Getting a very young puppy!

I know from my reading that 6 weeks is really too young to take a puppy from the litter, but I'm going to have to get my puppy this week. She is part of a litter that was taken from an elderly breeder who had to give up all of her dogs for health reasons. One of her relatives has the litter and wants to get rid of the puppies this week. Because of the original breeder's health issues, we're not 100% sure of the age of the dogs - 6 weeks is the vet's best guess. They are totally weaned and eating moistened dry food. What can I do to minimize problems from getting her so early?

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Permalink Reply by Wendt Worth Corgi's on March 1, 2009 at 10:30pm

Make sure she is healthy and vaccinated. Here is some reading for you to understand the stages.
http://wendtworthcorgis.wordpress.com/2008/11/05/emotional-physical...

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Permalink Reply by Beth on March 2, 2009 at 8:37am

Thank you for the information - it is very helpful. I bookmarked it so I could return to it. The current owner has taken the puppies to the vet a couple of times, and the vet said they were healthy and doing well. They've been dewormed but have had no shots yet. I will take her to the vet as soon as I get her also, to be checked. I've had other breeds before, but this will be my first corgi. I did a lot of research before deciding to take one of the puppies, and I am very excited about this new adventure!

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Permalink Reply by Geri & Sidney on March 2, 2009 at 11:13am

I'm excited for you Beth! It's too bad about the breeder, but it sounds like the situation is being taken care of. I look forward to hearing more from you in the future!

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Permalink Reply by MagnoliaFly on March 2, 2009 at 4:03pm

It would be very beneficial to have the relative keep all the puppies together until they were 8-12 weeks old. This period of time is crutial in development of social skills and puppies that are taken from the litter prior to that time can have stunted social skills.