Puppy leaves Mom too young. Create lifelong problems?

Hi,
We have just conditionally taken in a puppy from a young woman who decided she wasn't ready to care for two puppies at once. The woman got the puppy and his sister when they were a day or two shy of 6 weeks old. So our puppy left his mother at 6 weeks but was with his sister for week 7 of his life.

This puppy whines constantly unless he's getting attention. Is this normal or is this because we have a puppy that was separated too soon from it's Mother? I'm worrying that we're setting ourselves up for a dog who has problems because he left his mother too young. Any thoughts?

 

I agree they left too young but thats my opinion i would never let one of mine go until atleast 8 weeks old but prefer to wait till 12weeks.

His whining could be attention seeking because he stops when he is getting the attention from you.
I would not give in to his whining demands unless its because he is hungry or needs to go out.

You could try giving him and old item of your clothing with your scent on for them to sleep on and see how that works, Also a teddy bear and a ticking clock under his bedding usually helps as this mimics his mothers heartbeat...

Giving into whining for nothing is gonna cause serious seperation anxiety problems as he gets older.

Hope i could help

Mike

 

I completely agree with Charmedagain!! way too young. what ever you do don't give in to the whining...... They will adjust it just may take awhile.
Good luck

 

My current Dane cross female that we got as a pup left her mom at 4 weeks of age... too early no doubt... It was a rescue and mom basically was out of reserves to care for the pups for any longer ammount of time. The pups were given away by the owner so I have no idea what happened to her brothers and sisters. Anyway even at such a young age this gal didn't do all the whining you mention about your current pup. I doubt the reason has anything to do with the age of the pup when he/she left momma and siblings. Usually the only reason people like to leave their pups with mom is because of socialization stuff. They learn bite inhibition at that age etc... But often times by the time a pup is 6 weeks old they're totally weaned even...mom is a teacher though so usually that's what she does with her pups after weaning etc... The pups also teach eachother social behaviors etc... Long lasting effects of taking pups too early are usually social and don't include what I would view as separation anxiety type behaviors. Generally that's a tempermental thing that needs to be overcome as Charmed discussed.

You may want to talk to your vet about the problem as they could suggest trainers to talk to who can help ease up the anxiety the pup seems to have because it can become a big problem as he/she ages.

is the pup crate trained??? This can be VERY helpful as it gives the pup a safe place to be that doesn't include your lap etc...

Sara

 

Thanks for advice and passing on your experience

Your words of advice are helpful and Sara's experience is a relief. We're on day 2 of crate training him and he seems to be settling in well and getting a little less whinny. This is good because other than the whining, he is the perfect pup.

There's a puppy socialization "class" at the local SPCA, so we'll take advantage of that to try to make up for lost time with Mom and sibs.

 

Sounds like you're doing great with the pup! Puppy socialization classes are GREAT for you to take part in with the pup too.

Good luck! Glad to have eased your mind