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Ok thisBut 8 weeks is better in my opinion.Because the breeder can switch them to solid food for you. 3 and 6 weeksLabrador puppies should be weaned between 3 and 6 weeks. It is a process that begins with introducing puppies to a warm canine replacement milk and puppy mash at 3 weeks and then slowly reducing how much time they spend with mom to eat. Puppies should be eating dry puppy dog food by 6 weeks old.
Wolters says in Waterdog that 49 days is the best. I am not sure it matters a ton but that's what my dad and I have always done. Its worked. Theory presented in the book is at 7 weeks the pecking order in the litter has not been established so you get a blank slate. No bullies and bullied.
Wolters at his core was a writer. He was not a dog trainer who decided to write a book about the years of expertise he had gained. His books water dog came out in the early 1960's and much has changed in the way professionals train dogs. In his books he doesn't cover ecollar conditioning or force fetch which are modern tools and building blocks for retrievers today. If a person follows one of the more modern programs they can take their dog way farther than they could if they just followed Wolters program. I am saying this as someone who as a teenager trained two labs following Wolters. They were fine dogs but once I started using Smartworks my eyes were opened (written by a 2x or 3x Field Trial winner). Many of these authors are active on internet forums or available by phone for consultation if you have issues during your training. The differece in methods and technology used would be like someone saying "I want to type a letter" you could hand them a type writer or an internet connected computer. The job would get done but one can go much further with greater ease using the computer than the type writer.
I have sold many litters. My pups are introduced to a mom supplement as soon as they are on their feet. Usually about 2-1/2-3 weeks. They take to other food options very fast and do well taking some pressure off of mom. I have weaned pups as early as 4weeks. They get their first round of shots usually a 5 way at 6 weeks. They have been wormed several times by now. I have not noticed any difference in the behavior going at 6 weeks vs 8 or more weeks. I work with all of my pups as soon as they can stand, come to a whistle, sit, no jumping up with sharp nails and depending on how well certain pups do I expand on that. By 8 weeks all of my pups willingly stay on their dog bed in the house without ever straying from their spot and most are completely house broken.
With no other dogs at home your puppy is best with its littermates and mom until 8 weeks. You are acting like my kids relax. 😁🤣😂
I get $3500.00 for silver and Charcoal, $3000.00 for chocolate and $2500.00 for blacks. We have several businesses. JL outdoors does most of the archery, and dogs. We have a honey bee business, commercial construction Company and run a charter/guide business. They say you can sleep when you are dead.