New puppy rejected by mother at 4 weeks?

It isn't at all uncommon for mums to be fed up with their pups at 4 weeks. Presumably, the only difference with this litter is that they have had no interaction with mum since, but they will have had each other to intereact with.

People will tell you differently (usually people who have never a bred a litter) that pups "need to stay with Mum until at least 8 wks - not true, most b1tches are heartily sick of maternal duties by 4 weeks when the pups should be well on the way to being weaned anyway.

How they turn out depends much on Mum's "normal" temperament. If she is usually a happy friendly b1tch, the pups will probably be happy and friendly. If she is nervous and aggressive, the pups may be too. Dad's temperament can also influence the pups' temperaments too - temperament is inherited as much as any physical characteristic.

I see from the TD that all the non- breeding experts are out in force!

Aphrodite: Why don't you read answers properly, I said "they will have had each other to intereact with"

Why on earth would a puppy be devastated?

ETA: Great answer TJ!

It doesn't matter if the mother rejected the puppies.

The litter should still stay together until they are at least 8 weeks old. It will be very traumatic on those puppies if they are separated so early in age.

Of course the puppy will act different that a "normal" puppy. This puppy is going to be devastated.

Tell the woman breeding that since she took on this responsibility, she should be taking the extra responsibility to make sure these puppies are raised properly before selling them.

@Anwen or whatever - true that it might be normal for a mum to be sick of its puppies at that age, but that does not mean that the litter should be separated - look at pack animals. The litter learns a lot from each other.

EDIT - Asker - why didn't you say they were 9 weeks old in the first place? lol We are all thinking you are talking about taking home a 4 week old puppy. So if the litter has been together since the mother rejected them at 4 weeks and they are now 9 weeks old, then no there will be no problem with taking them home as opposed to puppies that stayed with their mother for that extra time. Give ALL the details next time. :-)

" have been offered a puppy that was rejected by mum at 4 weeks, mum just couldn't cope and became extremely aggressive towards the pups so they were removed for their own saftey, the pups were already starting on solids and have done fine without mum."

Perfectly normal behavior, it is caused by the puppies teeth. Moms work is done and it's time for her to recover from the rigors of nursing them.

It is important that the pups be kept together for an additional month.

At 8+ weeks in the litter environment (without their mother), they will be perfectly normal little guys.

I always separate the mother from the litter at 5 weeks, to do otherwise is just subjecting her to stress that serves no purpose.

edit

"Her mother stopped feeding and rejected the pups at 4 weeks. A few died, I saved mine"

It is absolutely ridicules that "A few died". All they needed was to be fed and properly housed!

This is exactly why so many on here get angry over breeding questions, and is a perfect example of the ignorance that exists about raising puppies.

4 week old Beagle pups, obviously the food dish has been licked clean.

http://i396.photobucket.com/albums/pp43/blunderpic...

To be honest, by 4 weeks, the weaning process will have been well underway. And some mums don't actually want to sleep in with their puppies by that time (the more liberated types!). They just visit, clean them up, allow them to comfort suckle, and leave. In fact it's marginally more important that they interact within a litter and if this has been happening with this puppy (and the others) I'd say you'd not see any difference.

I've had some bitches who really didn't want to be in with their litter, once they were started on solids. The only concern I'd have is if this puppy had been singled out for rejection - might have suggested there was something wrong with this particular puppy. As this wasn't apparently the case, just mum was miserable (I hope they don't breed her again!) I'd not be concerned.

Get him to your vet within 48 hours for a full health check/shots and I'm sure you will have yourself a nice puppy.

ps There is just a slight doubt in my mind that this b itch might have a sus.temperament which she could have passed on to her puppies .... but check them out when you visit. It's not necessarily going to be the case! I've had a miserable mum, with her second litter ..... and her babies were the lost loving puppies imaginable - I kept two back!! And I didn't force motherhood on their mum again!!! She'd done her bit.

9-weeks-old should be fine, but make sure you give this puppy a ton of human contact by 10-weeks-old. A puppy at this age is going to need reassurance that you haven't abandoned it when it leaves its litter mates. Make sure the crate is by your bed, with the night light on so the puppy can see you and be reassured. Play a soothing cd or radio until the puppy goes to sleep. Good luck. When you post questions it helps us if you post the age and breed, it changes our answers.

mum just couldn't cope and became extremely aggressive towards the pups so they were removed for their own safety

The above statement just doesn't sound right to me.

I am a breeder, a responsible one at that, & I have never observed a mother dog reject her puppies suddenly & aggressively at 4weeks.

A mother dog isn't going to take care of her pups for 4 weeks & then all the sudden try to kill them. Rejection takes place from the very beginning.

This puppy should not have been seperated from it's "mum" that early.

Weaning is COMPLETELY different from rejection.

you should be fine. same thing happened with my APBT. Her mother stopped feeding and rejected the pups at 4 weeks. A few died, I saved mine. Ive had her since 4 and a half weeks old. She is 13 months now and we had no issues at all other than normal puppy issues like teething and leash pulling.

no i have a female i got at 5 weeks old...she was playful as any pup when i got my second one in may the next year my first one was dominate over it because she was the first one...i let my puppies go at 6 1/2 weeks...our county animal shelter just let my friend adopt a 5 week old collie mix puppy...

if the puppies are now 9 weeks they should be fine, theyre litter mates will have taught them a lot, as will the humans

Four weeks is very young for the pup to be away from mom, but in this case it was necessary. If the pup is given lots of human attention, allowed to bond with the new owner, it should do fine.