By common sense, puppies must be with their mother and litter mates until at least 8 weeks of age. During this time, they should be frequently handled by people, and exposed to new stimuli (getting paws wetted, being talked to, having music played, etc.) They will learn important social skills with other dogs and get a jump start on their socialization and future training and development this way.

By LAW, most states require that puppies are at least 8 weeks old before being separated, and some states require them to be 9 weeks old. In most states, it's a misdemeanor to separate them and give them away or sell them any younger, punishable with jail term and/or a fine.

Abby answered on 4/6/09. Helpful? / 1

Frenchies often can not give birth due to the large head, so I doubt the boston will be able to handle giving birth to a French bulldog, so a c-section will be a must from the vet, has your cousin thought abouth this before hand, because if they are in it for the money, people would be insane to pay a lot of money for a mutt. There is no such things as hybrid breeds,proper breeding is ment to perserve a breed, not to create a mutt. The shelters and rescues are full, and dogs are dying everyday because of irresponsible breeding.

Max (aka Sebastian) answered on 4/7/09. Helpful? / 2

The absolute minimum age a puppy should be separated from his mother and litter mates is eight weeks, but even better is 10 weeks, or even 12.

As Abby said, dogs learn so, SO much from thier socialization and interaction with their mother and siblings that taking them away too soon has a lot of drawbacks.

Emotionally, they are just not ready to cope with a new home before eight weeks and if they dont' get that precious time with their doggie mom and family, then they almost always have behavioral and training challenges in their new home.

Physically, it's also a good idea to keep them with their mother longer since puppies are really like newborn babies when it comes to immunity and health; they shouldn't be exposed to germs or bacteria unneccessarily as they don't always have all the antibodies they need to have their health protected. They are VERY fragile before 8 weeks.

If you want to do the right thing, make sure your cousin doesn't let them go before 10 weeks!

Jack answered on 4/7/09. Helpful? / 1

I'd just like to point out that your cousin should not be breeding her dogs if she does not know how long they need to stay with their mother. Also, because both boston terriers and french bulldogs have large heads, the delivery process is very difficult and she could need a c-section. If the dog starts to deliver at night and does need a vet, its going to cost out the wazoo and is very dangerous. the time it takes to get her to the vet could result in the loss of the pups and the dog.
Generally though, 8 weeks before you can take one home. Sometimes longer. Please Please Please tell you cousin to have her dogs spayed and neutered. It is cruel to breed just because the pups will be cute. especially when the two of you obviously know so little about breeding.
I'm also assuming that your cousin has not had her dogs tested for common health defects.

Member 822261 answered on 4/8/09. Helpful? / 1