Taking New Puppy Outside / Vaccinations

[smashtank]

Hi everyone

I'm getting a French Bulldog puppy in three weeks today! Very exciting but I have one nagging question I want some more advice on please.

My puppy is six weeks old tomorrow (I visited him for second time today). My breeder said she will wait another week before taking him to the vet for his vaccinations and microchipping and checks etc. she said I will get a second vaccination at 12 weeks and then one at 16 weeks. This sounds all fine to me.

One thing that I wonder about is taking him outside my apartment before his 12 week vaccination in particular. I live in Potts Point in Sydney. Is this a high parvo area? Or a risky area? I don't want to do something careless and then my pup get sick. My breeder said to avoid parks and grass areas until around 13 weeks (so at least a week after his next vaccination).

What about walking on footpaths? My breeder said that parvo is only an issue in dirt or actual ground. she said footpaths and concrete are generally fine as they dont retain diseases. obviously i wouldnt let him sniff poo or anything like that.

There are lots of dogs around Potts Point but I don't think many would be unvaccinated and I very much doubt there are strays. Should I just carry him everywhere for four weeks? I want to get him outside basically from day one coming with me to cafes and such so he can be really socialised.

When is it safe for him to start hanging around other dogs? (Like my friends and family's dogs) would this be after the second vaccination? Also, what about taking him to work if there are other dogs? I'd probably put him in my bottom draw (its a very big draw - about three A3 sheets!) with it open and his bed in there. But will he be safe from other dogs if they are at the office that day?

I guess I just want some reassurance around what I can do with my pup while I'm waiting for him to be fully vaccinated or at least up to his 12 week one. He's only going to be a little Frenchie so I don't mind carrying him around and the restaurants/shops/cafes in Potts Point are really good about dogs.

Thanks for any tips and such and sorry if this is a rambling post!

Ash

Edited April 27, 2013 by smashtank

[Tralee]

Hi smashtank and welcome

Parvo persists in the ground for five years so not putting puppy down before vaccination and until 12-13 weeks is well advised.

Soil can be carried onto footpaths and floors too, so puppy should only be on secure areas.

Generally puppy is kept away from other dogs too.

Its OK to take puppy to a supervised reputable Puppy School at a VET clinic.

The first 4-5 weeks is time for you to bond with your puppy.

Puppy learns its routine but more importantly learns where security and dependancy is.

It is a time to be selfish and keep puppy all to yourself, they are only 8-13 weeks old once in their life.

You'll be busy doing toilet training and such like anyhow~

Anyway, puppy will sleep most of the time.

Good Luck and thanks for the question.

T

Edited April 27, 2013 by Tralee

[Justrace]

How exciting, I bet that you are counting down the days.

My puppy (now 17 weeks) only had to have 2 vaccinations, the one at 6 weeks done by the breeder & then the next one was to be between 10 & 12 weeks. The last one was the C5 and the vet advised that he didn't need another one until the booster for 12 months. I did phone around different vets in the area and was told as long as it was the C5 being done they all said only to do the 2.

When my old girl was a pup I was advised that I could take her out, but to stay on the concrete & not let her stop to sniff any grassy areas - mind you this was 13 years ago. I didn't take my new puppy out until he had has his last vaccination & including the time for it to fully kick in.

[Kirislin]

Ask your vets advice.

congrats on the new puppy, you must be so excited. I hope you realise photos are compulsory.

[julesluvscavs]

We didn't get Miah till she was 10 weeks old, she already had her first puppy vaccinations. Her breeder was very careful even with taking her pups to the vets for their first vaccinations ( even putting a towel down on the examination bench) I think the area they were from is known for parvo outbreaks, so even when we visited her , we had to put stuff on our shoes etc..

I know some people take their puppies out before second vaccinations, but we didn't.. we were very cautious. I think we did her second vaccinations at 12 weeks, then another booster one. I waited a couple weeks before i started puppy kindy with her.

We are a bit funny with vaccinations, and only choose to do C3 at 12 weeks, it was our personal choice. C5 seems to be the most done one.

As Krislin said speak to your vet about it, and also your puppies breeder, thats what they are for also, to give support and advice along the way (well the good ones do !) :)

All the best with getting your puppy !

ps Miah kept herself occupied in the meantime playing with her toys, chewing boxes and running around. We also walked her for very short periods on her puppy leash around our backyard The time goes by very quickly . They sleep a lot at that stage too :)

Edited April 27, 2013 by Jules❤3Cavs

[smashtank]

Thanks for the replies! My breeder said he'd be fine outside if I carry him and keep him off the ground. I'm going to give some vets a call soon to see about puppy school and what age to start so will ask about this too.

[Brookestar]

There are two different socialisation periods that people get confused with. The first one is really socialisation, and that is to people and other dogs, and that ends at 12 weeks. The second one is actually better defined as habbituation and that is to environments, surfaces, etc.

What you can do is to invites lots of people over to your place to introduce him to lots of different people, including children, elderly people, etc. Get some of them to wear costumes, get them to bring in different people.

Any dogs, in which you know the dogs are fully vaccinated are safe for him to be around. If in doubt ask to see the vaccination certificates, don't just take a persons word for it.

If you want a dog who is happy to be around other people, and animals, then you need to make sure they get that socialisation before 12 weeks. Some advise trying to get the pup to meet 200 different people.

Any decent vet, and mine does, does bleach after every single dog is removed from the room. Bleach is the only thing that really kills parvo. The only people who really know whether parvo is rife in your area are vets, and so the ones cloesest to you are the ones you need to contact. You also need to make sure you have a good vet that you feel comfortable working with, as if you don't like them, the dog will pick that up from you. Another idea is to ensure you take the pup in first thing in the morning for vaccinations and the like, as that way, other dogs have not even been able to really be in the waiting room and get germs in it that way.

Vet clinics that run puppy preschool, bleach it all before the class starts, and again afterwards, they also only allow dogs in that are fully up to date on both vaccinations and wormings. A well run puppy preschool, as soon as your vet encourages it is important, they learn more from other puppies than they do from adult dogs.

Make sure when they are meeting other vaccinated dogs, that they do so with both on lead. Make sure two people are present and step in immediately if needed.

There is much that can be done to socialise puppies at home, there are a wide range of sound effects CD's and that is of normal sounds, not just scary ones. You can put a whole range of different things on the floor and encourage them to walk on them, plastic tarb, a ladder to walk through, etc. Put different items down, and allow him to become acustomed to them, open umbrula's, etc. Go to friends places to backyards that you trust and know are clean and allow him to experience lawn mowers, while they are on, and he is on lead, etc.

Don't overdo the carrying him everywhere. It can actaully backfire in terms that they can become so overwhelmed they begin to shut down, and develop fear responses. What you need is 15 minutes once or twice a day to different places. Things done at home, only need to be 15 minutes or so as well. Make sure to give him plenty of time to play and be a puppy and of course to sleep.

Socialisation is vitally important, BUT it is also a very misunderstood word and something that can be done very poorly, which can have even worse results. Dragging a dog everywhere with you is not, never has been and never will be good socialisation. Good socialisation is a carefully planned set of experiences in increasing intesity, ensuring the dog is able to cope with the one before, before moving onto the next one. If the dog is in your arms it can also give the wrong messages, as you need to ignore the dog if it is fearful and people are not doing that if they are in your arms. Restraining them in the backseat of the car, driving somewear, and then opening up the door in the places and allowing them to see, hear and smell all that is going on around them is going to be a good way to go.

[shirra]

The next 3 weeks will seem such a long time Ash! Exciting times ahead :)

Some puppy schools are better than others. Ask around for recommendations if there is more than one in your area.

I've read that it's good to have family dogs over to visit so long as you are certain they are fully immunised and disease free.

My pup had her second vaccination at about 9 weeks, after that I took her lots of places in a very small dog crate! I don't know if it advisable or not but it exposed her to a big variety of sights, sounds and smells. If we were away from home for more than 30 or 40 minutes I would return to my car and put her on a wee pad on a towel on the car floor and she'd usually oblige! Then a drink of water and back to whatever we were doing, like watching kids sports, hardware shopping, supermarket, nursery, petbarn, petrol station, carwash, sidewalk cafe etc.

She loved that crate, it was her safe place and her bed at home. I sold it when she outgrew it :)

[Nekhbet]

Listen to your breeder. Your puppy needs to learn to cope with the outside world and it's unpredictabilities, not be locked up at home. Bringing noises into your house is not the same as taking a dog out to different environments. Carry the pup, it will be small enough, or put it in a bag if you're worried, and driving around is a great start as they get used to the car as well.

Soil can be carried onto footpaths and floors too, so puppy should only be on secure areas.

Generally puppy is kept away from other dogs too.

Its OK to take puppy to a supervised reputable Puppy School at a VET clinic.

You can carry Parvo in on your shoes if you think about it. Don't go to high dog areas like beaches and parks. As for puppy preschools, there is no guarentee that the other puppies are under the same care as yours and are not being exposed. If you know the other dogs and they don't frequent dog parks/beaches/schools then socialise, they need adult interaction not just puppy interaction as the behaviors they learn are different.

The few days after a vaccination the puppy is more delicate immunity wise so I would let it stay home and give it a rest to deal with the vaccine.

[Dogsfevr]

Yep you can bring parvo home on your shoes,car wheels or many other things but there are risky scenarios & common sense

As for puppy schools im not a fan,the problem we see is it teaches dogs alot of bad habits that people then have to train out afterwards.

Puppy schools encourage free for alls & other things but in reality your pup also needs to learn that it can't play with everything & everyone & there is a time & place .

Learning respectable manners for adulthood at an early age is so important .

We encourage our puppy people to attend classes that teach desired adult behaviour with privileges not an hour of craziness & not how to handle it .

[smashtank]

Thanks for the info.

I can't say I really see the point of taking my pup to a puppy school where he just runs around for an hour with other pups.

[alpha bet]

There is no guarantee that a puppy school at a vet is any safer or cleaner than any other - after all where do sick dogs go, including those with parvo.....

The vet and staff can easily say they bleach everything but that is nigh on impossible - do they remove all the furniture, pamphlets and noticeboards and then wash down the walls and even then many problems can be airborne as well as the fact that when everyone arrives into puppy school there is dirt and germs being tracked in from the street.

You just have to go with the odds and hope you have a pup who is bright and robust - hence having a strong immune system.

Socialising does not end at 12 weeks of age... it is ongoing for the dogs life.... so getting out and about but being sensible about where you go - visiting friends especially if they have well mannered dogs is a great way to help your dog learn new things and gain new experiences to help them cope with our human world.

Don't overthink it, just enjoy your puppy.

[julesluvscavs]

Thanks for the info.

I can't say I really see the point of taking my pup to a puppy school where he just runs around for an hour with other pups.

The puppy kindy we went too at our local vets wasn't like that. We always had our puppies on leash except when we did some very basic confidence building exercises (which was done individually) It was all done in a very controlled environment. I'm personally glad i took Miah to them, and she loved it even tho she was the smallest puppy in her class among 4 other bigger breed puppies

Edited May 1, 2013 by Jules❤3Cavs

[minimax]

Thanks for the info.

I can't say I really see the point of taking my pup to a puppy school where he just runs around for an hour with other pups.

You're a Sydney-sider, try DogLogic preschool, they are pretty good.

[smashtank]

Thanks. If there are any other good puppy school / vet recommendations for Syd Eastern Subs, that'd be really helpful! :)

[RidgieAmy]

Congrats on new puppy! We have a Ridgeback pup whos now 6 months old, we took him out before his final vacc which was done at 10 weeks. Outside shopping centre, friends for bbq, familys houses, and puppy kindy which started when he was 9 weeks. Looking back now I wish i'd left the kindy till he was older as he's so dog focused and I think kindy made this worse, basically most of the first two lessons, he lunged to get to the other pups, he ignored the high reward treats we and the trainers tried, if another pup moved he'd esculate to the point of getting himself so worked up and frustrated he'd have to bite down on something! With alot of work he is much better and learned he can't speak to everydog but we go to show training so I think this has helped alot and now we take him to shows and he isn't phased. There was a frenchy in our kindy class! Gorgeous :-) you'll have lots of fun!!

[smashtank]

I've enrolled in a DogLogic class at Alexandria PetBarn starting on June 11th. Tank will be 12 weeks when he starts.

I will prob get his second vaccination done at the end of his 11th week to give a few days before he goes into his class.

[smashtank]

This might be a dumb / overzealous question...

My puppy will be 12 weeks on a Sunday (9 June).

Would it be okay to take him to get his 12 week vac the Friday before (7 June)?

Also, how will his immune system be? He's due to start puppy school on the following Tuesday (11 June). Completely forgot about his vac being due when I paid the deposit!

(Edited to add: I alluded to this exact query in my last post above )

Edited May 10, 2013 by smashtank

[Rebanne]

This might be a dumb / overzealous question...

My puppy will be 12 weeks on a Sunday (9 June).

Would it be okay to take him to get his 12 week vac the Friday before (7 June)?

Also, how will his immune system be? He's due to start puppy school on the following Tuesday (11 June). Completely forgot about his vac being due when I paid the deposit!

(Edited to add: I alluded to this exact query in my last post above )

I can't see a problem