At how many weeks is it right to take a puppy home?

A puppy should stay with its mother and littermates long enough to learn to soften its bite, read social signals and tolerate frustration: these are lessons no human can replace. Separation that is too early is more often linked to behavioural problems in the following months, from a poorly controlled bite to difficulty being alone. Anyone offering very young puppies as an asset should be viewed with caution: time with the litter is an investment, not a delay.

Should I choose the liveliest puppy in the litter?

There is no absolutely best temperament, there is the one suited to your life. An exuberant, insistent puppy has a lot of energy and needs time, experience and steady outlets, while a more reserved one opens up gradually and suits calm homes. The liveliest is not automatically the healthiest nor the easiest. Watch the puppies several times, at different calm moments, and choose according to what you can truly offer every day.

How do I tell whether a puppy is healthy?

Some signs are visible to the eye: clean bright eyes, a nose without heavy running, a clean coat with no bald patches or parasites, a full weight without a bloated belly, quiet breathing at rest and a loose gait. A healthy puppy is responsive to stimuli rather than apathetic. These indicators help on the spot, but the best guarantee remains a veterinary check before closing, along with a health booklet documenting deworming and vaccinations already done.

Why does it matter to see the puppies' mother?

The mother foreshadows much of what the puppies will be: her health, her reaction to people and the way she handles the litter reflect traits the puppies inherit by genetics and learn by imitation. Seeing her with the puppies, where they were born, is also the first sign of seriousness in whoever hands them over. A mother whose absence is justified with excuses, or one frightened and aggressive without reason, is a red flag that deserves caution before going further.

Puppies, kittens and growth8 min readUpdated on August 5, 2026

Choosing a puppy from the litter: what to look for

Environment, parents, age of separation, health and temperament: how to assess a litter and choose the right puppy without being led by looks alone.

Audience: Pet owners
Species: Dog
Scope: Valid everywhere

Choosing a puppy is a decision that weighs on the next ten or fifteen years, yet it is almost always made from the heart, looking at the sweetest little face or the coat in the favourite colour. The puppy that runs to you first and jumps up is not necessarily the one best suited to your life, just as the shyest in the corner is not automatically the one most in need of saving. The first weeks of life and the environment in which a puppy grows leave a mark that no later training entirely erases, and a considered choice begins long before you take it home: from observing where and how it was born, its parents, its state of health and its temperament. Learning to read these signals helps avoid two opposite mistakes, that is falling for looks and bringing home an avoidable problem, or rejecting out of shyness a puppy that only needed time.

Before the puppy, the environment and the parents

The first thing to assess is not the individual puppy but the place where it grew up and the mother. A puppy born and raised in a home, exposed to the ordinary noises of daily life, to people and to different surfaces, arrives already with an advantage in handling the world. One raised in isolation, in a bare pen with no human contact in the key weeks, starts with a socialisation deficit that is paid for later. Seeing where the puppies live, rather than only receiving them in a neutral place, says a lot about how seriously they were raised.

The mother should always be seen with the puppies. Her physical state, her reaction to people and the way she manages the litter foreshadow traits the puppies will inherit by genetics and learn by imitation. A mother frightened or aggressive without reason is a signal not to ignore. The absence of the mother, justified with excuses, is often the sign of an origin that does not stand up to direct inspection.

The right age for separation

A puppy taken from mother and littermates too early loses a school no human can replace: it is with them that it learns to soften its bite, to read social signals and to tolerate frustration. Early separation is more often linked to behavioural problems that emerge in the following months, from a poorly controlled bite to difficulty handling being alone. Be wary of anyone offering very young puppies as if it were an asset: time spent with the litter is an investment, not a delay.

Health signals to observe

You do not need to be a vet to notice the clearest signs of good or poor health. A veterinary check before the purchase remains the best guarantee, but these indicators already help you form an impression on the spot.

Clean, bright eyes with no discharge, and a nose without crusts or heavy running.
A clean coat, with no bald patches, dandruff or parasites visible in the fur.
Suitable weight: neither a bloated belly with jutting bones nor lethargy, but a full active body.
Quiet breathing at rest, with no cough, repeated sneezing or abnormal sounds.
A loose gait, with no lameness or hesitation in movement after play.
A clean rear area with no signs of diarrhoea, and normal stools in the environment.
Responsiveness to stimuli: a healthy puppy answers sounds and movement rather than staying apathetic.

Asking for the health booklet, the deworming already done and the first vaccinations due for the age is normal with anyone who breeds correctly. Reluctance to show health documents, or a promise to hand them over later, is a signal that deserves caution.

Reading temperament without expert tests

A puppy's temperament shows best in a calm setting, when the litter has not just been woken or overexcited. There is no absolutely right puppy, there is the one suited to your life: a family with children and a lively pace has different needs from a person seeking a quiet companion.

How temperaments present and whom they suit
How it appears	What it may indicate	Suited to
Confident and curious	Good socialisation, easy handling with clear guidance	Those who can give steady rules and activity
Exuberant and insistent	High energy, needs outlets and limits	Those with time, experience and willingness to work
Reserved but responsive	Normal caution, opens up gradually	Calm, patient homes with no rush
Fearful and withdrawn	Possible poor socialisation, needs commitment	Those with experience and time for rehabilitation
Passive and unresponsive	To distinguish between a calm nature and being unwell	To assess first with a veterinary check

A simple useful test is to step a few paces away and watch the reaction: a balanced puppy usually follows with interest, while excessive insistence or total withdrawal deserve attention. It is worth observing the puppies more than once and at different times, because a single visit captures a moment and not the character.

Questions to ask whoever gives up the puppy

Whether a breeder or a shelter, the right questions reveal how well the puppy was cared for and how transparent the person handing it over is. A serious contact answers willingly and in turn asks questions about you.

Ask to see the mother and the rearing environment
Being able to see the mother with the puppies where they were born is the first indicator of seriousness.
Ask which health tests were done
For many breeds there are screenings on the parents suited to preventing hereditary disease. Asking which were done and seeing the results is legitimate.
Check deworming, vaccines and microchip
Have the health booklet shown and ask what has already been done and what falls to you in the following weeks.
Ask how they were socialised
To which people, sounds and surfaces they were exposed. Early socialisation is a value that shows in behaviour.
See whether they also ask you questions
Someone who cares about the puppies wants to know the life you will offer. A total absence of questions is a sign of carelessness.
Be wary of haste and pressure
Time limited discounts, urgency to close and puppies always available in every size and colour tell of a trade, not careful breeding.

Red flags that advise against buying

Some signals should stop the choice, however adorable the puppy. Bringing home a sick or badly raised puppy out of pity does not help it and feeds whoever produced it that way. The most common red flags are the impossibility of seeing the mother and the environment, reluctance over health documents, the constant availability of puppies of every breed, separation proposed too early and a demand to close quickly without questions about you.

If something does not add up, it is better to walk away and look elsewhere, even if it costs a disappointment. A carefully chosen puppy starts with fewer health and behaviour problems, and this translates into a calmer life together and less expense and effort over the years. Patience in choosing is the first form of care towards the animal that will live with you.

Frequently asked questions

At how many weeks is it right to take a puppy home?: A puppy should stay with its mother and littermates long enough to learn to soften its bite, read social signals and tolerate frustration: these are lessons no human can replace. Separation that is too early is more often linked to behavioural problems in the following months, from a poorly controlled bite to difficulty being alone. Anyone offering very young puppies as an asset should be viewed with caution: time with the litter is an investment, not a delay.
Should I choose the liveliest puppy in the litter?: There is no absolutely best temperament, there is the one suited to your life. An exuberant, insistent puppy has a lot of energy and needs time, experience and steady outlets, while a more reserved one opens up gradually and suits calm homes. The liveliest is not automatically the healthiest nor the easiest. Watch the puppies several times, at different calm moments, and choose according to what you can truly offer every day.
How do I tell whether a puppy is healthy?: Some signs are visible to the eye: clean bright eyes, a nose without heavy running, a clean coat with no bald patches or parasites, a full weight without a bloated belly, quiet breathing at rest and a loose gait. A healthy puppy is responsive to stimuli rather than apathetic. These indicators help on the spot, but the best guarantee remains a veterinary check before closing, along with a health booklet documenting deworming and vaccinations already done.
Why does it matter to see the puppies' mother?: The mother foreshadows much of what the puppies will be: her health, her reaction to people and the way she handles the litter reflect traits the puppies inherit by genetics and learn by imitation. Seeing her with the puppies, where they were born, is also the first sign of seriousness in whoever hands them over. A mother whose absence is justified with excuses, or one frightened and aggressive without reason, is a red flag that deserves caution before going further.

What to do next

Choose a puppy by observing first the rearing environment and the mother, then the health signals and the temperament in a calm setting, and only last the looks. Respect the timing of separation from the litter, ask the right questions of whoever hands it over and do not ignore the red flags: a mother that cannot be seen, reluctance over documents, haste to close. A veterinary check before the purchase confirms what you have observed.