Age-old question!

We have had three Border Collies in a row, always with an overlap between two but none have been young puppies – the first was 15 weeks old, the second rescued at 12 weeks and the third rescued at two years. All have been great and we’ve had no problems with any. Our current female Floss is now 13 and extremely healthy and still very active but we are now looking to get a young one to keep up the tradition. Floss will be a great role model and is incredibly well behaved and good natured with everyone although sometimes a bit aloof.
My question is what is the ideal age for a puppy  – there is a good litter in the village currently four weeks old and the owner would normally let them go at eight weeks but our issue is we will be out of the country at that time which would mean we could only really pick the new pup up at 12 weeks. He would be able to stay with his parents but I have heard that the early period is so important. Eight weeks might be ideal but is 12 weeks a bad idea or is it still OK? The dog will be coming to a loving home and there will be lots of company and exercise so there will not be any issues once here,
Thanks for your help, 
Richard Hollingsworth

When this email arrived this morning my first instinct was to wonder about the breeders. Can you be sure they will be able to adequately socialise your pup for you while you are away? The eight to twelve week window is crucial for learning about life and I'd want to be carrying the pup into the world to meet horses, get used to car travel, hearing unusual sounds etc etc. I'd give this litter a miss and wait for another that fits in better with your schedule. You'll be missing a crucial development stage otherwise and Border Collie pups are hardly thin on the ground!
There are some great books by Dr Ian Dunbar on free download that I’d recommend...

http://www.dogstardaily.com/free-downloads

Do please read the ‘Before you get your puppy’ and especially the ‘After you get your puppy’ as they give very clear guidelines for what needs to be done at each age.

Beverley Cuddy, Editor


Carol Price, trainer and behaviourist, says...
Much fuss is often made about the optimum age to get a puppy and a lot of it is total nonsense. Many people, for instance, who want collies for competition work—e.g. Obedience, Agility—say it is best to get puppies around six weeks old in order that they become totally ‘focused’ on you, but what about what is best for the puppy?
Anyone who is half good a trainer should be able to teach a collie to focus on them at any age, but puppies who are taken away from their mother and littermates too young can become psychologically damaged by the experience, in a way that might not fully manifest itself until they are somewhat older. A vast part of a dog’s social confidence, for instance, stems from the fun and positive interactions he or she had with littermates when younger. Similarly a pup’s mother and other littermates clearly set the boundaries for what is acceptable behaviour with other dogs, including the vital lessons of bite inhibition and how to show submission to a superior dog, in order to avoid future trouble or conflict.
Many six-week-old puppies will not have got all these lessons sufficiently on board and therefore may have future problems interacting successfully with other dogs.
I am also not happy about puppies leaving home at eight weeks, or before they have had their first vaccinations. Why would you want a young puppy to be leaving home totally unprotected against disease and just as he or she is going through their first fear period? The stress puts enormous pressure on the still developing immune system, meaning a higher risk of illness. Equally, giving a puppy his or her first vaccinations while in an existing state of ‘new home’ stress is never a good idea.
I prefer my own puppies not to go to new homes until around 10-12 weeks old. This means they have a good two weeks, in familiar surroundings, to get over their first jabs and I have more time to perfect the optimum early socialization and training they need to lead happy and problem-free lives in their new homes.
I have had puppies leave me at 14 or 16 weeks and they all settled in with their new owners brilliantly, because ultimately what matters most is not the age of a puppy when you get it, but how well he or she has been bred, reared and socialised from day one.
So although you say there is a ‘good’ litter in your village, I am just wondering exactly what good means to you? Have both parents of the puppies been hip-scored and got a good result (i.e. lower than 13 or 14). Have they also been screened for other inheritable conditions like Collie Eye Anomaly, Progressive Retinal Atrophy or Trapped Neutrophil Syndrome—an incurable immune system disorder resulting in death before a pup reaches adulthood?
What socialisation programme does your breeder plan for the pups? Will he or she be taking them out every day in the car from around five weeks old onwards, and ensuring that they constantly meet new dogs and people, even if the pups need to be carried until their jabs are complete? Will he or she be inviting lots of different people round daily to play with the pups and give them good lasting associations with people? Will he or she be teaching them basic manners and exercises like sit, down, wait and recall? If not why not?
You are completely right in that pups have a vital early period, well below 12 weeks of age, in which to be given optimum preparation for their future lives. If a breeder puts the right kind of preparation into their pups from day one and makes their socialisation/social development constantly ongoing, they should turn into good dogs whatever age you get them—barring any genetic factors sabotaging temperament.
A breeder who doesn’t put this kind of work into their pups, however, or rarely takes them out will produce very different and less confident dogs by the time they reach 12 weeks of age
I do hope your village breeder ticks all the right boxes for you, with regard to how I have defined a ‘good’ litter. If so, I am sure you picking up a puppy at 12 weeks of age should pose no problem for you or them.
Sometimes when breeders seem in more of a rush to offload puppies to new homes you have to wonder why. Do they need the money? Are they sick of the sight of them? Do they want to avoid having to pay for them to be vaccinated? Ultimately the most important consideration for any good breeder should be the quality of the homes their puppies are going to, and the right home is always worth waiting for.
I do hope this advice is of help to you.