adopting 2 puppies

Question
Hi
 My question is this, I keep hearing different things about what ages are appropriate for adoption.  I am planning on adopting 2 small 6 1/2 week old pups, as mom has stopped nursing and has no interest in them feeding or caring etc.  They will be socialized together with my family and each other, and eventually with my dogs as well.  I dont want to harm them socially as my last pup was 5 weeks old or so (abandoned) and she had done really well and is now 1 year old.   Any help would be appreciated, as I cant seem to find any answers regarding litter mates/social skills etc at 6 1/2 weeks.
Thanks

Answer
Hi Carol,

The best time to take a puppy from it's mother and littermates is 8-9 weeks of age. Besides the obvious emotional reasons for keeping a pup with it's mom for 8 weeks, during this time a puppy will learn about pack hierarchy, bite inhibition and proper social behavior within the pack. Taking a puppy home before 8 weeks of age really deprives the puppy of much needed training by mom and littermates and will make your job of training much more difficult.

A mother dog usually starts to wean a puppy around 4-5 weeks of age, so it's not alarming that this particular puppy's mother isn't nursing him at 6 1/2 weeks. I'm willing to bet that the puppy is gaining the important lessons he needs from his mom and littermates at this time.

I think you'll have a much easier time at training this puppy if you wait these vital last two weeks.

Best of luck,
Patti