Originally posted by yorkster
At what age is it best to separate a Golden Retriever puppy (or any breed) from it's Mom and siblings?
A breeder that I know of wants to do it at 49 days. She says that after that the pups start establishing a 'pecking order' and they need to be adopted out before that happens.
It just seems really young to me, so I am not sure that this is a good place to get a pup.
I just reread the question and had some additional thoughts. There are more important considerations than if the pup is 7 or 8 weeks old when you bring it home to determine if this is the breeder for you. I would want to know if the parents have their clearances and what they are. What is the rating on the hips and elbows? Did they have normal cardio readings done by a board certified cardiologist? Were the eyes cleared (CERF) by a board certified optomitrist? Does the breeder give you any pedigree information? How often does the breeder breed this bitch? Is the breeder keeping a pup from the litter? Does the breeder give you any kind of written contract that stipulates your responsibilities as a new owner of one of their puppies? Does the contract stipulate what the breeders responsibilities are if there is a major health problem. Is the dog being sold on a limited or full registration? Can you see both the dam and the sire?

I believe if you have a reputable breeder they will be able to give you answers to all of these questions. Then you may want to determine if getting the pup at seven weeks is an issue. The other factors at this point are more important. If you get a quality puppy at 7 weeks vs. a non quality pup at 8 weeks, I would go with the 7 week puppy (hands down).

I hope this makes sense. If you have more questions, let me know.