Taking my new baby home

My little girl is currently 4 weeks old atm & still with mum, our intentions are that she is a christmas present for our kids. The breeder is happy to hold onto her until christmas eve but I'm wondering if we would be better picking her up as soon as she is ready & giving the kids their xmas present early rather than waiting the extra 3-5 weeks until xmas. Reason being, at 3 months old of course she is going to be boisterous & excited, I'm wondering if she'll be a little more settled and not so active at 8-10 wks old, I'm only debating as my 3 yr old doesnt handle dogs very well, having said that he has only really been exposed to grown dogs, the only puppy he has met is my mums german shepherd who is extremely excited & knocks him over a lot, he freaks out around 99% of dogs & we're hoping that Ruby will grow up with him & help him over come that. I just dont want to freak the * out of him with an active bouncy excited puppy lol so I guess my question is do you think she'll be a little more settled the younger we bring her home? Obviously not even considering bringing her home until she's well & truly ready.

Hi Megz

Anyway I am not sure how it works with injections etc over there but in the uk 8-10 weeks would be the normal time to get your pup, not any earlier . Are you getting the pup from a registered breeder, what are their thoughts about your ideas. We do have a few other members from Australia on here including staff who may be able to add in something I am not aware of.

I'd say bring her home sooner rather than later. Reason being that she'll still be playful and energetic and not knowing how to behave, but the sooner she's home with you, the sooner you can start training her what to do and not to do. I mean, a puppy, you're guaranteed to get some stress and madness along with the cuteness and fun, so for me personally, I'd think it'd be easier the sooner you're able to take her home once she's ready. She's absolutely gorgeous by the way

Dave, I think she was talking about her child, not another dog. She's saying she wants the puppy to grow up with her kid to help them with the fear. But, you know, Staffs are pretty boisterous, particularly puppies, so that brings me back to suggesting you take her home when she's ready as opposed to waiting, to get started on teaching her what's OK and not OK to do.

lol yes I meant my 3 yr old human child haha sorry people

Megz wrote:lol yes I meant my 3 yr old human child haha sorry people

Hi again Megz , sorry about that , just me reading too quickly when I'm just out of bed and only seeing half of everything, different story all together and I am very sorry

She's not coming from a registered breeder. I agree it's probably best to start teaching her whats ok & whats not asap, guess we'll have an early christmas!
Hahaha Dave it's ok, I thought I had made a typo or something somewhere

ANattyRat wrote:I'd say bring her home sooner rather than later. Reason being that she'll still be playful and energetic and not knowing how to behave, but the sooner she's home with you, the sooner you can start training her what to do and not to do. I mean, a puppy, you're guaranteed to get some stress and madness along with the cuteness and fun, so for me personally, I'd think it'd be easier the sooner you're able to take her home once she's ready. She's absolutely gorgeous by the way

Dave, I think she was talking about her child, not another dog. She's saying she wants the puppy to grow up with her kid to help them with the fear. But, you know, Staffs are pretty boisterous, particularly puppies, so that brings me back to suggesting you take her home when she's ready as opposed to waiting, to get started on teaching her what's OK and not OK to do.

It has to be pointed out here that the pup really shouldn't come home before 8 weeks as they learn a lot of their manners in the litter and bite inhibition and stuff like this , don't let the breeder talk you into taking the pup any earlier . We've seen cases on here where people have taken pups as young as 5 weeks and it can lead to lots of problems.

For the record as we could end up with 2 totally crossed posts here , this is my opinion if you want it and this is what I posted in your other topic

Dave wrote:
Obviously you are going to have to be extremely careful with your boy. Personally I would keep him with the breeder as long as possible and try and make regular visits to the breeder with your boy as the pup will be more comfortable on his own ground

Thanks Dave, I think you're right, I'm probably going to get the best results with my boy if he meets ruby before we take her home. Perhaps I'll organize a couple of visits just for my boy & Ruby

Oh and i should specify the breeder isnt pushiing me to take her early, I highly doubt she would allow me to even if I wanted to. I agree they shouldnt leave mum till at leaast 8 wks

Totally agree with Dave. Take your son to see the pup (as long as the breeder is ok with that) as often as you can. Explain to the breeder that your son is nervous of dogs.

TBH I would have tried to get your son more used to dogs before even trying to look for a pup, but that's just me. All pups are energetic and will nip etc - you may be setting your son (and therefore the puppy) up to fail. Hopefully it'll all work out well.

Visits before taking the pup home is a great idea. Anyhthing after 8 weeks old is okay to bring the pup home. I would also make sure to supervise your sons interactions with the pup as well as getting him involved in the training process

> Yeah I agree you definately need to leave her until at least 8 weeks and first needles and 6 week health check is done, not sure what state you live in but in NSW at least it is law that anyone selling pups must have them health checked, 1st immunisation and microchipping done.. Then it is up to you to register yourself to dog and to chip before 12weeks of age..

I have to say, i never went about this the right way But at the time i didn't have the information that I get from this forum on hand either.. But I have to tell you now, the pup is going to be calmer at 8-10weeks than it will be at 12weeks At 8-10 weeks they sleep a lot and are nowhere near as boistorous as they are at 3 months (or 4 believe me)

Also what are your plans for puppy? I mean is she going to be living in the house? I only ask as at 8-10 weeks Steffi couldn't get up on the lounge or beds, and that was kinda like my son's safety net when she started to nip and mouth too much.. Maybe your son would be ok if he knew he could get away from puppy if he wanted to.. Now at 17 weeks she jumps from 1 lounge to the other on the opposite side of the room He now has no escape >

And of course like everyone has said, the more you and the kids can visit Ruby the easier the transition will be when you bring her home..

Kat75 wrote: > Yeah I agree you definately need to leave her until at least 8 weeks and first needles and 6 week health check is done, not sure what state you live in but in NSW at least it is law that anyone selling pups must have them health checked, 1st immunisation and microchipping done.. Then it is up to you to register yourself to dog and to chip before 12weeks of age..

I have to say, i never went about this the right way But at the time i didn't have the information that I get from this forum on hand either.. But I have to tell you now, the pup is going to be calmer at 8-10weeks than it will be at 12weeks At 8-10 weeks they sleep a lot and are nowhere near as boistorous as they are at 3 months (or 4 believe me)

Also what are your plans for puppy? I mean is she going to be living in the house? I only ask as at 8-10 weeks Steffi couldn't get up on the lounge or beds, and that was kinda like my son's safety net when she started to nip and mouth too much.. Maybe your son would be ok if he knew he could get away from puppy if he wanted to.. Now at 17 weeks she jumps from 1 lounge to the other on the opposite side of the room He now has no escape >

And of course like everyone has said, the more you and the kids can visit Ruby the easier the transition will be when you bring her home..

Not sure about breeder laws here either actually, I planned on having her needles & stuff done myself, not sure if we want to desex yet, thats something we're discussing atm but aren't swayed either way.
I knew she would be calmer at 8-10 weeks which is why I think my little one will adapt to her a little easier. She'll be one of the kids, she'll have a bed inside but will play outside during the day with the kids, there's plenty of high places my little boy can get up to that Ruby wont be able to get t him if he fels the need to escape. He's just starting to get the confidence to pat & talk to my sisters gentle old staffy & will have a tentative pat as long as the dog isnt pushy. Keep in mind he's never really met a dog much smaller than him, my sisters staffy Claw is chest hieght on my little man, I think with Ruby being smaller than him may help heaps too :-) I defiinitely plan to involve all the kids in Rubys training. Breeder is also happy for my little boy to come & see Ruby anytime too

Great news with the breeder being on side for visits .. Ultimately I guess if your son can't feel comfortable with her while she soo small, unfortunately I doubt he ever will.. But I have never met a kid yet that dosen't love a teeny tiny puppy My son is 9 so quite a lot older than your little man, he has always loved dogs and wanted a pup, but he has always been scared of them too, until now Steffi is his best friend, she mopes when he goes to school, and goes batcrap crazy when he gets home.. They sleep together, swim together,play together and they both love a game of footy or soccer.. I'm sure your little man will fall in love with her and make a new best friend Good luck and be sure to let us know when they meet how he goes

Thanks Kylie I've got 3 other kids as well that I know will adore her to pieces, she's more so intended for my 9 yr old boy, he's been driving me nutty asking for a dog & has worked hard to prove he can be responsible enough to help out & look after a dog. We're pretty excited to be adding her to our family :-D I think once my youngest son gets used to her being around & sees his siblings having fun with & enjoying the puppy he'll realize she isnt so bad after all x

I bet you cant wait to get her home now. I hope all your children will be involved with the puppy, training and feeding etc. so long as they realise that a puppy is for life not just for Christmas. Personally if I had children i would wait until after the Christmas holidays to get her, but thats just me.

Good luck with it all, hope it all goes well.

Thats great, I think your 9 yr old will be very happy I bet he will still be grinning in the new year..

I took my 5yr old son with me to help choose our pup, my son adores all dogs but he was rather overwhelmed when set upon by 2 little bundles chewing his trousers and climbing all over him, and small pups have claws n teeth like needles and know how to use them !!!
So just be careful or he will be put off pups too x

Hi Megz,

Ruby is gorgeous, and I don't want to put a damper on things but, my Bacchus is 15 weeks old and we are visiting our family in Glasgow. My grandson who will be 11 next month is a bit nervous around dogs, even my puppy, and even at 15 weeks Bacchus picks up on this and although he adores kids, he is more naughty with him than with confident kids.

Good luck and enjoy your puppy and listen to the advice of the more experienced staffie owners ( not me ) on this forum.