[Rosey203]

We are planning on buying our first Chihuahua, picking it up on Saturday. But according to the date of birth the breeder gave us it will only be 7 weeks on Sunday. Is this too young? =/

 

[michele]

It is far too young,the more they spend with the mother the better.12 weeks is the normal here in uk

 

[SugarChi]

Yes way too young for a chi pup they should be at least 10 weeks in my opinion but even better if they are 12 weeks wen they leave mum. They are just so small, it's even a bit young for bigger breeds to leave mum, maybe just double check the date wit the breeder?? If it is right I'm not sure I'd trust her tbh x

 

[Rosey203]

I'm in the UK too and I know they recommended that a puppy is at least 8 weeks. But the breeder is insistent is is fine to take the puppy now...

 

[PR Punk Skater]

they are too fragile at that age, you need to have extreme care. pick a certain amount of food and divide it in 3 or 4 meals.

 

[KrystalLeigh]

I would wait until at least 10 weeks for sure. I know dogs can develop serious health and behaviour issues from being taken away from mom too soon. We got our Odie at 8 weeks, and she's totally fine, but I think we just got lucky. If I would have known better, I would have asked for her to stay longer.

 

[mooberry]

8-12 weeks is normal here is Canada

 

[michele]

I'm in the UK too and I know they recommended that a puppy is at least 8 weeks. But the breeder is insistent is is fine to take the puppy now...

Why does she want to get rid of it so soon ?

 

[Rosey203]

Why does she want to get rid of it so soon ?

I'm not really sure...She did say she is happy to keep it for a few weeks as she said she feels it is still to small for it's first jabs, but she will keep the puppy and pay for the jabs if we want, so I may take her up on that. I'm just suspicious that she ever said it was ready to take in the first place! =/

 

[michele]

If it's tiny don't get it till it's 12 weeks( Please,)it is hard work when they're tiny for you if you don't know what you're doing they can suffer from low blood sugar levels etc Is it your 1st puppy ?

 

[Rosey203]

It's not our first puppy no, but our first in nearly a decade! We have a 9 year old Jack Russel. She was 8 weeks when we had her.

 

[Finn]

Why does she want to get rid of it so soon ?

I agree--I wonder if she is choosing quick $$$ over the best interests of her puppy.

 

[OzChi]

Under 8 weeks is illegal here in Australia for any puppy. Most go between 8 and 10 weeks here. I got one at 8 weeks and the other at nine and both of them went through a big change when they hit the 10 week mark where they became more active, more of a toddler and less of a baby so I can definitely see the benefits of keeping them until that age. The one I got at 8 weeks was dominating all the other pups and not letting them feed (she weighed 50% more than the 2 smallest pups in the litter) so the breeder was happy to get her out of there.

 

[20887]

I wouldn't even get a pu

 

[20887]

I wouldn't even get a puppy from that breeder, to be honest. It sounds a little sketchy that she was telling you the puppy was ready to go at 7 weeks.

 

[Christabelle]

I assume this person has some of your money already ?

If not, and it were me, I would look for another breeder.

Where are you located ? ( general )

 

[woodard2009]

I'm in the UK too and I know they recommended that a puppy is at least 8 weeks. But the breeder is insistent is is fine to take the puppy now...

I'd be leary of breeders that want you to take puppies before they are ready. Sounds like it's all about the money to me. It's important that this pup stays with the mom as long as it can (at least to 12 weeks) in order for the pup to get all the milk nutrients from the moms milk so it will be healthy & have less health issues in the future. You really have to know what you're doing when you take a pup way too early as they are very fragile & can die quickly. If you're going to be forced to take this pup too early, either reconsider the deal or get prepared with the pup formula you need & anything else. I'm sure people on here can tell you exactly what you need to give this pup a fighting chance.

 

[woodard2009]

Don't let this woman get the pups shots!! She doesn't sound caring enough to me to do the right thing. If you continue on with the deal, you get the pup its shots when it's ready.

 

[quinnandleah]

Here in the US it is normal for pups to go home from 6-12 weeks, it just depends on if they are still nursing or not. If she is willing to hold on to the puppy for a few more weeks I'd take her up on it and let her know you will get the shots once you have the puppy home.

I have brought two of my home at around 6 weeks. Quinn was 6 weeks and Eva was 7.5 weeks. They have both done just fine, though Quinn has eatting issue from not being totally weaned. So I'd be sure to see if the puppy is still nursing.

 

[Jayar]

I'll never have a dog who leaves the litter before 12 weeks again... The two "normal" dogs we had with any proper dog language skills were last picks of their litters and they were at the breeders until older than 12 weeks. Epic (our Chi) was bought at 11 weeks, supposedly, and she has fantastic dog language skills.

Two dogs we've had that were taken at 6 weeks and 7 weeks respectively are horrible with dog language, and had bite inhibition issues. That's more than coincidence