Puppy shots and socializing - a question...
We've had him with some dogs in the immediate family, but we'd love to expand that a little. I just want to be sure. A friend of mine says that they're not okay to meet other dogs until they are six months old, but that seems a little late to me to start officially doggy socializing him. Is there a hard and fast rule for when they are protected (shots-wise) enough to be out and about? We've done some very limited stuff so far, but I'd love to do more. I'm not talking about anything wild and crazy, but we would enjoy expanding his horizons. And I also don't want to err too far on the side of caution and become a crazy overprotective doggy mom. Honestly, with our past dogs I never gave it a thought (we just went where we wanted when we wanted and everything was fine), but now everyone around me seems to have a horror story to share. Thanks in advance. Tracie |
|
|
| My vet always says 16 weeks. We send our puppies to new homes at 10 weeks of age with 3 sets of puppy shots & their 1st bordatella (nasal). That leaves the owners to get the final (4th) set of puppy shots at 12 weeks & at 16 weeks the final bordatella (nasal) & rabies shot that last for 1 year (for puppies). I've never really started socializing my puppies around alot of other dogs until this 16 week mark. It's hard not to want to show them off but better for the pup in the long run. |
| I was told that you can take them around people and dogs that you KNOW have had all their shots.
We began taking Heart around at about 12-14 weeks. We just made sure we didn't take her to places where unknown dogs frequent..such as Pet stores, dog parks, parks, just be cautious and selective to where you take him. A relatives house, who has a fully vaccinated dog I think, would be safe. Does your vet have suggestions??? My vet didn't seem concerned as long as I followed the above guidlines. I am sure you will get a lot of advice here...  |
| Our vaccination schedule is different from the ones mentioned. I do not believe in giving the 6 week vaccine, as I believe they still have immunity from their mother. My pups are given their first set of vaccinations at 8 weeks, then the second set at 12 weeks, then their third set at 16 weeks, and the 16 week vaccination also includes the rabies and lepto. For the lepto they need a booster 2 weeks later. That is it until 1 year, 16 weeks of age, when they receive one more booster and rabies vaccine.
So for me, I wait until the pups are 16 weeks old before I let them socialize with dogs other than my own. |
| I take pups to the vet for shots and a check up at 8 weeks and then tell new puppy owners they have to vaccinate at 12 and 16 weeks also. I don't give lepto, corona or bordatella at all. I also ask puppy owners not to give the rabies vaccine at the same time as puppy shots and recommend they wait til 5 or 6 months.
Socialisation is important though. they do have some immunity before the full set of shots are done, but to be on the safe side perhaps only let the pup be around dogs you know for now. No dog parks etc till all vaccines are done, but being around people and other dogs at this age I think is important. |
| Understand though that just because your puppy has recently completed all his puppy shots does not necessarily mean he's 100% protected from parvo, distemper, etc. immediately after that last shot. I'm not in the medical field but doesn't it make sense that there must take some amount of time for their little immune systems to develop the antibodies?
Quote: A study done in 1985 in a cross section of different puppies showed, that the age at which they were able to respond to a vaccine and develop protection covered a wide period of time. At six weeks of age, 25% of the puppies could be immunized. At 9 weeks of age, 40% of the puppies were able to respond to the vaccine. The number increased to 60% by 16 weeks, and by 18 weeks of age, 95% of the puppies could be immunized. http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm ... icleid=467 But many of you know that I'm always overly cautious  When I was to the on-call vet a couple of weeks ago with Panda and her diarrhea, we got talking about the public areas here. This vet said that the Civic Center was a hot spot for parvo because of the number of people who gather in the park-type setting to exercise and socialize with their dogs. (We don't have dog parks here.) This appeared in the local paper a few years ago too...Quote: A hard-learned lesson
I am writing to make the public aware of a recent event that changed my life: the death of our 4-month-old puppy from parvovirus. It was a hard-lesson learned. We decided to take our Alaskan malamute to the Open Space at the end of June for some much-needed interaction with other dogs and people. Eleven days later she became violently ill. After emergency care by a local vet, she passed away. My vet and I came to the conclusion she contracted the virus from the Open Space, and due to her young immune system, she could not fight it. Parvo can live on inanimate objects for up to nine months; dogs simply walking over the infected area and licking their paws can contract it. It kills 80 percent of dogs within three hours to three days. Everyone should be aware this virus is present in our town and make sure their puppies (more so than older dogs) are vaccinated and at least 12 months old before taking them to such places as the Open Space. It may just save their life. http://archives.record-eagle.com/2007/jul/27letter.htm Personally? I'd keep a young pup away from hot spots like dog parks for a while yet and find less well traveled places to socialize your pup. And just a note- last year Panda (2 1/2 at the time) could not achieve an adequate Distemper titer despite 2 vaccinations and 3 titers. The Idexx internist recommended a 3rd vaccination last fall but I just couldn't do this to her immune system (she has allergies, low thyroid) so we did not take her out in public. Her titer was sent to Dr. Dodds this year and came back adequate. I need to ask if it simply took time for her immune system build the antibodies or if Dr. Dodds simply felt her titer level was ok. |
Didn't find exactly what you're looking for? Search again here:
Custom Search
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|