How Long Should Puppies Stay With Their Mother?

2022 Update:  In our new course on puppy rearing for breeders (From Newborn to New Home), we have been seen a HUGE interest in more information about weaning. We've had some amazing discussions on the subject and the commonality that we have seen is that there is no "one right way or time" to wean puppies.  We'll be presenting more on this, but, for now, this article I wrote on weaning is very much on point and something that everyone should take to heart...there is never one right thing to do, but there is always A right thing to do.  And that is, do what the puppies (and the dam) are asking for!
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There is a thought floating around out there that puppies "need to stay with their mother" until 8 weeks old.  ​Not sure where that particular bit of lore originated, but it continues to be the cause of much misunderstanding.  

And the misunderstanding can be damaging. Breeders get shamed for separating bitches from their puppies or they try to compel their bitches to stay with the puppies for an amount of time that is unreasonable for that particular group. In the worst cases, breeders will trap dams in with puppies, forcing bitches to confront their puppies because there is no other escape.    As we discuss in chapter six of Puppy Culture, the consequences of this are bad for the puppies, bad for the dams, and bad for breeding programs.   So, let’s clear this up and address “real” best practices for when to wean puppies.

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