Buyers have a lot of questions when they are looking for  Papillon puppies for sale.  When is the best age to get  Papillon puppies is one of the questions.

There is a lot of controversy between breeders and other dog professionals--trainers, pet counselors and even owners--over the best age to place or sell a papillon puppy. Some Papillon  Breeders claim that they need to keep Papillons longer than the larger breed dogs and they offer several reasons for this, some contradictory. They say  Papillons  must stay with it's dam and littermates longer than a large breed for "socialization", or they want to decide if the  Papillon  Puppies are show or pet quality, or that Papillons are too fragile to leave earlier, or even that the new owners cannot take care of such small Papillon puppies.

Many non-breeding animal professionals seriously dispute the need for a Papillon puppy to stay with its dam and littermates to "learn how to be a dog". In fact,  Papillons are born with the natural instinct to be what it is. Papillon puppies raised with a litter of kittens will still be Papillons--still bark not meow, and still dig in the yard and chase things that run or retrieve or chew--Papillon puppies will not lose their natural instinct to act like a papillon dog. The actual facts are--humans do not  want Papillons that have 'stayed with it's dam and littermates to learn to be a papillon dog"!! Humans do not want  pets, especially Papillons, to bark excessively, chew furniture and clothes, goes "potty" anywhere in the house and ignores the human voice and commands.

Instead, most pet-loving people want Papillon puppies that will bond to them, easy to teach to obey basic commands, likes to be with people and is relatively easy to housetrain (we never believe in house breaking) and does not bark for no reason at all. So when does this bonding start?

Nature itself starts breaking the mother-puppy bond when Papillon puppies are fully weaned. Papillon puppies look to those who bring food and safety to establish a new bond. This is when the human--puppy bond begins. When papillon  puppies have a full set of baby teeth and can eat on their own, the Papillon dam usually will move away from the papillon puppies more often, to avoid the sharp little teeth. This is the time a wild dog would begin to hunt for her puppies and this is when the papillon  breeder becomes the primary food source for Papillon puppies. And this age is usually around 6 weeks. Pet professionals and many who also train their own dogs, have agreed that the younger Papillons puppies train more easily and bond to new owners more closely when placed between 6 and 10 weeks of age. The best age to obtain a Papillon puppy is 8 to 12 weeks, says Steven Thompson, a veterinarian and animal behaviorist at Purdue University’s School of Veterinary Medicine. (there are certain legal restrictions in shipping before 8 weeks old on the airlines) After this age,  Papillon  puppies slowly becomes more set in their ways and these ways become more difficult to change later in life. 

Some papillon  breeders claim they need to keep papillon  puppies longer to determine if they are show quality--this often means they are hoping for a fault to disappear or are hoping that an expected fault does not crop up. However, there is evidence that the structure of Papillon puppies at 8 weeks old is the same structure  papillons  will have as an adult, AND there is no way to be sure of coat and show worthiness until papillons  are 2 years old--so keeping  Papillon  puppies 4 to 6 months serves no purpose for either a pet or show.

Some papillon  dog breeders say that the new owners have no ability to care for so young a Papillons puppy. Yet, they will say that they love to play with new papillon  puppies and see the personality emerge. We at Pixiedust feel that the new owner CAN care for a papillons puppy the same as any breeder and the new owner DESERVES to enjoy and help shape a Papillon puppies personality to fit the owner and his life schedules. Some papillon  breeders have gone to the extreme of saying there is no bonding process--that Papillons Puppies will love all people equally. There is just too much evidence from research and owners alike that completely disprove this false statement. While  older Papillons  may become "generalized" and like any owner who treats it kindly, this is NOT the same as that special bond developed between young papillons puppies and a devoted owner. Older Papillons  can and do become special pets, but again, this is not exactly the same as the bonding for young papillon puppies.

There are cases where  Papillon  puppies may be too tiny to place at an early age, For good breeders of Papillons, this should be the exception, not the rule. Any good breeder of Papillons should be breeding healthy, sturdy Papillon  puppies, no matter that they are a toy breed. At Pixiedust, we breed Papillons that can compete in agility and obedience, and still be small lap dogs. And we want all of our papillon  puppies and their owners, to develop that special connection that makes for a life-long companionship between Papillon dog and owner. When we do have  Papillon  puppies for sale, we do let them go at the best age for bonding with the new owner.