about exactly that. Probably better if she learns the ropes around the house first and then when she's a bit older maybe go one day a week. She is a Smooth Collie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmoothieGirl Posted March 29, 2009 Author Share Posted March 29, 2009 My puppies never leave at 8 weeks. They are desexed 1st & go after 11 weeks at the earliest, usually later 12/14 weeks. No problems. Puppy cant go to daycare at 8 weeks anyway, not vaccinated fully. I wouldn't want to leave an 8 or 14 week old puppy at daycare with a heap of other dogs anyway. You are anticipating severe seperation anxiety, it may not happen. All pups kick up a bit alone at 1st but most soon adjust. I know, I'm probably excessively worried about it. My last dog, a Dobie settled in to the house in two days and only cried a bit on the second night. My mum worked part time though so she wasn't ever by herself for more than about 5 hours until she was much older. I'm probably more anxious about it at the moment as a friend has taken on an older dog that is very strongly afflicted with seperation anxiety, but she has had about four owners in her ten month life, so its to be expected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmoothieGirl Posted March 29, 2009 Author Share Posted March 29, 2009 I would bring her home at eight weeks, I personally would not leave a pup at the breeder when it was in it's most crucial phase of development... there is a lot of socialisation, training, bonding etc that I like to do before the puppy's first fear period.I wouldn't bother with the day care, just leave her at home for the first week and see how she goes. She might surprise you! She probably will, I am just going through the pre-puppy panic. All of my animals have been very relaxed and well behaved, probably because they have very clear boundaries, so here's hoping little Bronte is too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
all that glitters Posted March 29, 2009 Share Posted March 29, 2009 Definately get pup used to your routine from the start. She will learn how it's gunna be from day to day, and if you get her used to doggy day care and not much alone-time like she will have when you work, she'll be very confused and upset when you DO get her into the real routine! I'm getting my 8wk old GSD pup in May and I am taking maybe a Monday, Tuesday off (connected to a weekend) so I have 4 days to settle her in, and in that time I will immediately start leaving her alone for periods and working it up. Of course I am expecting her to cry initially, the routine that we call 'life' will be very different to the little pups first off.. as all they are used to is being with siblings and company all the time! I'm sure they will accustom themselves to our lives pretty quickly, if done from the young age and from Day 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmoothieGirl Posted March 29, 2009 Author Share Posted March 29, 2009 Thanks all I'm feeling a bit more relaxed now. I'm going to leave the day care option by the wayside as and pick her up when the breeder is happy for her to come home. Maybe when she older she can attend some day care, but we'll get a good bond going first and some training under our belts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmoothieGirl Posted March 29, 2009 Author Share Posted March 29, 2009 Definately get pup used to your routine from the start. She will learn how it's gunna be from day to day, and if you get her used to doggy day care and not much alone-time like she will have when you work, she'll be very confused and upset when you DO get her into the real routine! I'm getting my 8wk old GSD pup in May and I am taking maybe a Monday, Tuesday off (connected to a weekend) so I have 4 days to settle her in, and in that time I will immediately start leaving her alone for periods and working it up. Of course I am expecting her to cry initially, the routine that we call 'life' will be very different to the little pups first off.. as all they are used to is being with siblings and company all the time! I'm sure they will accustom themselves to our lives pretty quickly, if done from the young age and from Day 1 Shellectra I was planning the same thing, take Mon & Tuesday off, or maybe work 2 half days and then from Wed leave her to her own devices with some distraction toys and a cuddly soft toy. Good luck with your GSD puppy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peibe Posted March 29, 2009 Share Posted March 29, 2009 Depends on the breeder Alot of breeders put time and effort into their puppies and while 8-14 weeks is a crucial age, I do think a breeder would be able to socialise correctly I would not bring a puppy home at 8 weeks to leave them alone all day while I am working or going through a major project Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmoothieGirl Posted March 30, 2009 Author Share Posted March 30, 2009 Hi Peibe The breeder unfortunately lives in the middle of the country in a very quiet location and won't have time or the unnatural resources (eg. people, trains, shops) to expose her to anything new. I can work from home too if need be, so this is something I can factor into my plans. Thank you for your advice too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvsdogs Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 Hi PeibeThe breeder unfortunately lives in the middle of the country in a very quiet location and won't have time or the unnatural resources (eg. people, trains, shops) to expose her to anything new. I can work from home too if need be, so this is something I can factor into my plans. Thank you for your advice too. I would try & work from home for the 1st month at least if that's an option. I got Tilba at almost 12 weeks old & she was well socialised & fitted in with our lifestyle & our other dog. I'm home all the time though & when I had to go out for an hour or 2 I put her in the crate until she got bigger & could fend for herself with the other dog. Good luck & keep us posted on what you finally decide, & lots of pics when she comes home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmoothieGirl Posted March 31, 2009 Author Share Posted March 31, 2009 Hi Luvsdogs I posted a couple of photos early this morning on the Gen Dis page, think I called it New photos (can't remember it was early). These are of her at four weeks. I see her this weekend, so I'll probably have more Sunday night or so. I'm going to bring her home at 8 weeks and work from home half days for a while. I'll also play it by ear a little bit to see how she settles, but I have some options. I might even shoot home at lunch when I am working full days to give her the mid day feed. At the end of the day, if work goes belly up, I'm on the phone and can co-ordinate them that way. Don't worry there will be plenty of photos in the future. Shel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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