I got a new puppy! :D

Yesterday I was on Facebook and a friend of mine posted puppies for sale and they just so happened to be Australian Shepherds. I have been looking for a good Aussie for a few months! I went up to her house and looked at them and fell in love with a little female blue merle with blue eyes. :) so exited! Her name is Indy. She was born Febuary 18. I love her to death she's so sweet! The only thing is she kept me up ALL night >.< I'm super tired lol. Hopefully she turns out to be a good little cowdog!

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2766669974835&l=4aae13967b
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What a cutie! I can definitely relate to you though, my now-11 month old puppy was a pain at night for the first month or so, because he would cry until he fell asleep, then wake up as 2-3am thinking it was morning!

Have you tried crate training her? That worked well for me. I would tire him out and not let him sleep in the evenings after 7, put him to bed when I went to bed at around 10,(by then there was no fuss. He was exausted) let him out to pee at 3, tire him out again, and put him back to bed. Eventually it got to where he'd sleep all night, and now he has no problem with 'going to bed' when I tell him to!

If she was born on February 18th, she is barely 5 weeks of age - it is little wonder that she is having difficulty at night.

It's against the law to take a puppy or kitten away from its mother and siblings until it's at least 8 weeks of age.

At 5 weeks of age, that puppy shouldn't even yet be completely weaned, much less given to a human caretaker.

While I don't disagree with the law entirely, it depends on what state you are in, and if you are a licensed dealer in many.

I have taken puppies at 5 weeks, once b/c the litter was to big (12) for the mother, and he was the runt. There are good reasons for taking them young - I got my current pup at 5 weeks in order to rescue him.

*****Congrats DunBoy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!******

Do you have the nursery all set up, yet.

While your case might have been necessary Missy, I hardly think this is what happened. I personally don't think a 5 week old puppy should be taken from its social group regardless of how big the litter.

If someone thinks they need to bottle feed a puppy who's not getting the proper nutrition, that's fine; the puppy still shouldn't be taken from its litter mates until 8 weeks of age.

Probably more a case of someone who doesn't care about proper socialization of their puppies, as long as they get cash in hand for them. Puppies and kittens taken too soon from their siblings and mother develop weird psychological habits and tics.

There's a lot more going on with mom and litter mates than just getting enough milk. Puppies need those weeks to learn proper socialization skills.

Their momma had ten pups and they were way too much for her. Here there is no law I know of. But they are eating well on regular food.

As far as crate training, I am going to be getting her a crate soon :) she has only had one accident! :P woohoo.
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Exactly, SR - it isn't just about nutritional needs, it is about the vital social training that is able to be given only by the litter situation - there is so much more to proper development for the puppy at play here. As an example, every time I speak with someone who is having issues with bite inhibition in a puppy/dog I ask what age the puppy was when it was taken from the litter -- almost every single case is a situation where the puppy was removed from their canine family prior to the time when this important lesson would have been taught.
I have had several potential families very upset with me when placing young animals (we do not breed, we foster those animals who are dumped on our property - and heaven knows most of them manage to show up at our doorstep with a family on the way) because I flat out refuse to send puppies or kittens to their new homes until 10-12 weeks - and, when I deem necessary based on individual assessment of the animal, even later.

Like I said, I don't disagree w the law b/c I agree w you - they shouldn't be taken any earlier than 8 weeks. But, mine wasn't a "might" case, I had picked out my kelpie puppy at 3 days old after studying the litter for hours, and I visited him often as he was at a then neighboring ranch. It became a clear nutritional concern if I left him w momma as he couldn't adequetly compete for his mother's milk - he was a tiny runt and appeared to be failing to thrive. And,it was her first litter, she seemed beyond overwhelmed w such a huge litter. I had no intention of taking him before 10-12 weeks the day I picked him out. Within days after I took him and put him on isomil he was far healthier and bouncing around. There are exceptions.