While a heartbreaking number of puppies are taken from their mums to be sold off to unsuspecting owners by unscrupulous breeders, eight weeks of age is the traditional age for puppies to move on to their new home.
As puppies are usually fully weaned by the age of seven weeks, and able to eat solid foods, eight weeks is the minimum age for them to leave their mum and litter mates – but is it the best?
While may say that at this point puppies are old enough to move on to their new homes and become well-adjusted, confident dogs with the right care and socialisation, others argue that leaving pups with their mum until 12 weeks would be beneficial, allowing them to pick up more social skills from both their mum and their litter mates before they go on to their new home.
What do you think – should puppies stay with their mum longer than the widely accepted eight weeks? Tell us what you think here, in the comments of , or by writing to editorial@dogstodaymagazine.co.uk with “Great Debate” in the subject line.