Hey everyone! We’ve been on a list for a lab puppy from a very reputable breeder for ~6 months and just found out she’s been born! She'll be ready to be picked up at 8 weeks old at the end of January. The timing would be perfect except we have a 5-day family trip in mid-March for a major milestone birthday that we can’t miss. She’d only be ~15 weeks then, and we’re not comfortable leaving her that young with anyone for that many nights.

We spoke to our breeder and he gave us two options:

Option 1: Have the breeder hold her and pick her up at 15 weeks

Our breeder offered to keep her the extra 6–7 weeks (for a fee) and work on crate training and early socialization. After mid-March our schedule is wide open, so the timing would be great and we could pick her up immediately after getting back from our trip. She'd be 15 weeks at this point.

Pros: A little older, partly trained, well-socialized, easier timing
Cons: Extra cost + we miss the tiny 8-week puppy stage

Option 2: Wait for the next litter

We also have the option to defer to the next litter, which would likely be due for pickup in late April. This would mean we get the puppy at 8 weeks, but May is busy for us (two full-day events + one overnight), which might be tough with a 10-week-old puppy to find care that we trust.

Pros: Get the classic 8-week experience, no extra boarding/training cost
Cons: Our May plans would be stressful with such a young pup, would have to find overnight/full day care we trust and she wouldn't be fully vaccinated so boarding wouldn't be an option. If we did the first option, she'd be 6 months old at that point and much easier to find care for a day or evening.

Looking for advice:

• Any drawbacks to bringing home a pup at 15–16 weeks? Will we be sad we missed out on the first few weeks?
• Anyone had a breeder keep a puppy longer—good/bad experiences?
• Would you pick the 8-week start or the easier timing?

Thanks!!