More Time With Us. More Beginnings for You.

Eight weeks has long been the familiar go-home age for puppies and, in many places, represents the minimum age at which a puppy may legally leave for its new home.

For us, though, being old enough to legally go home isn’t necessarily the same as having received everything we still have the opportunity to give.

We simply choose something different.

Our puppies remain with us beyond those earliest weeks because we believe there is tremendous value in having a little more time—not simply to keep them longer, but to do more with the time we have them.

Those additional weeks give puppies time to mature, give us more time to know them, and give us an opportunity to begin introducing pieces of everyday life that can make the transition into their families a little less brand new.

Our goal isn’t to send home an older puppy.

Our goal is to send home a puppy with more beginnings already behind them.

Eight Weeks Isn’t a Finish Line

Something important doesn’t suddenly happen on the morning a puppy turns eight weeks old.

They’re still very young.

Their bodies are developing. Their brains are developing. Their personalities are emerging. Their ability to regulate themselves, control their bladder, process new experiences and understand expectations is still growing.

Development simply continues.

And we have found those next few weeks incredibly valuable.

Rather than looking at eight weeks as the point when our work is finished, we see it as another stage we have the opportunity to help our puppies through.

A Little More Physical Maturity Helps

One of the simplest benefits of additional time is maturity.

A ten-, eleven- or twelve-week-old puppy is still very much a baby, but a few weeks can make a noticeable difference in what that puppy is physically capable of doing.

Bladder control continues developing. Attention spans begin stretching. Coordination improves. Puppies become more capable of participating in routines and making associations between what happens and what is expected of them.

That doesn’t mean an older puppy goes home house-trained.

It means we’re able to begin building on abilities that simply weren’t as developed several weeks earlier.

Sometimes time itself is part of the foundation.

We Can Begin the Everyday Things

The extra time allows us to begin introducing experiences that matter once a puppy becomes somebody’s companion.

Potty foundations.

Leash exposure.

Crate and routine familiarity.

Car rides and outings when age and vaccination status make them appropriate.

Different surfaces, sounds and environments.

Time with people.

Time learning that activity can end and settling can begin.

None of these experiences creates a finished puppy.

That’s not what we’re trying to accomplish.

We’re creating familiarity.

The first leash shouldn’t necessarily have to happen after you’ve already changed your puppy’s home, people, routine, smells, sleeping place and entire world.

If we can make a few of those things not new anymore, we think that’s worthwhile.

More Time Lets Us Know Your Puppy Better

This may be one of the greatest benefits of all.

At eight weeks, we’ve already learned quite a bit about a puppy.

Give us another few weeks, and we learn more.

We see who tends to charge into something new and who likes to observe first.

Who constantly looks for a person.

Who loves being in the middle of the group.

Who is busier.

Who settles more easily.

Who is becoming particularly confident, thoughtful, silly, independent, soft, adventurous or connected.

Puppies continue developing after they leave us, of course, and we would never claim we can predict exactly who a young puppy will become.

But additional time gives us additional information.

And when our goal is thoughtful matching, more information matters.

They Continue Learning From Dogs, Too

Humans aren’t a puppy’s only teachers.

As our puppies grow, appropriate interaction with other dogs can continue teaching them about canine communication, boundaries and social behavior.

Adult dogs communicate differently than we do.

A puppy can learn when another dog wants to play, when enough is enough, how to respond to correction and how to exist appropriately as part of a group.

We value those opportunities.

Our puppies are being raised to eventually live in a human world—but many of them will share that world with other dogs, too.

Confidence Isn’t Built in One Weekend

We don’t believe meaningful puppy development comes from cramming as many experiences as possible into a tiny window.

Confidence grows through appropriate experiences repeated over time.

Something is new.

The puppy experiences it.

Nothing terrible happens.

Life continues.

Then something else is new.

Over time, puppies begin building a history that tells them:

I’ve done new things before. I can figure this out.

Additional weeks give us more opportunities to create those little experiences without needing to rush through them simply because a go-home date is approaching.

Their World Can Grow as They Grow

A very young puppy’s world should be relatively small.

Then it can begin expanding.

As our puppies mature and their vaccination status allows, we can thoughtfully introduce more of the world around them.

The goal isn’t to show them everything they might ever encounter.

We couldn’t.

It’s to begin teaching them how to encounter something new.

That distinction matters to us.

We want puppies to develop curiosity, confidence and recovery—not simply collect experiences.

Transition Is Already a Big Ask

Going home is enormous from a puppy’s perspective.

One day, everything is familiar.

The next day, the people are different. The house smells different. The sounds are different. The routine is different. Their sleeping arrangements are different. The dogs may be different. Even the grass outside is different.

We can’t remove that transition—and we wouldn’t want to. That’s the beginning of the puppy becoming yours.

But we can try not to make every single experience happen for the first time at once.

If a puppy has already experienced a crate, worn a leash, ridden in a vehicle, followed routines, practiced potty habits and learned that new experiences can be okay, those are little pieces of familiarity they carry with them into a very unfamiliar day.

Older Doesn’t Mean Finished

This is something we want every family to understand.

A puppy staying with us longer does not mean you’ll receive a fully trained puppy.

A twelve-week-old puppy is still a puppy.

There will be potty accidents.

There may be sleepless moments.

There will be chewing, puppy mouths, forgotten manners and days when it appears your brilliant puppy has misplaced everything they learned yesterday.

Training must continue.

Socialization must continue.

Confidence building must continue.

And the relationship between you and your puppy still has to be built.

We’re not trying to do your part before your puppy goes home.

We’re trying to give you a better place to begin it.

We Don’t Believe Eight-Week Puppy Go-Home Is Wrong

Our choice to keep puppies longer isn’t a criticism of breeders who place puppies at eight weeks.

There are many thoughtful ways to raise puppies well.

This is simply the one that fits the kind of program we want to provide and the families we’re raising our puppies for.

We have the ability to keep working with them.

We have the environment to let their worlds gradually expand.

And because we can, we’ve chosen to use that time.

More Time Is an Investment

Keeping a puppy longer means more food, more cleaning, more vaccinations and preventative care as appropriate, more individual attention, more training, more space, and quite simply, more work.

But that’s not why we tell you about it.

We tell you because those additional weeks have a purpose.

You’re not paying for us to keep your puppy away from you longer.

You’re allowing us more time to prepare that puppy for life with you.

Because We’re Raising for What Comes Next

Our puppies don’t need to become perfect here.

They need to become ready for their next beginning.

Every additional experience, every routine introduced, every little bit of maturity, every car ride, leash lesson, potty success, new sound and quiet moment of learning to settle is something they can carry forward.

Then comes the most important part.

They go home.

And you take everything we’ve begun and turn it into a life.

That’s why our puppies stay longer.

Because the extra time isn’t really about keeping them with us. It’s about preparing them for you.