# Safe places to walk your puppy in a high risk parvo state?



## Shanti (Nov 4, 2012)

*I highlighted my questions just in case you want to skip all the fluff.*  Hi everyone, I'm not a first time dog owner, but I was a kid when I last had a puppy, and I had never heard about parvo until I started doing research for my future little guy (a White Swiss Shepherd) who was born on Halloween. I currently live in Phoenix AZ (just for the winter) and have read it is one of the highest parvo risk states. I'm not going to keep my pup cooped up until he's 16 weeks old...its just not going to happen, but I'm also scared about infection. *Where do you take your puppy to socialize and at what age after what round of vaccines? What precautions did you take? Is there anything I can give my pup to help his immune system mature?*
*
Also if anyone lives in Phoenix, do you know of any low dog traffic areas that might be safe? *

Thanks for your time. This is just one of those subjects where everyone seems to have a different answer!


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## Pawzk9 (Jan 3, 2011)

do NOT let him walk in public places until he's had his full round of vaccines. You may be able to take him to friends' houses, and introduce him to well-mannered dogs that you know (and who are vaccinated.)


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

This is strictly my non-vet opinion but I would ONLY take him walking around to either friend's homes with fenced yards that no strays or unvaccinated dogs may have been in for the previous year and/or to a reputable training facility for a puppy class that requires vaccination records and sanitizes regularly. And for those two places, only after 2 out of the 3 rounds of parvo vaccines.

You can however carry him in public while he is small, take him on car rides and take him into the houses of people that don't have dogs or have fully vaccinated adult dogs that are not frequent visitors of dog parks (less risk of tracking parvo in on their feet).


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## CptJack (Jun 3, 2012)

Shell said:


> This is strictly my non-vet opinion but I would ONLY take him walking around to either friend's homes with fenced yards that no strays or unvaccinated dogs may have been in for the previous year and/or to a reputable training facility for a puppy class that requires vaccination records and sanitizes regularly. And for those two places, only after 2 out of the 3 rounds of parvo vaccines.
> 
> You can however carry him in public while he is small, take him on car rides and take him into the houses of people that don't have dogs or have fully vaccinated adult dogs that are not frequent visitors of dog parks (less risk of tracking parvo in on their feet).


This. Our area is high parvo risk. Extremely high. My pup didn't get put on the ground ANYWHERE outside our fenced yard for 4 months. We have had ZERO socialization problems with her. We did carry her around and take her to visit homes of dogs we knew were vaccinated, but I have lost puppies to parvo in the past, and I was taking NO chances with Kylie, and no problems socializing her.

Even if we had, my attitude is firmly : You can't socialize or exercise a dead dog.


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## 3doglady (Jul 31, 2011)

CptJack said:


> This. Our area is high parvo risk. Extremely high. My pup didn't get put on the ground ANYWHERE outside our fenced yard for 4 months. We have had ZERO socialization problems with her. We did carry her around and take her to visit homes of dogs we knew were vaccinated, but I have lost puppies to parvo in the past, and I was taking NO chances with Kylie, and no problems socializing her.
> 
> Even if we had, my attitude is firmly : You can't socialize or exercise a dead dog.


This ^

Keeping a pup indoors for 16 weeks is not a bad thing. It helps them settle and build confidence in their new home, while helping them avoid contagious viruses. There is plenty of time for socialization later. We spent our time training and playing with our puppies until 2 weeks after their last round of vaccinations, (18 weeks). They had a few play dates with siblings and well-mannered dogs, but they remained indoors, or in our yard to potty. We found they were much more confident when we started introducing them to new environments.


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## seaboxador (Sep 23, 2012)

You could try some out of the way places like soccer fields or baseball fields. They usually technically don't allow dogs, but it's just a puppy and nobody will likely say much. Keeping it fully inside the whole time is impossible for some people. If you live in a city, good luck with that. You just do your best.

Other things I would suggest are places that are touristy people places. In Seattle, the fish market is great. Tons of people for socializing and few dogs. Gets lots of impressions for the puppy. 

Do you have an obedience school? Lots of times they have a play area where you can drop in between certain times and the puppies play together. It's great for the puppy and good exercise.


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## hamandeggs (Aug 11, 2011)

seaboxador said:


> You could try some out of the way places like soccer fields or baseball fields. They usually technically don't allow dogs, but it's just a puppy and nobody will likely say much. Keeping it fully inside the whole time is impossible for some people. If you live in a city, good luck with that. You just do your best.
> 
> Other things I would suggest are places that are touristy people places. In Seattle, the fish market is great. Tons of people for socializing and few dogs. Gets lots of impressions for the puppy.
> 
> Do you have an obedience school? Lots of times they have a play area where you can drop in between certain times and the puppies play together. It's great for the puppy and good exercise.


Frankly, this is terrible advice. The whole point of the OP's question was how to avoid parvo until her puppy is fully vaccinated. Obedience school, public places with lots of foot traffic including dogs, soccer fields and baseball fields are all terrible places to take an un-vaccinated puppy. I would hope no obedience school would allow this. 

Yes, you do your best living in a city, but there's no need to make the risk greater than necessary.


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## seaboxador (Sep 23, 2012)

I can tell that you know nothing about obedience schools. Look up the top rated ones in your area and look up puppy training. Basically any obedience school offers training for puppies and as long as you've started shots then they allow it. No those schools aren't evil disreputable places that spread parvo.

Vets have to tell you the most conservative advice for legal reasons. Unless you want your puppy going to the bathroom indoors for the first 2.5 months, it's going to have to go outside. 

The places I mentioned have not a lot of dogs on them. The risk rather miniscule. 

In terms of risk, you might get hit by a bus today, large pieces of metal might drop from the sky on top of you or you might get hit with a random drive by. You could lock yourself in a celment bunker and wrap your dogs head in tin foil to avoid the RF rays since the government is out to get you or you can live your life.


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

seaboxador said:


> Vets have to tell you the most conservative advice for legal reasons. Unless you want your puppy going to the bathroom indoors for the first 2.5 months, it's going to have to go outside.
> 
> The places I mentioned have not a lot of dogs on them. The risk rather miniscule.


If the owner has a fenced yard, the dog can most certainly go outside there. The OP is in a HIGH RISK parvo area, that means it is worth going that extra step to keep the dog safe. Whether those areas have dogs or not really depends on the location and at least in my area, all those places you mentioned are well frequented by dogs- thus making them a REALLY BAD IDEA for an unvaccinated puppy. 

I'd rather make the effort to socialize in safe surroundings than to deal with the suffering and expense of parvo.


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## CptJack (Jun 3, 2012)

seaboxador said:


> I can tell that you know nothing about obedience schools. Look up the top rated ones in your area and look up puppy training. Basically any obedience school offers training for puppies and as long as you've started shots then they allow it. No those schools aren't evil disreputable places that spread parvo.
> 
> Vets have to tell you the most conservative advice for legal reasons. Unless you want your puppy going to the bathroom indoors for the first 2.5 months, it's going to have to go outside.
> 
> ...


A puppy that has started shots can get and spread parvovirus. The worst state in the country for parvovirus is not a minuscule risk. Have you SEEN what parvovirus does to dogs? Especially puppies? These are ways to minimize that risk, while housebreaking and socializing. Exposing them to the ground, in public, is not it.

Frankly that's just STUPID. 

Find an area. Take the dog there to pipotty. If its open to other dogs and people take it there and put down a piddle pad, to keep it off the ground. Take the pup out in your arms. Exercise in dog free areas. Two months of this, out of a puppy's lifetime, to ensure the puppy HAS a lifetime and save yourself thousands in treatment? If you're too lazy for that, you don't need a dog.


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## hamandeggs (Aug 11, 2011)

Seaboxador, thanks for the insult, but you're just wrong. Most obedience schools require at least 2 rounds of shots for puppy kindergarten, and frankly I wouldn't risk it until after the third round. 

The rescue I volunteer with requires hand-sanitizer to the elbow before allowing would-be adopters to touch puppies at adoption events that haven't had all their shots. And only "serious"/pre-approved adopters can hold a puppy. Do I think this is a bit overboard? Maybe. But they do this because it avoids much worse problems. Oh, and by the way, I live in a big city with parvo.


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## seaboxador (Sep 23, 2012)

" I would hope no obedience school would allow this."

"Most obedience schools require at least 2 rounds of shots for puppy kindergarten"

Pick your opinion. Did you not know what the policy of most obedience school when you originally posted? Given your flip flop you're not by any chance someone running for office who used to strap his dog to the roof of his car are you? Apparently your opinion was so correct that no school would do this, but now your opinion has changed to most schools do this. 

Your handling policies for adoption events aren't really applicable to what a dog owner should do with her/her dog. It's not a thread about dog events.

"Frankly that's just STUPID. "

What's stupid. Your entire paragraph is that sentence, so there's really no object in question thus your statement makes no sense. What that are you talking about?

"Exercise in dog free areas."

Yeah, like those I mentioned.... 

"If the owner has a fenced yard, the dog can most certainly go outside there."

Well, given that the OP noted that they don't want to keep their dog couped up, I think it's safe to assume that they don't have a back yard. It's pretty obvious that one could have their dog go to the bathroom in the back yard. Thus, your statement isn't really applicable to what I said.


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## CptJack (Jun 3, 2012)

seaboxador said:


> "Frankly that's just STUPID. "
> 
> What's stupid. Your entire paragraph is that sentence, so there's really no object in question thus your statement makes no sense. What that are you talking about?
> 
> ...



Read the previous statement. _ Exposing them to the ground, in public, is not it_

Exposing them to the ground, in public, is the subject. I had a space issue, thanks to my iPad. 

The areas you mentioned are not dog free. they are low dog. They also have owners of dogs, who track parvo around on their feet. Which spreads parvo extremely readily, even without the direct exposure of the dog. Yes, the owner is going to do basically whatever they want, anyway, but the bottom line is: in a high parvo area, this kind of exposure, on the ground, to public places, before the dog is fully vaccinated is more or less saying 'come and get me'. That's not something I want to enable. 

Parvo is HIGHLY contagious, easily spread, and kills puppies brutally and horribly. Even when it doesn't kill, the affect on the dog are horrific and treatment is expensive. Someone who insists on letting their dog run lose without training a recall is going to do it, too, but I'm sure as shit not going to enable it. The safety here, is in take the puppy out! Here are the SAFE options: Private homes, with fenced yards and no, or vaccinated dogs. Public places, in your arms, carrier, or 'doggy stroller'. That's a controlled risk. Sort of like 'train recall and use a lunge line' for running off leash.

"Run in these public places because I only sometimes see a few dogs but tons of people" is more or less 'eh, it'll be okay. fine a road that's not an interstate but is only a highway and it'll be all right'. 

No.


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## hamandeggs (Aug 11, 2011)

seaboxador said:


> " I would hope no obedience school would allow this."
> 
> "Most obedience schools require at least 2 rounds of shots for puppy kindergarten"
> 
> ...


The OP's dog won't have had 2 rounds yet. I would hope that no obedience schools would allow a puppy that has not had 2 rounds of shots into a puppy kindergarten. This is not rocket science. I don't see any inconsistency, and I really don't see the need for personal insults here.


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## 3doglady (Jul 31, 2011)

The health and safety of the puppy should always come first. If the OP chooses to take the puppy out prior to the last round of vaccinations, that is up the them. IMO, it's not worth the risk. Parvo is a nasty disease and and can live in the ground for months. Puppies do not lose out on anything by staying home for a few additional weeks, in fact, they gain a few weeks to mature emotionally as well as developing a good foundation from which to build great things upon. To me it's a no-brainer. 

http://pets.webmd.com/dogs/parvovirus-in-dogs
http://vetmedicine.about.com/cs/dognz/a/parvodog_2.htm
http://www.kcoy.com/story/19964501/...nta-maria-10-confirmed-cases-at-local-shelter


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

seaboxador said:


> ""Exercise in dog free areas."
> 
> Yeah, like those I mentioned....
> *They are NOT "dog free" in the vast majority of cities and suburbs and considering that people more likely to break a "no dog" rule may also be the kind to skip vaccinations... again, when dealing with a high risk city, it takes more than thinking "huh, don't see a dog here right now" considering how parvo is transmitted*
> ...


My comments are in bold. I, at least, am not going to suggest someone put their dog at risk of a horrible and often deadly disease by assuming anything about their living situation or their local area. 
You CAN socialize a dog without letting them walk around as puppies and if the dog is well socialized to a variety of sights, sounds and people along with vaccinated adult dogs (who are not around unvaccinated puppies or dogs) then adding walking around is unlikely to be traumatic for them but rather likely to be a comfortable transition. 

Remember that parvo can be transmitted well after a recovering dog is symptom free and lives in the soil for quite some time. It is not killed by frost.


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## ajw (Oct 15, 2012)

I think I want to disagree with areas that kids might do sports. Even if at games the dogs are 'banned', people often go to these areas for off leash time, at least in my area, when they're not in use. I think you're better off in vacant fields off the beaten path, of course then you could be flirting with leptospirosis and distemper. Really, just wait until the little girl/guy is vaxxed and then have at it.


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## Abbylynn (Jul 7, 2011)

3doglady said:


> The health and safety of the puppy should always come first. If the OP chooses to take the puppy out prior to the last round of vaccinations, that is up the them. IMO, it's not worth the risk. Parvo is a nasty disease and and can live in the ground for months. Puppies do not lose out on anything by staying home for a few additional weeks, in fact, they gain a few weeks to mature emotionally as well as developing a good foundation from which to build great things upon. To me it's a no-brainer.
> 
> http://pets.webmd.com/dogs/parvovirus-in-dogs
> http://vetmedicine.about.com/cs/dognz/a/parvodog_2.htm
> http://www.kcoy.com/story/19964501/...nta-maria-10-confirmed-cases-at-local-shelter


Back in the 1970's I lived in a high parvo area. My beautiful GSD had all his vaccinations. At 7 months of age he contracted parvo from my very own yard ... even fully vaccinated ... due to a neighbors dog who had used it for a potty area ... and that dog had parvo. My puppy died as well as the neighbors dog who was an adult.

From then on I used newspaper and just potty trained all puppies in the house until they were fully vaccinated. You cannot always be 100% sure .... but you can be safe now and not sorry later. It is a wicked horrible way to die.


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## 3doglady (Jul 31, 2011)

Abbylynn said:


> Back in the 1970's I lived in a high parvo area. My beautiful GSD had all his vaccinations. At 7 months of age he contracted parvo from my very own yard ... even fully vaccinated ... due to a neighbors dog who had used it for a potty area ... and that dog had parvo. My puppy died as well as the neighbors dog who was an adult.
> 
> From then on I used newspaper and just potty trained all puppies in the house until they were fully vaccinated. You cannot always be 100% sure .... but you can be safe now and not sorry later. It is a wicked horrible way to die.


Oh my goodness! That is so sad. Even at risk in your own back yard. I can certainly understand your vigilance.



ajw said:


> I think I want to disagree with areas that kids might do sports. Even if at games the dogs are 'banned', people often go to these areas for off leash time, at least in my area, when they're not in use. I think you're better off in vacant fields off the beaten path, of course then you could be flirting with leptospirosis and distemper. Really, just wait until the little girl/guy is vaxxed and then have at it.


Not to mention it can be carried off the field on your shoes.


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## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

hamandeggs said:


> I would hope that no obedience schools would allow a puppy that has not had 2 rounds of shots into a puppy kindergarten.


Puppy classes in my area all allow pups with only one round of vaccines and vets recommend it. It's all about the risk factor and whether it's a known problem in your area.


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## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

3doglady said:


> Keeping a pup indoors for 16 weeks is not a bad thing. It helps them settle and build confidence in their new home, while helping them avoid contagious viruses. There is plenty of time for socialization later. We spent our time training and playing with our puppies until 2 weeks after their last round of vaccinations, (18 weeks). They had a few play dates with siblings and well-mannered dogs, but they remained indoors, or in our yard to potty. We found they were much more confident when we started introducing them to new environments.


It completely disagree. The socialization window closes at 16 weeks and it's so important to get the pup out and meeting people and being in different environments. Since the OP lives in a high risk area I would only recommend inviting people over, visiting other homes, and spending time in fenced yards with vaccinated dogs, but I definitely wouldn't recommend just keeping the puppy in the house until 16 weeks.


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## CptJack (Jun 3, 2012)

elrohwen said:


> It completely disagree. The socialization window closes at 16 weeks and it's so important to get the pup out and meeting people and being in different environments. Since the OP lives in a high risk area I would only recommend inviting people over, visiting other homes, and spending time in fenced yards with vaccinated dogs, but I definitely wouldn't recommend just keeping the puppy in the house until 16 weeks.


Or walking the puppy with it in your arms. 

That said, seriously, the window doesn't magically slam shut at 16 weeks. It just - it doesn't. That's the end of the prime time, more or less, depending on the dog's mental and emotional development (some it's sooner, some it's much later) but you can socialize ANY age dog, and when dealing with parvo:

Again: You can't socialize a dead dog.

I am NOT saying to do no socialization before that time, I really am not, but when you're dealing in a high risk area - or a high risk breed - the rules have to change, somewhat. I've never had a problem socializing a 4 month old puppy. Or a year old dog. It might be slower, yeah, but with the same consistent exposure they do just fine.


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## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

CptJack said:


> Or walking the puppy with it in your arms.
> 
> That said, seriously, the window doesn't magically slam shut at 16 weeks. It just - it doesn't. That's the end of the prime time, more or less, depending on the dog's mental and emotional development (some it's sooner, some it's much later) but you can socialize ANY age dog, and when dealing with parvo:
> 
> ...


No, it's not a magic window, of course, but I think socialization is one of the most overlooked aspects of puppy ownership, IME. Tons of dogs die in shelters from being undersocialized (fear aggressive) so it's not small thing. If nothing else, inadequate socialization can result in a nervous or reactive dog who is hard to live with and requires a lot of training (which many owners aren't prepared for). I'm not advocating taking risks beyond what is recommended by vets in high risk areas, but I think locking up puppies until 16 weeks is asking for trouble. There are plenty of ways to socialize that don't involve walking around a park and are safe.


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## CptJack (Jun 3, 2012)

elrohwen said:


> There are plenty of ways to socialize that don't involve walking around a park and are safe.


This I agree with. 

But after 10 years in rescue and hundreds of foster dogs and seeing dogs in shelters - most are hyper, untrained, exuberant. But I've rarely seen a dog who was super negatively impacted by being undersocialized. Some fearful/nervous behavior occasionally, but I saw TWO dogs that were fear aggressive. Out of hundreds. Socialization IS important, it really is, but it's just not something I'd call a major problem for most dogs or most dog owners. Different experiences, different conclusions -, no big news that it happens sometimes.


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## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

CptJack said:


> Different experiences, different conclusions -, no big news that it happens sometimes.


Agreed! 

I see undersocialization a lot here - both in rescues and in friends' dogs. Most of the time it's not dogs who are fear aggressive and being PTS, but it's people with that dog who can only go certain places, or can't be around other dogs, or who needs to be constantly managed, or who never leaves their house and street. I've had dogs like that and it really takes a lot of the joy out of dog ownership, but it can mostly be preventing by putting some effort into early socialization. Some dogs will turn out great no matter what you do or how much you socialize, but some won't, so I think it's always worth putting in that effort while they're little.


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## 3doglady (Jul 31, 2011)

elrohwen said:


> It completely disagree. The socialization window closes at 16 weeks and it's so important to get the pup out and meeting people and being in different environments. Since the OP lives in a high risk area I would only recommend inviting people over, visiting other homes, and spending time in fenced yards with vaccinated dogs, but I definitely wouldn't recommend just keeping the puppy in the house until 16 weeks.


I wouldn't say they socialization window closes at 16 weeks. There are key periods where puppies learn from their Mom and siblings along with others where they bond with people. My experience comes from puppy raising for future service dogs. Socialization is a huge key factor in raising these puppies. I remember the 1st pup I raised, I wanted to take him out of the yard, (I was bored), and was told emphatically, no. Once his shots were complete, we were able to get him out in age appropriate environments. By following the 16-18 week guideline, I have never had a puppy go back to the organization, under socialized. They were all pretty solid dogs.


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## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

3doglady said:


> I wouldn't say they socialization window closes at 16 weeks. There are key periods where puppies learn from their Mom and siblings along with others where they bond with people. My experience comes from puppy raising for future service dogs. Socialization is a huge key factor in raising these puppies. I remember the 1st pup I raised, I wanted to take him out of the yard, (I was bored), and was told emphatically, no. Once his shots were complete, we were able to get him out in age appropriate environments. By following the 16-18 week guideline, I have never had a puppy go back to the organization, under socialized. They were all pretty solid dogs.


I can't argue with that experience - it just goes against the current thinking on socialization that I've read and my personal experiences. It's not a magic window that closes at 16 weeks, so starting at 16 weeks and socializing a lot from that point can work. Still, assuming the breeder never takes the puppies anywhere, by 16 weeks the pup has had four months of being in only two houses and meeting maybe a dozen people. It just seems extremely isolating. An extroverted lab pup might not have a problem, but a soft dog with a tendency towards shyness is going to be better served by more interactions.


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## Alerondogs (Mar 23, 2011)

elrohwen said:


> I can't argue with that experience - it just goes against the current thinking on socialization that I've read and my personal experiences. It's not a magic window that closes at 16 weeks, so starting at 16 weeks and socializing a lot from that point can work. Still, assuming the breeder never takes the puppies anywhere, by 16 weeks the pup has had four months of being in only two houses and meeting maybe a dozen people. It just seems extremely isolating. An extroverted lab pup might not have a problem, but a soft dog with a tendency towards shyness is going to be better served by more interactions.


 ITA with this. Some of it depends on the breed and the hardwired tendencies of the breed/individual. My Collie would have probably been just as outgoing and happy if he hadn't seen any strangers until he was 6 months old because he was a dog who was genetically wired to be gregarious. My foster Mal however, had never seen strangers or been off his breeders property until almost 14 weeks old and it has been extremely detrimental to him and he may not be able to overcome his early lack of exposure. With a Belgian or GSD (which is basically what the puppy in question is - a white GSD) there is no way I would ever wait until the dog was over 16 weeks to socialize them. In fact, I don't think I would not sell a Belgian puppy to someone who told me they planned to keep him in their home/backyard until he was over 16 weeks old. 

To the original poster - check out the American Vetrinary Society of Animal Behavior's Position Statement On Puppy Socialization: http://avsabonline.org/uploads/position_statements/puppy_socialization.pdf

In which they state: _"the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior believes that it should be the standard of care for puppies to receive such socialization before they are fully vaccinated."_ And they give the how's and why's 

I have a pretty educated and experienced personal opinion on this issue. I live in an area with Parvo is pretty prevalent, just about everyone I know has either had a puppy with Parvo or known at least one person who has (often a lot more). This thread is full of some very common misconceptions about the virus. The biggest being that it is inherently safe to keep your puppy home prior to them having all of their vaccines...and that it is inherently dangerous to take them anywhere away from home. I had a litter with Parvo about 5 years ago. It was a horrible thing to go through with the puppies. Out of 6 puppies, 5 became ill and one didn't make it, although she could have if it weren't for a couple of vet's bad judgements. One puppy never developed symptoms. The puppies were 6 weeks old when they got sick, too young to have been vaccinated and they had never left my home or my fenced in yard. Which is to say, your puppy is just as at risk of someone or something carrying the virus into your yard as they are of getting it while out and about. Unless you and everyone else are taking great precautions to disinfect every time you come into your house from outside, you can be unknowingly tracking Parvo into your house or yard. Parvo is an extremely hardy virus in outdoor environments and it only takes a very, very small amount to make a young puppy seriously ill. And as such, it sure doesn't take going to a place where there are dogs to come in contact with the virus. The guy standing in front of you in line at the store might have a Parvo puppy at home and might just be carrying enough virus on his shoes to make your puppy sick if you track it home. Parvo can also be tracked into your yard by birds or small animals. You do not need to see feces to have been exposed to the virus. In this way, the more you know about Parvo the scarier it is. 

All of that said, the good news is that the Parvo vaccine is extremely effective and the majority of puppies can develop immunity quickly from just one high titer vaccination. "Booster" vaccines do not offer more immunity, they simply ensure that maternal immunity doesn't prevent the earlier vaccines from being effective. These articles explain how vaccines work...and how they don't:

Puppy shots: http://www.caberfeidh.com/PuppyVax.htm

Booster shots: http://www.caberfeidh.com/Revax.htm


Having had a litter with Parvo, I have become fairly paranoid about the virus. Everyone who comes into my house has to remove their shoes at the door and spray the bottoms with bleach. They have to scrub their hands and arms as soon as they come in. We generally change into clean clothes before seeing the puppies and I ask visitors to wear clean clothes. My previous puppies would spend nice days outside in a puppy pen with lots of toys and shade starting at around 5 weeks old. I'd let them out to run the yard a few times a day and play with them. It was fun for them and for me but I'm too afraid to do that now. At most I now put them in an expen on the deck that has been bleached and covered with a fresh sheet. We use a lot of bleach - mop daily, wash their bedding in toys with it often, etc. IOWs I go above and beyond to make sure my young puppies are not exposed to Parvo. 

But a week after their first vaccine, they start living a more normal life. They can play outside, start going places with me, start puppy classes, etc because it is so very important to their development. I can't allow my paranoid feelings prevent them from getting the exposure they need. 

Also you don't have to wonder if your puppy has formed immunity. If you need additional piece of mind, you can do a Parvo titer test 10 days after the vaccine to check for an immune response. Which would be my suggestion if you're very worried but don't want to risk not socializing.


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## Shanti (Nov 4, 2012)

Hmm for some reason my emails about replies to this thread stopped coming so this is a little bit late, but thank you everyone for the answers. Its great to hear other opinions. I'm going to do the best I can with the space I have. Our condo was in a fire so we have a smaller space to work with until the spring and no yard (I hate roofers!). I'm going to bleach the gravel/walkway to our door a couple times and keep bleaching it every couple of days, and also bleach our shoes all the time. There are a few places I know of in the middle of nowhere that don't see dogs at all, so I might take the long drive out there once a week and also I have some friends here with vaccinated dogs. I'm having a heck of a time finding puppy classes, but I'm still looking. Thats the best I can do so hopefully its enough. Someone who posted said the more you learn about parvo the more paranoid you get...very true!!! :frusty:

Get to meet pup in 2 weeks and bring him home in 4. Very excited to be a new mum!


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