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Balancing parvo risk and socialization


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This little pup is getting big so fast. It seems like overnight she went from a little clumsy sausage to a small agile, fast and smart dog! Impressive to see the change so quickly. She's 12 weeks old and has had the first two of her vaccinations. The vet projects another two shots, which means she will be 19 weeks old before I am able to get her out into "the world" This has worked out fine so far, but lately she's developed so much mobility and curiosity.

 

My question is concerning the risks for parvo. I know this is a very vulnerable age for pups and have read all the warnings (know the history of a yard, lives up to 1 year in soil, etc.) This week I have had the strong desire to get her out of the house a lot more in a controlled way. The vet mentioned that concrete or hard surfaces were probably ok, but I am curious what everyone's experience is with the true risks here. I have no plans to take her to the dog park, or busy hiking trails yet, but I would like to walk her in the neighborhood and take her on errands around town to keep up with her socialization (which she is doing so well with!) As it stands I only take her to a few places I know are safe and carry her around outside of the house. I'm worried now that I'm being one of those parents that won't let their kids touch any dirt for fear of "germs". Then again, I don't want her to get sick!

 

Any advice would be much appreciated! Thanks!

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More dogs die because of behavioural problems that may have been caused by lack of socialisation than die of preventable disease - or at least that what is commonly claimed.

 

Ask your vet what diseases are common in your area and where the hot spots are and avoid them. I don't agree with your vet as to concrete or hard surfaces being probably OK. It depends where they are located. if they are in an area likely to be frequented by a lot of unvaccinated dogs then they may well not be OK.

 

You need to do a risk assessment for your own situation, but you clearly know that already.

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If she's had the first 2 of her shots, I wouldn't worry so much. I have always started getting my pups out and around at that age and I think it's really beneficial for them.

If you're wise about it and avoid places where you know a lot of dogs pee or congregate, she should be fine. Errands around town are especially good for pups, as you're not likely to find a lot of dog pee in Home Depot or the feed store or the like. As for walks in your neighborhood, what is the local dog population like? If there are a lot of strays or shady people with shady dogs, then I'd worry. But if there are just healthy, well-kept family dogs in the area, I wouldn't worry so much. And again, avoid places where it looks like lots of dogs might congregate or mark.

Edit to add: avoid places like Petco or Petsmart! No telling who goes there and your pup may find a lot of dog pee, no matter how diligently the staff try to keep things mopped.

Best of luck with your little one! :)

~ Gloria

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I used to hang out in front of the public library, supermarkets, and on the sidewalk in front of schools with my young pup. I did not allow the pup to contact the school kids, but it was a great location for doing attention exercises and obedience.

 

A properly run puppy class is also good, but you may not want to be in contact with puppies that are going to dog parks or that live with dogs who are going to dog parks.

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There is a very very low incidence of parvovirus in my area, so Feist went out and about from 8 weeks on. I felt it was more important to get her socialized than the tiny tiny risk. Obviously it depends how prevalent it is in your area.

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There is a very very low incidence of parvovirus in my area, so Feist went out and about from 8 weeks on. I felt it was more important to get her socialized than the tiny tiny risk. Obviously it depends how prevalent it is in your area.

This. If you socialize sensibly (well-run puppy classes, small businesses who welcome cute puppies, quiet walks around town; avoid dog parks and big box pet stores), you can minimize the risk. The time for 7-14 week is a critical time for positive exposures to new things to help puppies adapt to their world.

 

http://avsabonline.org/uploads/position_statements/puppy_socialization.pdf

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Ahhh, well I guess this is a lot of what I have already heard, but then it's good to hear that folks were getting their pups out more. I am really not sure what the prevalence of parvo is in our area, but there are a fair amount of shady dogs around the downtown area. I guess I'll just have to be mindful of where I am taking her. My drive to get her properly socialized has me running all kinds of strange errands with her in my arms just to get her meeting new people and things. She loves it!

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Another vote for *judicious* socialization. I took both my pups out to places where they would encounter people and new experiences - but likely not unvaccinated dogs - after they'd had their first shots (8 or 9 weeks old?). I work at a university, where we see few dogs on campus, so that provided great opportunities for socialization (and exposure to all sorts of things, from elevators to skateboards to people wearing strange hats). I stayed away from parks frequented by lots of dogs. I did take them to the kids' schools (few dogs, and those present virtually certain to have been vaccinated, and lots of kids for good socialization). They both LOVE people, LOVE LOVE LOVE kids. If you've worried about germs, you can always put them in a shopping cart at PetSmart or Home Depot and there will be people who will make a fuss over them.

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Another vote for socialization here! As others have said take the reasonable steps to minimize putting her at risk by avoiding high dog traffic areas, but I'd get her out and about while she's the perfect age for taking it all in.

 

I wouldn't keep her away from other dogs for too long, either. A puppy class or puppy socialization would be ideal as the instructors normally require all the puppies be up to date on vaccines. She's going to need to learn the appropriate social skills of the human world AND the dog world. Anyways, have fun getting her out and about!!!

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http://www.jaaha.org/content/49/2/95.short Stepita et al found no increased risk for parvovirus in vaccinated dogs attending puppy class. We live in West Philly, which is not the ideal environment for avoiding parvo, especially at certain times of year. I avoided dog parks and unofficial dog parks (some of the green spaces in the community), and would run the dogs on green spaces (like the campus, ball fields, the cemetery) late at night or at odd hours of the day. Didn't overdo it on concrete, due to the impact on their joints (a few minutes, fine, but not half an hour). And definitely did the taking to feed stores, work, friends' houses; what I wish I had done was take both to more friends' houses to interact with appropriate, vaccinated adult dogs (this can be even better than interacting with inappropriate puppies).

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I agree with pups being better interacting with carefully selected adults rather than other pups. Most dogs they will meet during their lives will be adults,after all. Do they learn most from dogs that know a lot about life or from other know very little pups? Most will have had litter mates to learn pup to pup behaviour.

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Thanks for all the advice. I brought her out to a nice little beer bar the other day and let her sit on the patio with us. She met all kinds of new people and got to learn about people with weird laughs or loud voices. =) I am curious what people think about taking her out into the woods. I've been thinking about getting her up into the foothills here. Dog traffic will likely be very minimal. Does this sounds safe?

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  • 2 weeks later...

This. If you socialize sensibly (well-run puppy classes, small businesses who welcome cute puppies, quiet walks around town; avoid dog parks and big box pet stores), you can minimize the risk. The time for 7-14 week is a critical time for positive exposures to new things to help puppies adapt to their world.

 

http://avsabonline.org/uploads/position_statements/puppy_socialization.pdf

agreed with the above. Avoid dog parks, find friends with friendly dogs that are vaccinated and healthy, taker her with you in the car often, meet new people. I avoid dog parks with puppies not only because if the risk of disease but also bad pet parents and unruly dogs that can give her negative experience.

 

Have people over, kids, neighbors, stuff like that too.

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