Has your German Shepherd ever had puppies and you don’t know how long they have to stay with their mother? How many months does a puppy have to be separated from its mother?
When a new German Shepherd Puppy arrives at home, it becomes a blessing. They’re adorable, playful and lots of fun, but they’re also a lot of work.
The age at which a puppy stops being with its littermates and its mother, to start a new life in your house has crucial importance on its future development.
Doing so too early can cause physical as well as psychological or behavioral problems for your German Shepherd puppy, especially if it leads to an insecure personality or poor socialization.
As we do not want unhappy or traumatized puppies, let’s see how to do it correctly.
Why Should We Separate Our German Shepherd From Its Mother?
It is important that your new German Shepherd is mature enough to leave its mother before you bring it home with you.
Firstly, they should be weaned from their mothers, socialized, and then the breeders can sell them or they can be adopted in kennels. Choosing a mature German Shepherd puppy that is ready to leave its mother will help reduce the problems of raising it.
Taking into account the psychological and physical aspects of a puppy’s development is essential to know at what age they should be separated from their parents.
Doing so too early can be very harmful, causing growth deficits or emotional imbalances.
It is usual to fall in love with a German Shepherd as soon as we see it, they are really adorable, however, we must dedicate time to prepare ourselves for the puppy’s arrival, reflecting on the great responsibility we acquire.
It is advisable to gather all the necessary information and arrange the house for its arrival. Obviously, afterward we feel a great impatience to have it with us.
When Should Puppies Be Separated From Their Mother?
There are an essential time and the time that is ideal when we talk about the separation of the German Shepherd puppies from their mother.
With German Shepherd puppies, there exist two important topics that will explain the timing when the puppy should be separated from its mother:
1- The Breastfeeding
German Shepherds are nourished and get their energy from their mothers’ milk. Weaning is the process by which they are helped to become less dependent on their mother’s milk.
During this process, they should receive dry puppy food mixed with some water to create a softer, soup-like food. See that they need you to encourage them to eat this new food, but many others will start eating quickly.
They usually begin weaning at 3 or 4 weeks and continue it gradually until 7 or 8 weeks of age.
This constitutes one of the most important reasons why our German Shepherd puppy should stay as long as possible with its mother.
In this stage, the progenitor must be very well fed, resulting in better health of the little ones.
2- Our German Shepherd will learn to socialize
During the period of lactation, the mother begins with the socialization of the German Shepherd puppy and teaches it how to communicate with its congeners. This will strengthen the security of our dog.
Socialization is a fundamental part of raising a puppy. They need exposure to all kinds of people, places, things, sights, and smells to be fully socialized.
This helps them learn how to live comfortably in different situations. Puppies should be socialized when they are 3-12 weeks old when they are still more likely to accept new places and things.
If our German Shepherd does not socialize correctly, it is susceptible to suffer future behavioral problems such as insecurity, fear, and reactivity with others of its species. Its mother will teach it how to act around the environment to coexist with other animals and people.
Alright, when should we separate our German Shepherd from its mother?
At a minimum, the ideal for our German Shepherds is to separate the puppies from the mother at 3 months of age, but the minimum age is 8 weeks (2 months).
Separation before this time can lead to behavioral problems for the puppies like:
- The diminished response of the immune system.
- Behavioral disorders in adulthood.
- Hyperactivity, aggressiveness, and anxiety.
- Bad behavior with other dogs.
By the time it is ready to leave its mother, it should be socialized and have completed the weaning process. Once it arrives home with its new family, it can begin training and learning new tricks.
