There’s a new six week old, two pounds, seven ounce Shih Tzu puppy in our community and I’m very worried. The little guy was bought from a breeder in Wanatah and that’s a real concern for me. Why? Because there are puppy mills operating in that community and those breeders or “greeders” as I call them, want their puppies sold young, small and early. The pups are bred from a bitch that spends her days in small, filthy cage churning out litter after litter of puppies to be sold for profit. Her dull, patchy coat is painfully matted and her ears are full of biting mites. Her nails have grown so long that they curl under and pierce her tender paw pads. She’s surrounded by hundred of other dogs, also caged and in poor health and their chaotic, panicked barking is deafening and relentless. No one ever tells her that she’s a good girl or gives her a treat. No one scratches behind her ears or kisses the top of her head.
My woman human has raised many litters of puppies for the Humane Society of Northwest Indiana and for Lakeshore Paws. She said it’s an old wives tale that a six week old puppy is ready for adoption. She observed that the pups learn important behaviors from their moms and litter mates; interpreting dominance, inhibiting biting behaviors and submission to a dominant dog. He learns what it’s like to play, romp and behave correctly among his pack of siblings and his mom.
A six week old puppy simply hasn’t been in our world long enough to learn the correct behaviors from his mom and siblings, she says. In other words, between five and eight weeks, a pup is learning how to be a dog.
Well, who doesn’t want a darling itty bitty ball of fur? The puppy mill “greeders” bank on the fact that we’re all suckered in by a tiny fur face. With toy breeds, petite and/or “teacup size” sells well.
He’s tiny and irresistible and you’ve heard it said that he’ll bond with your family the younger he is. Oh no, think again. The age you bring your puppy home can make the difference between a well-adjusted pet and one who is neurotic, frightened and having behavior problems for the rest of his life.
Reputable breeders and responsible shelters will not allow their puppies to leave their moms until after eight weeks and will encourage a potential puppy owner to see the pup’s mother and father while visiting every square inch of their facility.
Puppy mills keep you away from their operation and for good reason. Often they’ll bring the pup to you in a neutral location. When shopping for a puppy, don’t support puppy mills by acquiring your fur baby in a puppy store or answering a blind ad. If a puppy looks too young to go home with you, it probably is. An eight or nine week old pup is ideal.
Ollie
Remember...Rescuing one pet can’t change the world…but the world will change for that one pet
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