Dr Marwah Speaks - Age of the Puppy
This article is a continuation of the previous one. Here Dr Marwah elaborates on what the age of the puppy to-be-adopted should be.
Age of the pup: The ideal time to pick up is when he is about 6 -8 weeks. By this time, the pup has been weaned off and must have started on solid food. While most breeders are in a hurry to give away the pups early, it must be insisted that the pup would be picked up only when he is 6-8 weeks old. This gives the pup enough time to socialize. Bringing a young pup i.e. 6-8 weeks or so requires lot of time in toilet training and inspite of all the possible precautions, mishaps do occur which may be frustrating. It requires lot of patience to house train a pet. Once that is achieved, he becomes an inseparable part of your life, not that otherwise he would not. It is like a child who wets the bed every other night but still gets all the love from the parents.
Against this, picking up a grown up pet, say 5 months onwards, saves you the botheration of house training etc. But if he was treated badly by the previous owner, he could be a bit unpredictable in his behaviour, particularly with children. He would need lot of attention to weed out his bad habits and become a responsible pet. Always consult your vet to solve such psychological problems.
New Pet: It requires lot of mental and other preparations to introduce a pet in the house. We must not forget that he has been picked up and isolated from his littermates and mother and is going to be under the stress of ‘isolation anxiety’. One has to be very careful for the first few days since these are the comfort and caring days which would form a bond between the owner and the pet.
As a rule, a new pet should be brought home in the morning so that he gets adjusted to the new environment, food, people around and has a peaceful night for himself and his new owner. Inspite of all the care you take, first few days are likely to be frustrating. Incidences are not rare wherein with in a few days the newly acquired puppy was either returned to the breeder or given away to some one else. One would never realise the amount of emotional trauma that is being inflicted by frequent change of hands. On the other hand, little understanding and patience pays rich dividends.
Age of the pup: The ideal time to pick up is when he is about 6 -8 weeks. By this time, the pup has been weaned off and must have started on solid food. While most breeders are in a hurry to give away the pups early, it must be insisted that the pup would be picked up only when he is 6-8 weeks old. This gives the pup enough time to socialize. Bringing a young pup i.e. 6-8 weeks or so requires lot of time in toilet training and inspite of all the possible precautions, mishaps do occur which may be frustrating. It requires lot of patience to house train a pet. Once that is achieved, he becomes an inseparable part of your life, not that otherwise he would not. It is like a child who wets the bed every other night but still gets all the love from the parents.
Against this, picking up a grown up pet, say 5 months onwards, saves you the botheration of house training etc. But if he was treated badly by the previous owner, he could be a bit unpredictable in his behaviour, particularly with children. He would need lot of attention to weed out his bad habits and become a responsible pet. Always consult your vet to solve such psychological problems.
New Pet: It requires lot of mental and other preparations to introduce a pet in the house. We must not forget that he has been picked up and isolated from his littermates and mother and is going to be under the stress of ‘isolation anxiety’. One has to be very careful for the first few days since these are the comfort and caring days which would form a bond between the owner and the pet.
As a rule, a new pet should be brought home in the morning so that he gets adjusted to the new environment, food, people around and has a peaceful night for himself and his new owner. Inspite of all the care you take, first few days are likely to be frustrating. Incidences are not rare wherein with in a few days the newly acquired puppy was either returned to the breeder or given away to some one else. One would never realise the amount of emotional trauma that is being inflicted by frequent change of hands. On the other hand, little understanding and patience pays rich dividends.
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