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Is a 14 week old puppy too old?

Siera

New member
I will be buying my family's first cavalier puppy and the breeder we are working with at the moment has some adorable 14 week old puppies. I've read that 8 weeks is best, then somewhere else it says that 12 is great. Is there really one great time I should use as the cutoff? Is 14 weeks too old? The puppies are fully socialized to humans and dogs and live in the breeders house. I will be introducing the puppy in our house to a young child and a cat, if that information helps. Thanks!
 
No worries about whether the puppy being 8 or 12 or 14 weeks. If your breeder is reputable and has done appropriate health scans, you will be fine with a puppy at 14 weeks.

I personally find 4-6 months is best as the pup is still just as cute, and probably closer to being potty trained!
 
Most breeders will not let puppies leave until they are 12 weeks old so I would say 14 weeks is a good age, they will have had time to ween and socialize with their litter mates. The younger the puppy, the more work and more supervision it takes. I took a month off work when I got Lady at 8 weeks old (and my breeder didn't let most leave that early, only because I was experienced with dogs and had the time off work).
 
I think 8 weeks is too young. 10 weeks is ok, it's the youngest I would consider appropriate. 12 weeks is a good age, 14 weeks is basically the same. Too young is an issue, too old isn't.

That said, the dogs we had in family when I was growing up were a Siberian Husky who was about 9 months when we got him, and a Border Collie who we got the day he turned 6 weeks old (!). Both were great dogs.
 
My oldest, Gus now almost 12yrs was 19 weeks old when we got him, he was fine and has grown to be a great little dog, never given any trouble :)
 
Would agree that older is almost always better for a well-socialised puppy well on its way to basic housetraining and with much better socialising and bite-inhibition skills. I don't know why the idea of 7-8 week old puppies ever became the norm for a lot of recommendations -- have seen trainers and vets say this is the 'best' age -- but it is patently untrue. Most of the puppies I have ever met that were older -- 10 weeks plus -- when homed, were so much more balanced, well-behaved, and family-ready than younger puppies. Many things can go wrong in the critical period from birth to about 10 weeks especially with very small puppies (eg for small breeds like cavaliers) -- they are at a critical fear stages and socialisation stages, for example, and the younger they leave mum and sibs, the more they will tend to puppy-bite hard for longer before they learn bite inhibition. It's not that 8 weeks is guaranteed to cause more issues but simply that it can, and a puppy that age generally learns so much that is beneficial by staying even a week or two longer with its canine family. (y)

So 14 weeks is a fine age to get a puppy :D ; just be sure that more importantly, you are working with a breeder that properly health tests and has shown you the parents' test results (eg cardiologist tested, MRI'd, eye and EFS tested, ideally hip scored and parents have no knee luxation either). We have a number of guides to finding a good breeder in the right panel on the main forum index page, that can be used as a checklist for any breeder. :)
 
We got our first cav at 7 months old and potty training is less than a month. For me the older the dog, as long as well socialized, the easier to train.
 
We got our first cav at 7 months old and potty training is less than a month. For me the older the dog, as long as well socialized, the easier to train.

I got my first two dogs at ages 6 months, but thought I would like the "puppy experience" when we got our 3rd. Got Bosco at 12 weeks --- so much work!! LOL! If you are lucky enough to find a slightly "older" pup -- go for it!
 
Luke was around 12 weeks old when I got him. He happened to be the one the breeder had left when I inquired about puppies, as she had thought about keeping him. She obviously did some nice early socializing with him, and if the breeder is good enough to get a puppy from, a few weeks later doesn't matter to me.
 
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