How young can you buy/adopt a puppy?

Some states have laws varying from 6 to 8 weeks. Call your animal control to see what age.

Ideally you don’t want to adopt a pup younger than 10 weeks, they are learning valuable dog manners from their mother. Some extra large breeds need joint testing that can’t be done before 10 weeks.

If you get a dog from a reputable breeder, they won’t let a puppy go to early.

Puppies need to stay with their litter mates and mother until at least 8 weeks old in order to learn social skills. The mother usually will start weaning them weeks prior to this and they can eat on their own by 6 weeks.

In the state of California it is against the law to sell a puppy under the age of 8 weeks old. People that are not educated or don’t care, sell puppies too young to avoid the food cost and people who buy puppies this young are taking a risk with their socialization in our human world as well as with other dogs….

I would never buy a dog that is younger than 8-10 weeks. Puppies learn a lot from their mother and litter mates and benefit greatly from being with them longer. Pups that are taken before 8 weeks often have issues with biting and other social behaviors. You will end up with a much better dog and save yourself a lot of trouble in the long run if you wait to get it at 8 weeks.

Momma dogs begin to wean around 5-6 weeks and although most large breeds puppies are eating solid food by the time they are 7 weeks old, they should not be separated from mom and their siblings until they are at least 8 weeks old. Puppies learn many of their social skills between the time they are weaned and 8 weeks old – they learn bite inhibition, how to play nicely with others.

In many states, it is illegal to sell puppies under the age of 8 weeks old.

You don’t want a puppy who is any younger than 8 weeks. When they are little, they learn social skills from their litter mates, and are still learning proper pack behaviors from their mothers…….if taken away too early, they can have many issues (separation anxiety, aggression issues with other dogs, among many) later in life.

AND, if you work or go to school, a very young puppy doesn’t need to spend that many hours alone.

Good Luck.

The very youngest is 8 weeks but preferably not til 10 or 12 weeks. They need that time with mom and littermates to learn how to be a dog and proper puppy behavior.

Your local shelter probably has some wonderful puppies looking for a good home. You can also enter your ZIP into PetFinder and see what puppies are available. You can check the classifieds for a breeder if you are interested in a specific breed, but make sure you know what to look for in a responsible breeder. Good luck ?

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By their nature, dogs are pack animals with a well-defined social order. Through basic training, you need to consistently make sure your puppy understands that you are the leader, not him. So in teaching him the basic rules, you take on the role of pack leader.

To fit into the family circle, your dog must be taught to recognize his name and such commands as come, heel, lie down and sit.

Should be 8-12 weeks.

At the pound, you’ll often find them younger than that.

I’ve adopted a puppy at two weeks from the pound and hand fed him.

should be at least 8 to 10 weeks. i got my jrt puppy at 5 weeks which was way too early but luckily everything turned out fine