Appropriate age start bringing puppy to park or walking?

[Joe26]

He's 13 weeks curious know if its ok go the park

 

[Smokeycat]

I personally wouldn't take a puppy to a place where there could be a large number of dogs until after they have had all of their shots. I did do leashed walks on concrete before that point. It also depends on how great the risk of contagious diseases is in your area. I know here that the risk goes way up in the spring.

 

[Nik]

I didn't take either of my dogs anywhere public until after they had completed all their shots. I just didn't want to risk them catching anything and our vet was very insistent that we shouldn't let them go where other dogs had been until the vaccines were complete.

 

[marke]

if they've had a parvo and distemper shot at 12 weeks or later , wait 2 weeks and they will be good to go ........... if they're not protected at that point ,there was a problem with the vaccine , which i've never seen happen , or the dogs immune system , a non-responder ........... it's been my practice .........

 

[Joe26]

O ok thanks for the responses

 

[Boxergirl]

I respect Marke's opinions on this as he has an awful lot of experience, but I think it never hurts to be safer than sorrier. If you're talking a park where a lot of other dogs go, then I would wait until the final parvo shot is given. I have no problem taking my pups to less traveled areas or on sidewalks. I do not do human parks, pet stores (unless I'm carrying puppy), dog parks, or heavily used trails until they are fully vaccinated. Heck, I never do dog parks or pet stores anyway. Can't trust the other owners to have control of their dogs. I also do limited vaccines, opting for three year rabies and titers for everything else. I'm just a little more careful with puppies since my daughter started working at the ER clinic. They get a ridiculous amount of parvo cases in.

 

[Steven C]

I respect Marke's opinions on this as he has an awful lot of experience, but I think it never hurts to be safer than sorrier. If you're talking a park where a lot of other dogs go, then I would wait until the final parvo shot is given. I have no problem taking my pups to less traveled areas or on sidewalks. I do not do human parks, pet stores (unless I'm carrying puppy), dog parks, or heavily used trails until they are fully vaccinated. Heck, I never do dog parks or pet stores anyway. Can't trust the other owners to have control of their dogs. I also do limited vaccines, opting for three year rabies and titers for everything else. I'm just a little more careful with puppies since my daughter started working at the ER clinic. They get a ridiculous amount of parvo cases in.

I agree with the limited vaccines. I learned that also from Leerburg a decade ago. One time I took my DDB to a non social dog park which is adjacent to the social dog park, ironically we saw a small dog get mauled that day badly and I came home to my DDB having 20 plus ticks all over him, it was a nightmare.

Unfortunately I am stuck getting all the dogs all the vaccines for the International travel passport about 3 weeks before we leave. Maybe an Enzos ristorante gift certificate is on order, we shall see.

 

[marke]

I agree safe is best , I am only saying what I do with my pups , some breeds are more prone to parvo , and being non responders .... I've never known a ddb with parvo , they may be naturally more resistant to it ..... rotts and pits are notoriously susceptible , for some reason some of them could have 4-5 parvo shots and still contract parvo ...... I do believe ,with my dogs , a parvo shot or any vaccine given after 12 weeks should be their last one ....... i'm sure most folks know once you get a response from a vaccination more doesn't make any difference ..... any more than the first one that elicits a response would be redundant ....... a vaccination given after 12 weeks in an immune normal dog has been shown to titer positive 100% after 10-14days ....... my dogs and pups are exposed to a lot of strange and stray dogs , along with wildlife , I personally do believe naturally acquired immunity is a result of healthy immune systems .......... not sure how common allergies are in ddb , but I've never had a dog with one . as far as I know I produced one dog with an allergy , that was in the days of giving 5 way and 7 way shots every few weeks ......

 

[trg]

I didn't take either of my dogs anywhere public until after they had completed all their shots. I just didn't want to risk them catching anything and our vet was very insistent that we shouldn't let them go where other dogs had been until the vaccines were complete.

Totally agree

 

[Boxergirl]

I agree safe is best , I am only saying what I do with my pups , some breeds are more prone to parvo , and being non responders .... I've never known a ddb with parvo , they may be naturally more resistant to it ..... rotts and pits are notoriously susceptible , for some reason some of them could have 4-5 parvo shots and still contract parvo ...... I do believe ,with my dogs , a parvo shot or any vaccine given after 12 weeks should be their last one ....... i'm sure most folks know once you get a response from a vaccination more doesn't make any difference ..... any more than the first one that elicits a response would be redundant ....... a vaccination given after 12 weeks in an immune normal dog has been shown to titer positive 100% after 10-14days ....... my dogs and pups are exposed to a lot of strange and stray dogs , along with wildlife , I personally do believe naturally acquired immunity is a result of healthy immune systems .......... not sure how common allergies are in ddb , but I've never had a dog with one . as far as I know I produced one dog with an allergy , that was in the days of giving 5 way and 7 way shots every few weeks ......

I think you're very safe doing what you do, Marke. Titers are very expensive here, so I generally opt for that one extra vaccine and titer from there on out. I don't titer every year either. I titer every three years when it's time for their rabies renewal.

 

[DennasMom]

I agree... all puppy shots complete PLUS 2 weeks to let them get integrated into the immune system... then you should be good to go.

If you're talking about an off-leash park... my mastiff was not mature enough to handle all the attention until she was over 8 months old. Even then, I had to step in and help her shake off the unwanted advances of an over-amorous lab... which she did (and the lab listened to me, too), and they were able to re-engage in a more appropriate manner (i.e. a game of chase-me).

ALSO...remember that YOU need to keep your puppy safe from strange dogs. Puppies are the target of LOTS of attention at dog parks... some good, some not so good. Don't let strange dogs pick on your puppy (lots of bully dogs out there like to pick on the giant breeds when they're babies, i.e. still small enough to not fight back) - remove your puppy if he starts getting stressed, and/or redirect him to something FUN - always leave on a happy note so anything that wasn't so happy doesn't sit in the brain and stew too long. Help you puppy "shake off" any unhappy events and move on to something more interesting. It's a place where a puppy can learn a LOT of stuff... try and help the good stuff stick, and shake off the bad stuff so it doesn't stick!

 

[Joe26]

Thanks for the responses I'm wait until he has all his shots