{"id":16050,"date":"2023-06-07T13:46:00","date_gmt":"2023-06-07T12:46:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/?p=16050"},"modified":"2025-06-19T11:20:23","modified_gmt":"2025-06-19T10:20:23","slug":"when-can-puppies-leave-their-mother","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/when-can-puppies-leave-their-mother\/","title":{"rendered":"When Can Puppies Leave Their Mother &#8211; When To Take Your Puppy Home"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Puppies can leave their mother when they are fully weaned, but you should wait until they are psychologically and physically ready before making this separation. Your puppy should not leave their mother before 8 weeks of age. Each week before this point that they spend with the mother and littermates will help to teach them skills and behaviors that will be beneficial for a lifetime. Vital traits like bite inhibition and gentle play need to be cemented by their canine pack before they come to intergrate with their new human family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Contents<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><a href=\"#legal\">Legal limits on puppy sales<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#four\">Can puppies leave their mother at five or six weeks?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#reasons\">Reasons not to rehome pups early<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#wait\">Can puppies leave mother at seven weeks?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#early\">Reasons for rehoming early<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>At 5 weeks old your puppy still far too immature, physically and psychologically, to leave their mother. Your six week old puppy is weaned, but they still have many doggy lessons to learn from both their mother and their littermates. Bringing home a seven week old puppy won\u2019t do much harm, but it will be best for your pup\u2019s future not to skip a grade in school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Like so many aspects of puppy health and welfare, much hinges on whether or not you have found a good, responsible breeder. If you\u2019ve done your research and picked your breeder carefully, none of these issues are likely to affect you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Kennel Club Recommendations For New Puppies<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The Kennel Club (UK) and the American Kennel Club (AKC) both recommend that puppies are over 8 weeks old before being rehomed. Some people believe that pups can be rehomed as soon as they\u2019re weaned at 6 weeks. But those additional two weeks allow the breeder to complete the weaning process and make sure that the puppy is properly settled on solid food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From 6 &#8211; 8 weeks pups also still need to learn some important life lessons from their moms and littermates. <br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"1260\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/When-Can-Puppies-Leave-Their-Mother-LS-long.jpg\" alt=\"When can puppies leave their mother\" class=\"wp-image-26110\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/When-Can-Puppies-Leave-Their-Mother-LS-long.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/When-Can-Puppies-Leave-Their-Mother-LS-long-143x300.jpg 143w, https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/When-Can-Puppies-Leave-Their-Mother-LS-long-488x1024.jpg 488w, https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/When-Can-Puppies-Leave-Their-Mother-LS-long-200x420.jpg 200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">When Can Your Puppy Legally Leave Their Mother?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>There are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.animallaw.info\/topic\/table-state-laws-concerning-minimum-age-sale-puppies\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">legal requirements governing the sale of puppies<\/a> in some 25 states in the USA. Most of these laws stipulate that puppies should be over 8 weeks old when they go to their permanent homes. In the <a href=\"https:\/\/puppycontract.org.uk\/puppy-buyer\/puppy-breeding-laws\">UK, law<\/a> related to puppy breeding, and the age at which they may be sold, was passed in 2018. \u201cBut, BUT\u201d, you cry \u201cmy six week old puppy is <em>already<\/em> weaned!\u201d That may well be true, in so far as your puppy no longer drinks his mother&#8217;s milk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So what is the purpose of this legislation and why is 8 weeks so important? Why do kennel clubs recommend puppies are not re-homed before 8 weeks? These recommendations are based on a lot of solid research that\u2019s been done over the years on dogs\u2019 physical and psychological development. <a name=\"four\"><\/a>This will become clear to you as we have a look at the answers to the questions \u201cCan puppies leave mother at 5 weeks?\u201d or \u201cCan puppies leave mother at 6 weeks, or at 7 weeks?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Labrador Private Lake Swim | Diary #15\" width=\"720\" height=\"405\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/gCKVFMriad8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Can Puppies Leave Their Mother At Five Weeks?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Puppies just start finding their feet and moving around at around four weeks. The mother starts spending less time with them to help them become more independent. When they\u2019re around 4 weeks old pups start transitioning to solid food but they\u2019re also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/puppy-development\/\">still drinking<\/a> from their mother for another week or two. Their digestive systems are still immature and they need time to adjust to the solid food. And be protected from stress. With younger puppies, three or four weeks old, the situation is even more serious &#8211; and your puppy may die.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We get many sad letters here from people that have bought puppies this young and whose puppies are very sick. An interesting point is that if you see the mother treating these older pups roughly while they\u2019re suckling &#8211; grabbing them by their neck, snapping, growling of even standing up and dumping one &#8211; it is <a href=\"https:\/\/web.facebook.com\/notes\/rochester-canine-academy\/five-week-puppy-syndrome\/10151014474570815\/?_rdc=1&amp;_rdr\">not just to wean them<\/a>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By five weeks puppies have a whole lot of teeth which can be nippy when they suckle and much of the mother&#8217;s apparent bullying is to teach them to suck properly with their lips. This is where the lessons not to bite hard start. If they don\u2019t learn quickly they\u2019ll go hungry. They\u2019ll also tend to bite hard and hurt people when they\u2019re rehomed at this young age.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So why can\u2019t you take your pup home once they\u2019re fully weaned at 6 weeks? There are two issues here that need separating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><em>Can<\/em> puppies leave their mother at six weeks<\/li><li><a name=\"six\"><\/a><em>Should<\/em> puppies leave their mother at six weeks<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Can Puppies Leave Their Mother At Six Weeks?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In some parts of the world it\u2019s common for puppies to be rehomed at six weeks or even earlier. Six weeks is a popular age for many people to want to bring home their Lab puppy. And breeders who sell very young puppies will often explain, quite truthfully, that their six week old puppy is already weaned. But in much of Europe, Australia and North America, most pedigree puppies are not sold until they are around 8 or even<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/9-week-old-puppy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> 9 weeks old<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A few breeders may want puppies to be even older than this. Physically puppies can and do leave their mothers this young, and even younger, though not all such very young puppies will survive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Are they even weaned yet?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If your breeder tells you your puppy is already weaned at six weeks old, they are almost certainly telling the truth. Most breeders begin getting puppies used to solid food from around 3 to 4 weeks of age, and many puppies are indeed completely weaned off their mother\u2019s milk at six weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The six week old pup still has a very immature digestion and is vulnerable to stomach upsets. <a name=\"reasons\"><\/a>It certainly isn\u2019t a good time to uproot a puppy and add the additional stress of leaving the comfort and familiarity of his home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">More reasons not to rehome pups at 6 weeks<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>But there are other, very important, reasons to leave puppies with their mother for a couple more weeks. And with their brothers and sisters. Most of these have to do with their social and psychological development. This is when the mother teaches her pups most of their doggy manners. From 6 &#8211; 8 weeks puppies also really start playing with their littermates &#8211; and boisterously. They nip, bump and even roll each other over while they play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All puppies bite. This is a normal part of puppy play. But puppies have to <em>learn<\/em> how hard they can bite in fun, without actually harming anyone. And one of the most important ways that puppies learn not to bite is from their littermates. Much of this &#8216;no bite&#8217; training takes place during the two weeks before the puppy reaches 8 weeks of age. This is when puppy play gets rougher and tougher and the puppies teach one another not to bite <em>too hard<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">AND WAIT, THERE&#8217;S MORE!<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>During this time puppies also develop a<a href=\"https:\/\/web.facebook.com\/notes\/rochester-canine-academy\/five-week-puppy-syndrome\/10151014474570815\/?_rdc=1&amp;_rdr\"> sense of themselves<\/a> and their bodies as separate from others. They also learn to accept and not become scared or aggressive when they\u2019re physically touched and bumped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Furthermore, much like 2-3 year old human toddlers, pups from 6-8 weeks start testing the limits of their own independence. And from their mother and littermates they quickly learn what they can and can\u2019t do a social environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All of these are important lessons for the rest of the puppy\u2019s life. You\u2019ve probably heard that behavior problems are more common in puppies separated too early from their litter and this explains why.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Behavior problems in puppies separated from their mothers too early<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmed\/21865608\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">study published in 2011<\/a> compared reported behavioral problems in dogs rehomed at 4-5 weeks, with those who went to their new homes at 8 weeks. The dogs who were separated from their litters early showed far more of the following behavior problems<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>destructiveness<\/li><li>excessive barking<\/li><li>fearfulness on walks<\/li><li>reactivity to noises<\/li><li>toy possessiveness<\/li><li>food possessiveness<\/li><li>attention-seeking<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>You can learn more about the problems that can arise with puppies that are sold at five or six weeks old in the article \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/when-can-puppies-leave-their-mother\/#legal\">6 week old Puppy &#8211; Your Questions Answered<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a name=\"wait\"><\/a>So when can puppies leave their mother? Can\u2019t they leave at 7 weeks, once they\u2019ve had some&nbsp;time for the lessons with their brothers and sisters?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Can puppies leave their mother at 7 weeks?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Must you really wait a full 8 weeks? I understand that waiting can be tough. Is it really worth an extra seven days in the grand scheme of things? The truthful answer to the question \u201cCan a puppy leave mother at 7 weeks?\u201d is that the right age to bring home a Labrador puppy is 8 weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With very small breeds, some breeders will want to keep the puppies for another three to four weeks after that. And it&#8217;s worth bearing in mind that waiting until puppies are 8 weeks old is a legal requirement for breeders in much of the world, including the UK and 24 states in the USA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The 8 week rehoming guideline has yet another useful purpose. It helps you to identify responsible dog breeders. Puppies are hard work. Especially from 6 to 8 weeks of age when they\u2019re messy, noisy, and growing fast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It takes commitment to keep puppies during this period when many puppy buyers are desperate to collect their baby and take them home. This commitment is a good sign that you\u2019ve chosen a responsible and caring breeder. Their attitude will affect all aspects of your puppy&#8217;s early life in a positive way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"700\" height=\"1053\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/when-can-puppies-leave-their-mothers.jpg\" alt=\"When can you take your puppy home? We look at the right age to bring home a puppy and the best time for puppies to leave their mother\" class=\"wp-image-16053\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/when-can-puppies-leave-their-mothers.jpg 700w, https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/when-can-puppies-leave-their-mothers-199x300.jpg 199w, https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/when-can-puppies-leave-their-mothers-681x1024.jpg 681w, https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/when-can-puppies-leave-their-mothers-696x1047.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/when-can-puppies-leave-their-mothers-279x420.jpg 279w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><a name=\"early\"><\/a>Anyone who is just breeding for profit is likely to want to move the puppies on to their permanent homes as quickly as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Rehoming Puppies Early<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Of course sometimes there are exceptional reasons that mean a puppy needs to be brought home early. For example, a death in the breeder&#8217;s family may result in a litter being re-homed early. But let\u2019s be honest, situations like this are extremely rare. All too often, breeders who let puppies go to their new homes at six weeks old, do so for selfish reasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Incidentally, a common excuse given by breeders who are just churning out puppies for profit, and want to get rid of the puppies as quickly as possible, is that \u2018the mother dog has died\u2019. This is rarely true, and in any case it isn\u2019t relevant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a name=\"when\"><\/a>Because at this point, the puppy needs to be with his brothers and sisters, as much as, if not more than, he needs to be with his mother.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Please be patient and refuse if you\u2019ve been offered a very young puppy for sale. Also think very hard about whether or not this is the right breeder, and the right litter for you. Even if the mother has genuinely sadly passed away, your puppy still needs to be kept with his littermates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019ve brought a puppy home that is less than seven weeks old, please have the courage to take your puppy back to the breeder. If everyone did this, breeders would stop abusing dogs in this way, because they wouldn\u2019t be able to sell them. Without legislation to protect these dogs, in many regions, the answer lies entirely in the hands of the buyer. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Puppies can leave their mother when they are fully weaned, but you should wait until they are psychologically and physically ready before making this separation. Your puppy should not leave their mother before 8 weeks of age. Each week before this point that they spend with the mother and littermates will help to teach them&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26111,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[172],"tags":[221],"class_list":["post-16050","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-choosing-a-labrador","tag-fetch"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>When Can Puppies Leave Their Mother - When To Take Your Puppy Home<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"When can puppies leave their mother? Is it safe to bring them home at 5, 6 or 7 weeks, or should you wait until they are 8 weeks old. Find out here.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/when-can-puppies-leave-their-mother\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"When Can Puppies Leave Their Mother - When To Take Your Puppy Home\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When can puppies leave their mother? Is it safe to bring them home at 5, 6 or 7 weeks, or should you wait until they are 8 weeks old. Find out here.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/when-can-puppies-leave-their-mother\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Labrador Site\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/theLabradorSite\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-06-07T12:46:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-06-19T10:20:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/the-right-age-for-puppies-to-leave-their-mother.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"717\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Pippa Mattinson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Pippa Mattinson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"9 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/when-can-puppies-leave-their-mother\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/when-can-puppies-leave-their-mother\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Pippa Mattinson\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/#\/schema\/person\/cfd930db92862dd13408d3cc05ea59d0\"},\"headline\":\"When Can Puppies Leave Their Mother &#8211; When To Take Your Puppy Home\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-06-07T12:46:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-19T10:20:23+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/when-can-puppies-leave-their-mother\/\"},\"wordCount\":1896,\"commentCount\":59,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/when-can-puppies-leave-their-mother\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/When-Can-Puppies-Leave-Their-Mother-LS-tall.png\",\"keywords\":[\"fetch\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Choosing a Labrador\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/when-can-puppies-leave-their-mother\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/when-can-puppies-leave-their-mother\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/when-can-puppies-leave-their-mother\/\",\"name\":\"When Can Puppies Leave Their Mother - When To Take Your Puppy Home\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/when-can-puppies-leave-their-mother\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/when-can-puppies-leave-their-mother\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/When-Can-Puppies-Leave-Their-Mother-LS-tall.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-06-07T12:46:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-19T10:20:23+00:00\",\"description\":\"When can puppies leave their mother? 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