Why reprint the article that appeared in Gun Dog 13:5. Apr/May 1994? Wasn’t the point made? Should anyone still want to take home their brand new pup at less than ten weeks? The reasons to reprint are several:

1. Breed clubs and dog clubs from across the United States and Canada as well as from far off places like Australia and Hawaii in one direction and England and Germany in the other have asked permission to reprint it in their journals, newsletters and magazines.
2. There are many new readers of Gun Dog who did not have a chance to read it though many heard about it through their clubs.
3. Breeders have asked permission to copy the article to use as a handout to prospective buyers.
4. Prospective buyers have asked for copy privileges to give to breeders from whom they thought they would buy a pup.
5. The message either didn’t get through or wasn’t accepted (believed) by a lot of people with a solid mind set.

Breeder trying to convince buyer, buyer trying to convince breeder, clubs giving their membership something to think about, or a totally missed message, all might sound a bit far fetched. Hey, not at all; here are some examples. An acquaintance of mine decided he wanted to become a breeder so I lent him the original research literature on the socialization processes in dogs, about 600 pages of reported research. Some months latter when I went to retrieve this chunk of my library and I asked him what he thought, his comment was, “That was a lot of heavy reading.” Soon after he produced his first litter and moved the pups as close to the 49th day as he could. Obviously he had a gotta let ‘em go at seven weeks mind set. And why not; he had just read an article in his club publication written by a pro trainer/writer with the opening sentence--“Be sure you get your pup at seven weeks.” There was no reason given, no justification, not even a rationalization, just the statement.

Another example, this from a breeder who had been trying unsuccessfully for years to convince prospective buyers to wait until pups were ten to twelve weeks old. The copies were to be handouts to back up what had been argued for years. This person breeds a good number of top dogs yet has prospective buyers say, “If you won’t let me have the pup at exactly seven weeks, I’ll go to a breeder who will.” And they do.

These are just some examples among many that have come in. One is of a breeder who should know better fighting buyers who do, one of a breeder who does know better fighting buyers who should, and one of a pro trainer/writer who should just plain know better. I gather from the requests to reprint that have come in that there are more buyers who need convincing than breeders. Generally, breeders who have been out of their back yard and around the block are pretty knowledgeable. But especially the first time buyers seem to have this problem of being overly marinated in mythology. Or, maybe it’s just a matter of good old B. S. baffling brains.

Whatever reasons were behind the requests for reproducing the article, they were strong enough for the editor of Gun Dog to feel the article should appear again and I agree. So here it is with some minor editorial changes but no changes in the factual data. There has been no new research on dog socialization, the work has been so thoroughly done that further work would only be whistling in the wind.

So where did all this magical seven weeks old, forty nine days and not a minute later idea that permeates so much of puppy peddling come from? The first mention of it that I remember in popular literature burst onto the hunting dog scene in 1961. The last sentence in Chapter 3 of a book by Richard Wolters said...”get and start your dog at the right time - seven weeks - that’s 49 days old.” And in another place in the same chapter in italics for emphasis yet...”buy your puppy and take him home at the exact age of 49 days.” Oddly enough the book was called “Gun Dog “ and also featured the wing-on-a-string-thing. It’s a toss up whether overdoing the wing or the 49 days has had the most negative impact on hunting dogs.