Can Not Believe Some People

[jazzy4]

went for a walk this evening & past my new neighbours, they were out the front of their house with a little puppy, he was doing his business on the front lawn, this is not an enclosed yard, so other dogs on the loose can wander all over this lawn - AND DO, i have seen them

my horror is the age of this little puppy, the owner says he was 5 weeks old & i saw her hubby taking him out for potty last week ,

so they got him at 4 weeks old or earlier

i don't know the circumstances of how they got this puppy so young, he does not look neglected - good coat, seemed happy, looked plump, so i don't think he has been dumped/neglected

Surely such a young puppy should not be doing his business in such an open area that other dogs often roam, he is so tiny, he looked to be a pug puppy,

would this puppy have had any vaccinations at all??????

surely he should still be with his mother

edited for spelling

Edited March 10, 2011 by jazzy4

[Guest Ams]

Perhaps strike up a conversation with them. The puppy may be a rescue, the mother may have died and he had to be hand raised, there may be any number of reasons why they have an under age pup. They may also be totally unaware of the dangers of allowing such a young pup to walk on public property. There is still a large portion of dog owners who are not savvy to disease management and control for their pets.

I think at 4 weeks he may be old enough for the first vaccination but I'm happy to be corrected if I am wrong. If he is healthy and clearly being looked after well, they may appreciate a little positive and pleasant education.

[Dogsrawesome]

Yeah it could be a foster pup. But id go ask them anyway

[jazzy4]

Perhaps strike up a conversation with them. The puppy may be a rescue, the mother may have died and he had to be hand raised, there may be any number of reasons why they have an under age pup. They may also be totally unaware of the dangers of allowing such a young pup to walk on public property. There is still a large portion of dog owners who are not savvy to disease management and control for their pets.

I think at 4 weeks he may be old enough for the first vaccination but I'm happy to be corrected if I am wrong. If he is healthy and clearly being looked after well, they may appreciate a little positive and pleasant education.

yeah, that's why i said that i did not know about the circumstances, cause i know some puppies can be left with no mother, that was no my main horror, my horror was the out the front of house stuff

we get a lot of stray dogs wandering this area and know the people who own some of them & you could put money on the fact that they would not vaccinate their dogs,

i did mention to them in regards to taking out side, and all they said was that they were watching him so nothing would happen, & that they have put down lawn seed & new grass so there their puppy was safe, so they seem to know about diseases

but wouldn't the soil still have contaminates in it if in fact a dog with parvo/disease was to go potty on this area????

they seem to think that just watching him was enough???

will walk past tommorrow and try to catch up with them, but you know when you just don't want to be a pain in the backside and be interferring, just don't want to cross that line if you know what i mean

[cannibalgoldfish]

Strangely enough, most people I speak to (friends or work) who get a puppy are totally unaware. I mention the risks of taking them out into public areas and they say "Oh he/she is vaccinated" They assume that once it is done the pet is instantly immune to all harm. I had a hard time recently telling a friend that just because their pup was vaccinated from parvo a week ago doesn't mean it will never get it.

Edited March 10, 2011 by cannibalgoldfish

[Katie P]

Maybe just friendily chatting to them would help get a bit of background and then casually mention the dangers of letting the pup be out so young. People usually wouldnt be offended if you say something like "not trying to offend you or anything, but I saw the little guy/girl out the front the other day....blah blah blah........just wanting to make sure nothing bad happens to the little fella"! Usually they will just be a bit embarassed if they werent aware! Nice light and causal should do the trick!

[jazzy4]

Maybe just friendily chatting to them would help get a bit of background and then casually mention the dangers of letting the pup be out so young. People usually wouldnt be offended if you say something like "not trying to offend you or anything, but I saw the little guy/girl out the front the other day....blah blah blah........just wanting to make sure nothing bad happens to the little fella"! Usually they will just be a bit embarassed if they werent aware! Nice light and causal should do the trick!

will do tonite, hopefully they won''t take offence or think i am butting in,

[Bartok]

I thinking talking to them about the age of the pup and vet work etc is

a good thing but as for the dog toileting on their front yard.

That is up to them. It is their yard and their dog and if other ppl let their dogs

wander on someone elses property that isnt right.

[Red Fox]

What's parvo like in your area? The thing with this disease is that it can travel - it can be carried in on the shoes of owners, visitors... unless you're going to take the precaution of removing your shoes before you enter the house, never taking the puppy outside, having all family members and visitors wash their hands and remove their shoes (including the kids) or you plan on living in a bubble, then the puppy will still be at risk. And tell me how many owners take ALL of those precautions? I wouldn't be horrified at the puppy toileting on it's own front lawn. Perhaps concerned if it's not on a leash and being exposed to wandering dogs but that's another issue altogether.

You will get differing opinions on this too but keeping a pup confined to it's house/yard until it is fully vaccinated (ie 2 weeks after the last vaccination) can be (and is IMO) detrimental in the long run. There needs to be a balance between protecting your pup/common sense and socialisation/neutralisation. That said a pup from rescue or a reputable breeder has usually had it's first vacc by the time it is ready to come home anyway.

Personally, from what you have described I'd be more concerned at the age of the pup. 5 weeks is way too young. Even a rescue should have been kept with it's mother/littermates until at LEAST 6-8 weeks of age.

From the K9 Pro puppy development calender;

• Pack skills development period (3 - 8 weeks)

This is a crucial time for the puppy to spend with mother & litter mates, interaction skills are learned at this time & various canine behaviours are learned too, such as calming, greeting signals etc. He is now aware of the differences between canine and human societies.

This pup may benefit from a good puppy school if there is one in your area.

Sure go and have a chat with the owners if you like, they probably have no idea. Perhaps offer them a book or a print-out on puppy care if you have one (vets will often supply this if you ask). Something along the lines of "oh I saw your new puppy the other day, I have this from when my dog was a pup and thought it might be useful for you".

They may listen and appreciate the help, they may tell you to bugger off. Unfortunately you can't save everyone.

This may help:

http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?showtopic=117592

http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?showtopic=150837

[jazzy4]

What's parvo like in your area? The thing with this disease is that it can travel - it can be carried in on the shoes of owners, visitors... unless you're going to take the precaution of removing your shoes before you enter the house, never taking the puppy outside, having all family members and visitors wash their hands and remove their shoes (including the kids) or you plan on living in a bubble, then the puppy will still be at risk. And tell me how many owners take ALL of those precautions? I wouldn't be horrified at the puppy toileting on it's own front lawn. Perhaps concerned if it's not on a leash and being exposed to wandering dogs but that's another issue altogether.

You will get differing opinions on this too but keeping a pup confined to it's house/yard until it is fully vaccinated (ie 2 weeks after the last vaccination) can be (and is IMO) detrimental in the long run. There needs to be a balance between protecting your pup/common sense and socialisation/neutralisation. That said a pup from rescue or a reputable breeder has usually had it's first vacc by the time it is ready to come home anyway.

Personally, from what you have described I'd be more concerned at the age of the pup. 5 weeks is way too young. Even a rescue should have been kept with it's mother/littermates until at LEAST 6-8 weeks of age.

From the K9 Pro puppy development calender;

• Pack skills development period (3 - 8 weeks)

This is a crucial time for the puppy to spend with mother & litter mates, interaction skills are learned at this time & various canine behaviours are learned too, such as calming, greeting signals etc. He is now aware of the differences between canine and human societies.

This pup may benefit from a good puppy school if there is one in your area.

Sure go and have a chat with the owners if you like, they probably have no idea. Perhaps offer them a book or a print-out on puppy care if you have one (vets will often supply this if you ask). Something along the lines of "oh I saw your new puppy the other day, I have this from when my dog was a pup and thought it might be useful for you".

They may listen and appreciate the help, they may tell you to bugger off. Unfortunately you can't save everyone.

This may help:

http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?showtopic=117592

http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?showtopic=150837

i know you can''t take every single precaution in the world for anythinng, but you have to at least try & i think taking a puppy that is so young out into an open area to do his business is just asking for trouble

their front lawn is a corner block and has no fencing what so ever, and loads of dogs roam the area and since the house has been vacant for a few mths no one has been there to clean up the messes left out the front , i used to cross the road b4 i got to their house cause of all the dogs that you see wandering about there, there is 7 houses in this block & so far (fingers crossed) our dogs are the only ones to have never escaped, the others, daily, are wandering the streets and the owners don't care, so many times i have almost run one over as they just dart out here & there.

the owners all have big dogs & small fences - common sense - get a bigger fence,

there is a puppy school but it is more for the older puppies not ones under 14 weeks of age

thanks i might take that way of talking to them up, just innocently - "oh puppy training is so hard, here are some books/info that helped my with mine" sort of approach

but what can ya do really, people will always smile & say thanks for your advice but it is my ----------- & i will do as i please

Edited March 11, 2011 by jazzy4

[LizT]

I thinking talking to them about the age of the pup and vet work etc is

a good thing but as for the dog toileting on their front yard.

That is up to them. It is their yard and their dog and if other ppl let their dogs

wander on someone elses property that isnt right.

This is a problem my sister in London has to deal with at the moment.

She is getting a Miniature Poodle puppy in two weeks from a Registered Breeder that both parents are health tested and cleared and yet, the puppy will not be vaccinated.

I know ( I hear you). She has a "communal lawn' out front of her house and I've told her "under no circumstances" take the puppy out there to toilet. His house training will have to wait. Of course she has made an appointment with her local vet to have him vaccinated the day she gets him but I've explained to her that it will take many weeks before he is covered.

[jazzy4]

I thinking talking to them about the age of the pup and vet work etc is

a good thing but as for the dog toileting on their front yard.

That is up to them. It is their yard and their dog and if other ppl let their dogs

wander on someone elses property that isnt right.

This is a problem my sister in London has to deal with at the moment.

She is getting a Miniature Poodle puppy in two weeks from a Registered Breeder that both parents are health tested and cleared and yet, the puppy will not be vaccinated.

I know ( I hear you). She has a "communal lawn' out front of her house and I've told her "under no circumstances" take the puppy out there to toilet. His house training will have to wait. Of course she has made an appointment with her local vet to have him vaccinated the day she gets him but I've explained to her that it will take many weeks before he is covered.

at least you tried, all you can do, you gotta keep them safe, they are relying on their owner,

did not go for a walk tonite - to wet, so do it another day