[selzer]

She is VERY young. Too young in many states to leave the litter. Up to this point, your puppy was getting everything from the dam, probably still drinking a bit off of her. My six week old pups at home are still drinking from their dam.

From weeks six to eight, I think it the time when the littermates become even more important than the dam. Mine still have the dam available, but she can jump in with them, or get out of their. The littermates teach each other doggy-etiquette, like how hard to bite when playing, and a whole lot of doggy body language. Your pup hasn't had this opportunity, so you will have to pick up the slack in areas like bite-inhibition, and socializing carefully around stable dogs.

Also your pup's immune system is immature at this point. With most things, the danger is for the very old and the very young. But puppies, are given vaccinations. THIS DOES NOT MEAN THEY ARE NOW SAFE. They are not. The dam's immunity covers a length of time, at which they are under her immunity. No one knows when this wears off. So we give puppy shots at 6-7 weeks and then at 9-11 weeks, and again around 16 weeks of age. This is because we really don't know when that immunity wears off, and while they are under that, the vaccines are totally worthless. The puppy does not build their own antibodies if they are under their monther's immunity.

Also, the vaccines take a few days for the puppy to start growing the anitibodies.

And lastly, Parvo, Distemper, Parainfluenza, etc, are not the only canine diseases out there. Kennel caugh is one that dogs/puppies can get. There is a vaccination, but a lot of people don't like to use it with puppies. And there are other things that there are no vaccinations for.

So, you need to be careful where you take the dog. Sign up for puppy kindergarten after the second set of shots, but wait for the full complement of shots before taking the dog to any high canine traffic areas like pet stores, dog parks, etc.

Good luck with your puppy. Be very positive with her. Remember that she is a baby, and while she can learn simple tasks, it will be counter productive to push her or use any corrections at this point.