AT WHAT AGE IS A MASTIFF PUPPY BEST PREPARED TO GO TO ITS NEW HOME

We have yet another busy day tomorrow with the girls' club volleyball practices all afternoon so hopefully while they're on the court John and I will be able to do some more work to the blog. Ok, he can throw out his opinions and then I have to try to translate them into legible English so everyone will maybe understand what he's trying to say! Ha, ha! In seriousness it's been great doing this blog and he's been more and more involved in every aspect of this we make a great team when we're working together and we're enjoying it a lot.
When is a puppy ready to go to his/her new home? The legal standard varies by state here in the Mid-Atlantic with some states saying 6 weeks, while others like Maryland where we live makes it a criminal offense to separate animals from their mother and transport them to sell before 8 weeks.  There are states in the Mid-West that says10 weeks and for some breeders they refuse to release puppies before 12-16 weeks?  So who is right? Is everyone wrong?  This is the biggest question we are going to have to find an answer to going forward from this litter so input from any and all is welcome.  There has to be a Goldilocks zone that is the perfect time.  One that allows for maximum interaction, teaching, nursing, and socialization from their mom and litter mates but before it reaches the point that they start to stagnate individually and benefit from joining a new pack.  So this is the question of the week and we've got to find credible answers so we can form a credible policy.
This topic is one that my husband and I have gone back and forth on and we still aren't sure where we stand.  It's a subject that some (many) breeders take so personally that to question it is akin to cursing their mothers, this applies even if one's intent is just trying to gather information to benefit the dogs and to become a better breeder. I'm really hoping to get some feedback on this topic and will go over what John and I have learned in our research and through our experiences regarding this subject. Quick note, we've learned that nearly all of the super prominent breeders will not speak to lowly people who are trying to emulate what they accomplished, despite the fact that they too once started with only a pair of dogs and a dream.  You can however gain some information if you speak to them as a prospective purchaser.  More on this later!!!

I want to update how each of the puppies are doing and we also want to comment on a breeding philosophy that's been adopted by many mastiff breeders regarding at what age they release their pups. While their are an awful lot of pretentuous holier than thou people sticking their nose up at anyone who is trying to start breeding, I don't want to disregard what could be a beneficial practice just because it's been adopted by some Kennels that feel no one else should have the right to breed animals regardless of whether they do everything ethically or not. So I'd love some feedback from anyone out there who may be reading my work on your opinions of how long is best to keep puppies with their mother before sending them to their new homes! So until next time thanks for reading my site and hopefuly I'll get this post completed during the practices tomorrow afternoon so come back and check it out tomorrow evening.