My 6-week-old puppy was taken from her mom too early. Is she okay?

It is recommended that puppies not be weaned until 8 weeks of age. It should not necessarily affect her health per se, but her development, maybe. There is no way for me to know if Sprout with develop any of these issues. I suggest you refer to this article for more information. ( https://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/09/29/puppies-taken-from-litter-too-soon-develop-behavior-problems-as-adults.aspx ) If you have more questions after reading this, please feel free to post again.

I typically try to encourage breeders to adopt out around 7-8 weeks of age. It comes down to socialization and being around the mom as long as possible. Socialization has been known to begin between 3-6 weeks and if you take the puppy away from the littermates too early, then this benefit of socialization could be harmed. I would encourage the breeder to hold on to the puppy for another 1-2 weeks longer than normal. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! While not ideal, this can be ok as long as she is fed a milk replacer formula until she is about 6 to 8 weeks when she starts eating kibble or canned food. They usually can do ok by themselves. Good luck and have a great day!

Hi, thanks for using Petcoach! If you think Mula should still be nursing you can purchase bottles and nipples and puppy milk replacer. I will attach links to find them online or you can find them at Veterinary hospitals or Pet stores. Around 6 weeks start offering puppy food, either canned or moisten dry food. By 8 weeks the puppy should be exclusively eating puppy food. You can bring Mula to the Vet to help confirm age and have him dewormed. Vaccine are started around 7-8 weeks of age. I hope this helps and good luck! http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=665 http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=28141

If he is no longer nursing, then he isn’t getting antibodies from Mom anymore so he will need to start his vaccine series earlier than usual. Also, he may not learn the social cues that Mom teaches during this time. He can, however, learn those by participating in a puppy play group . I would schedule an appointment with your veterinarian soon to start the vaccinations and to ask for a recommendation for a puppy play group. Best of luck and enjoy your cute new puppy!! Thank you for using Pet Coach.

Thanks for visiting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! She is not too young to be away from mom if she is 5 weeks of age. Pets are vaccinated as early as 6 weeks of age, and are usually weaned off of mom at this age. Since you have another pet in the home that does go outside, it is best to start vaccines for this pup once she is 6-8 weeks of age. Intestinal worms usually don't make pets too sick, but it can cause loose stool and potential vomiting. They still will eat well and do well as long as the worms are treated in a timely fashion (within 1-2 weeks), so this is an easy fix if you do encounter this. If your other pet is on a monthly heartworm prevention, then it has a natural intestinal dewormer in it as well that can protect your pet against 2 types of worms (hookworms and roundworms), which are the most common types of worms seen in puppies. But again, if you do happen to encounter a worm problem, this is easily dealt with with the appropriate dewormer, so keep an eye out for any loose stools. I hope that this helps and best wishes deciding on if you want to adopt this new pup. Take care. : )

At six weeks her immune system is very vulnerable to disease and she must be isolated away from unvaccinated dogs and exposure to wildlife until she is fully protected - i recommend an urgent vet check to assess her vaccination and deworming history and to make sure she is otherwise well. Her training can begin right away and it is important for her to develop a sense of independence and security away from you to prevent separation anxiety as she gets older