[quote author=trailblazenyj link=board=10;threadid=20711;start=0#msg194392 date=1065629766]
Well, our lab is 8.5 years old now. Fantastic dog. A bit different for a lab. Throw a stick or a ball and she will just look at you as if asking "what did you do that for? Now you have to walk over there and get it"!

Also, first time in the water was a 10 round death cage match. Absolutely hates lakes and creeks. Really good family dog and very protective of the wife.
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That sounds EXACTLY like my female black lab of 5 years. GREAT family dog. Best personality of any dog I've ever seen, yet very alert and very protective. BUT....she won't fetch. You can throw a stick or anything else and she'll usually go get it and bring it back to you once. Throw it again and she just looks at you as if to say, "Alright you idiot. I went and got it for you once. You can walk YOUR lazy hiney out there and get it this time." She doesn't care much for swimming either.

Ditto what Java said about Parvo. That's a BAD deal if the pup gets that. We once had to take 3 Great Pyrenees pups from their mother at only 4 weeks old. Didn't have a choice. She wouldn't take care of them. You've gotta be real careful doing that though.

 

I agree that 6 1/2 weeks is really young to be seperated from her mother. She was the only female left though, and is in terrific shape. Don't the shots help prevent the parvovirus?

 

anywhere from 6weeks to 10 weeks is the best time to take a pup away. Anything over that the mother will get really mad at the pups. Like when my dogs has there 10 pups got rid of one right at 6 weeks to a freind of mine that was a Vet.but the rest I didnt get rid of until like 8 weeks or so and the last one ran away with its mother. I guess she hated the place so bad she just left. : Dad stay'd (i dont think he could fit in the hole in the fence he is a big dog)

 

[quote author=98ramtough link=board=10;threadid=20711;start=15#msg195028 date=1065736636]
I agree that 6 1/2 weeks is really young to be seperated from her mother. She was the only female left though, and is in terrific shape. Don't the shots help prevent the parvovirus?
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To a certain extent...a pup's level of immunity (that which is passed onto it through pregnancy and nursing) is influenced by several factors, including but certainly not limited to, the immune-level for each disease in the puppy's mother, individualities of each puppy, and the specific disease you are trying to vaccinate against. Between the ages of six to twenty weeks (went back and looked it up) that immunity level begins to fade. With the exception of pulling blood for titre tests (indicate the levels of antibodies within the dogs system), there's no way to tell when the immunity passed on from the pups mother will begin to fade. The shots you administer to a pup serve the sole purpose of building the pups immunity AFTER the mother-provided immunity has totally faded away. The vaccinations administered during the presense of the mothers immunity will actually have no effect on the pups immunity levels (essentially, the mothers immunity cancels out the administered vaccinations). In essense, there will be a short peroid of time during which the pup will have NO immunity (provided one is diligent on keeping up with the proper shot schedule). Once the mother's immunity has faded, the vaccinations administered thereafter will serve to build the puppy a new line of defense against nasty bugs.

Puppy shots begin between the age of six to eight weeks and continue on up through 20 weeks of age with the pup receiving vaccinations every three to four weeks (typically a DHLP-P vaccination is given which protects against Distemper, Hepatitis, Leptospirosis, Parainfluenza, and Parvovirus). It's very, very important to follow the puppy shot schedule as every puppy is different in the amount of time it takes for their immunity to fade and a new one to develop.

Hope that makes sense...

 

[quote author=TxRedneck link=board=10;threadid=20711;start=15#msg195030 date=1065736916]
anywhere from 6weeks to 10 weeks is the best time to take a pup away.[/quote]

I have to disagree, taking a puppy away from its mother and litter mates at six weeks is not a good idea in relation to the emotional and psychological development of the puppy. Between the ages of three to six weeks (the toddler stage), puppies begin to emerge on their own from the litter. They begin to learn specific behavioral patterns specific to dogs--during play they learn body postures and what they mean in relation to their mother and their litter mates. They learn to bite and what it's like to be bitten. They learn to vocalize as well as how to utilize those utterances to establish social relationships with other dogs and to temper their own biting and vocalizing. At the age of five weeks, a mother teachers her pups basic manners--how to be submissive to her leadership and what behaviors are acceptable. She may growl, snarl or snap at them as a form of discipline. If a puppy has not learned to accept leadership and discipline in it's early interactions with other dogs, it's future training may be difficult. Puppies that are removed from the nest too early tend to be nervous, more prone to barking and biting, and less responsive to discipline. Often they are aggressive with other dogs. Generally speaking, a puppy taken away from it's mother and litter mates before seven weeks of age, may not realize its full potential as a dog and companion. To maximize the mental and psychological development of puppies, they must remain in the nest with their mother and litter mates until seven weeks of age.

Seven to twelve weeks of ages marks the socialization period and it is at this stage that rapid learning occurs. Everything he comes in contact with will have a lasting impression on him. Even though he has a short attention span, he learns whether he is taught or not. Every experience he encounters during this time will stay with him forever and will be resistant to change. It is during this period that owners need to establish the rules by which their dogs will live. Socialization is very important during this stage, both with people and other animals as well as with new situations that he may encounter during his life. If you don't expose your puppy to a variety of situations and new environments, inappropriate ways to adapt may be learned. During eight to eleven weeks, the pup will go through a fear imprint period. It is during this time that traumatic, painful or frightening experiences will have the most impact on a puppy. A frightning visit to the vet during this stage could potentially cause future apprehension with vet visits. Make new experiences during this phase as positive as possible....and on and on....

At any rate...developmentally, a puppy should not be removed from his litter or mother any earlier than seven weeks of age or he'll miss out on valuable learning experiences that will help him to better understand his role later in life.

Case in point is my two year old Weimaraner, Inca. We rescued her at the age of six months from a very neglectful home, malnurished and bouncing off the walls. She had been taken away from her mother and litter mates at a very young age. The person who took her was a college student, who realized in short time that she didn't have the time or patience to care for this very energetic puppy (who was being cooped up in a college dorm room). She ended up giving the puppy to her mother, who lacked the skills needed to care for and to socialize Inca properly. Inca sat outside on a chain all by herself, slowly starving and receiving attention only during the short time it took for her caregiver to throw her some scraps. She was picked up by a local rescue group when someone noticed how thin she was. She then bounced around from foster home to foster home because no one could handle her uncontrollable ways--she bit all the time, had absolutley no manners and wasn't housebroken. We took her when she was six months old....it wasn't until she was a year and a half old that she was finally house broken, was learning to sit and was learning behavioral control commands such as "no bite," "off, "quiet" and "sit." She's now two years old and still jumps up whenever she wants, bites uncontrollably at times (and very hard!) and is all out spastic. We've gotten used to her ways and understand why she is the way she is...and unfortunately she will most likely act the way she does because of being deprived of learning during the most crucial stages of her life. She was never taught to act any different. Even though she does understand what it means to stop biting, what it means to get off and what no means, she never learned that those types of behaviors aren't to be tolerated when it meant the most and she'll turn right around and start gnawing on you again no matter how many times you tell her to stop. She's a perpetual child who never learned to change bad behaviors...and it's how she'll always be, and it's how I understand her the best......but she's still the best cuddler in the world!!

 

I'm on my second dog as an adult, first a Rottie and now a Bernese Mountain dog. 6 weeks might be a bit early, but it's not the end of the world. As long as nothing really tramatic happens to her in the next little while, she'll turn out to be a great dog.

As other people have said, the socialization period (3-12 weeks) for the pup is very important. It's sort of a Catch-22 situation though because of the parvo concern. Try to keep her and yourself away from areas that have a lot of dog crap. You can pick parvo up on your shoes. You could ask your vet if there's been any parvo in your area recently. They will know because it's extremely contagious. Get their recommendations for a good trainer and when to enroll in a puppy class. They don't teach much obedience but it's great for socializing.

If you can find a copy of a book called "The Art of Raising a Puppy" by The Monks of New Skeet, it's well worth the read. These guys are very well known and respected for the Shepherds they raise and train.

Enjoy your new pup. She'll be the best friend you'll ever have.

As an afterthought, buy a 6 foot leather leash. They might cost a bit more, but they last forever and don't cut into your hands when your dog sees something worth chasing like
a cat, squirrel, leaf, paper cup ......the list goes on.