Baby Puppy Class

[Astese]

The Obedience Club that I belong to has started classes for baby puppies, that is for puppies from the age of 10 weeks, 12 weeks, onwards.

My main concern is that some of these young puppies have not had all their needles. What are your Clubs regulations on allowing dogs on the training grounds that have not completed their needle programme.

[JulesP]

Puppies are supposed to be carried into the room. The room is sterilized prior to the class. Owners have to remove their shoes at the door.

Are you worried about the pups or your dog?

Our grounds are public so I guess a dog with parvo could walk on it every day of the week. A dog with up to date vaccinations or titre tests should be ok though.

[Echo]

The GSDCV allow pups from 8 weeks of age.

Owners must produce proof of first vaccination, before being allowed to attend.

The rule of complete vaccination before allowing puppies to train was dropped many years ago.

Julie

[aussielover]

At our obedience club puppies must be at least 4 months and fully vaccinated. It is run on a public oval though, so sterilization/disinfection is impossible.

Our "puppy school" or puppy preschool is run at the local vets. The floor there is linoleum and is disinfected before and after class. Puppies from 8 weeks who have at least one vaccination can attend this class.

I would be concerned about a puppy class that is being run on a grass area, particularly if the suburb has a moderate to high incidence of parvo outbreaks.

[emery]

our obedience club allows pups form 8 weeks with first vacc. it is a sports oval and they have a little fenced ff area for pupsyes it is possible to have people use it during hte week but it is a risk i take with my breed for the socialisation

[Guest Labradork]

At our obedience club puppies must be at least 4 months and fully vaccinated. It is run on a public oval though, so sterilization/disinfection is impossible.

Our "puppy school" or puppy preschool is run at the local vets. The floor there is linoleum and is disinfected before and after class. Puppies from 8 weeks who have at least one vaccination can attend this class.

I would be concerned about a puppy class that is being run on a grass area, particularly if the suburb has a moderate to high incidence of parvo outbreaks.

Our preschool and obedience club are very similar.

I think you are weighing up the risks with the socialisation. Socialisation is so important, but where possible it's vital to minimise risks.

Personally, I wouldn't take a puppy that hasn't been fully vaccinated to a class being run on a public grass area - as per previous comment. We were instructed by our Puppy Preschool teacher to carry our unvaccinated puppies down the street if we wanted to expose them to noise; that walking on the footpath was potentially OK (we chose not to take the risk), but definitely to avoid grass areas until they've had all their shots. There are other, less-risky ways of socialising unvaccinated puppies... well that's my opinion anyway

Apparently the Parvo bug can continue living in the grass for a ridiculous period of time after first contact - 7 years is it?!

[Astese]

Thank you for your replies.

Our training area is an open grassed area and also a lead free area for the public. My main concern was parvo as there has been many reported outbreaks in my area and I believe that once this virus is in the ground it may stay for sometime and even disinfectants are of little use.

I personally would not take my young puppies there until they have had at least two injections. Yes I know socialisation is important but should you risk your puppies at this young age.

[clipandcoach]

Hi LuvMy,

Excellent question, I totally understand your concern here. A baby puppy class can be a fantastic thing if done properly. Generally I would look for a baby puppy class that was performed in a safe and hygienic area , free from the feces and urine of other dogs. If the class was in a room say, there are special cleaning chemicals used to clean floors in quality dog training facilities, such as the chemical F10. These chemicals can kills parvo virus. I would be concerned about putting an un-vaccinated puppy on grass where other dogs had been. If that is what's happening then you have a reasonable concern.

Thank you for your replies.

Our training area is an open grassed area and also a lead free area for the public. My main concern was parvo as there has been many reported outbreaks in my area and I believe that once this virus is in the ground it may stay for sometime and even disinfectants are of little use.

I personally would not take my young puppies there until they have had at least two injections. Yes I know socialisation is important but should you risk your puppies at this young age.

[Astese]

I have been asked to look into this for our Club and come back with some answers .

Many years ago I had parvo in a litter of puppies, we save three out of six. They had their first needles but they still came down with this dreadful virus. My vet at that time said not matter what I cleaned my puppy room with it would not kill the virus as it could live in the existing environment for many years. This is why I am asking for input so that I can go back to the Club with some of your comments (if that is okay with you all).

The ground used for training is a public access for lead free dogs area and ground that the Club trains and run official obedience trials. I feel that we are putting young puppies at risk and also other dogs (as they can still get parvo even after have their vaccinations).

[aussielover]

In the grass, the parvo virus can survive for several years. Unless you completely bleach the grass or firebomb it or something, some virus will remain.

You can use disinfectants like F10 for cleaning inside areas/surfaces.

[Tassie]

Our club trains on a public oval, which other dogs have access to. We require proof of 2nd vacc for puppies - which, depending on the vaccine, makes them 12 weeks (or 10 weeks) minimum.

We recognize the risks, and we explain them to the people - but for the most part they are taking puppies out anyway.

So far, we have been lucky in not having had major parvo outbreaks in our area - and our various vets are pretty comfortable with our decisions. We would have to re-think in the short term in the event of a major outbreak.

One thing to take into consideration is that if there is parvo around, owners and visitors can always bring it into their house and yard anyway. It really can be a lose-lose situation. - not sure that there is any completely 'right' solution.

[clipandcoach]

Barb has a good point in that a lot of people are taking their puppies out anyway. There is no 'correct' solution to this. You can only look at your own situation, weigh up the risks and choose how you are going to go about it.

Our club trains on a public oval, which other dogs have access to. We require proof of 2nd vacc for puppies - which, depending on the vaccine, makes them 12 weeks (or 10 weeks) minimum.

We recognize the risks, and we explain them to the people - but for the most part they are taking puppies out anyway.

So far, we have been lucky in not having had major parvo outbreaks in our area - and our various vets are pretty comfortable with our decisions. We would have to re-think in the short term in the event of a major outbreak.

One thing to take into consideration is that if there is parvo around, owners and visitors can always bring it into their house and yard anyway. It really can be a lose-lose situation. - not sure that there is any completely 'right' solution.