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Old February 18th, 2009, 10:02 PM
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Is it safe for me to bring my Puppy

We've been invited to a get together on Saturday, there will be two dogs there a lapso (7 - 8yr old male) & a lab (3-4yr old male). I've been told, hey don't worry just bring the puppy. I know theses dogs have had their shots and vacinations and are extremely well cared for. My question is, is it safe for me to bring my Puppy? Mooshie (mini-shorthair Daxie) has had his first vacinations and has taken de-worm medication; he is not scheduled to have his 2nd round of vacinations untill March 2nd. I know that obedience/socialization classes won't take puppies untill they have had all there shots. Is this a precautionary practice on their part or, are there real risks to puppies if they are not completely vacinated?

As much as I would like to attend this get together, which will be to long to leave Mooshie crated and unattended, I would decline the invitation if I am putting Mooshie at risk.

As a new pet owner, I have so many questions.... Just seems not everyting is covered in books; or at least not the ones I've been reading.
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Old February 18th, 2009, 10:29 PM
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There is a risk until the pup is fully vaccinated. More of a risk when around other pups that aren't fully vaccinated than adult dogs that are, but still a risk non the less IMO.

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Old February 19th, 2009, 08:10 AM
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Personally, I would go and bring the puppy.

I have 3 dogs and my boyfriend got a puppy in December. The puppy came straight to my house and has been here with the other 3 dogs ever since. The other 3 are adults who do have their shots.

I also work at a dog daycare and I started bringing the pup when she was 8 weeks.

I agree there are slight risks with it but I think for socialization reasons it's well worth it.

Unless you keep your puppy in a bubble in your own house, he's going to be around "dog germs" before he's had all his shots. Do you walk him down the street? - - dog germs - - Do you go to the park? - - dog germs - -

So, I would bring the pup - especially since you know these people and know their dogs do have their shots and are healthy.
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Old February 19th, 2009, 08:18 AM
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I would be more worried about one of the larger dogs pouncing on her to play...........
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Old February 19th, 2009, 08:54 AM
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Originally Posted by les View Post
Personally, I would go and bring the puppy.

I have 3 dogs and my boyfriend got a puppy in December. The puppy came straight to my house and has been here with the other 3 dogs ever since. The other 3 are adults who do have their shots.

I also work at a dog daycare and I started bringing the pup when she was 8 weeks.

I agree there are slight risks with it but I think for socialization reasons it's well worth it.

Unless you keep your puppy in a bubble in your own house, he's going to be around "dog germs" before he's had all his shots. Do you walk him down the street? - - dog germs - - Do you go to the park? - - dog germs - -

So, I would bring the pup - especially since you know these people and know their dogs do have their shots and are healthy.
I didn't walk any of my 4 dogs when they were puppies or take them to any park before they had all their shots. Parvo and distemper are deadly, so not worth the risk to me. Waiting until they were 12 weeks old after their second set of shots was soon enough to start walking them a little and taking them places.
If you do take him, take his crate so he has somewhere to curl up and sleep, he's going to need a lot more rest than the other dogs there.

Cindy
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Old February 19th, 2009, 09:12 AM
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I wouldn't risk it - my vet strongly advised against contact with other dogs until after all shots. Also, I don't know the weight of your puppy now - or anticipated full body weight. My guys ranged from 10 - 12 lbs. - full grown - but I have seen many minis of late whose maximum adult weight will be 5 - 8 lbs. - so they are pretty darned small - and also, if your dog is still so small as to be considered "prey" well, I just wouldn't do it. Also the other dogs will probably play with your pup and might be a bit rough on your dog's back.
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Old February 19th, 2009, 06:29 PM
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Well I guess there is no definitive answer; sort of split advice. I guess I'll side on the side of caution.
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Old February 19th, 2009, 09:21 PM
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Originally Posted by pwrca View Post
Well I guess there is no definitive answer; sort of split advice. I guess I'll side on the side of caution.
You might be interested in this statement by the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behaviour: http://www.avsabonline.org/avsabonli...ialization.pdf

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The Primary and most important time for puppy socialization is the first three months of life. During this time puppies should be exposed to as many new people, animals, stimuli and environments as can be achieved safely and without causing over-stimulation manifested as excessive fear, with-drawal or avoidance behavior. For this reason, 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.

Because the first three months are the period when sociability outweighs fear, this is the primary window of opportunity for puppies to adapt to new people, animals, and experiences. Incomplete or improper socialization during this important time can increase the risk of behavioral problems later in life including fear, avoidance, and/or aggression. Behavioral problems are the greatest threat to the owner-dog bond. In fact, behavioral problems are the number one cause of relinquishment to shelters. Behavioral issues, not infectious diseases, are the number one cause of death for dogs under three years of age.

While puppies’ immune systems are still developing during these early months, the combination of maternal immunity, primary vaccination, and appropriate care makes the risk of infection relatively small compared to the chance of death from a behavior problem. Veterinarians specializing in behavior recommend that owners take advantage of every safe opportunity to expose young puppies to the great variety of stimuli that they will experience in their lives. Enrolling in puppy classes prior to three months of age can be an excellent means of improving training, strengthening the human-animal bond, and socializing puppies in an environment where risk of illness can be minimized.

For this reason, 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. In general, puppies can start puppy socialization classes as early as 7-8 weeks of age. Puppies should receive a minimum of one set of vaccines at least 7 days prior to the first class and a first deworming. They should be kept up-to-date on vaccines throughout the class.

Visits to dog parks or other areas that are not sanitized and/or are highly trafficked by dogs of unknown vaccination or disease status should be avoided.
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Old February 19th, 2009, 09:26 PM
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I totally agree with sugar cat mom's post. We enrolled Riley in puppy class before his second set of shots and took care to expose him to as many healthy dogs as we could. We avoided dog parks and kept an eagle eye out for stray poops that might be attractive to a puppy (but carry disease). How old is the pup? My only concern would be if he is around the 8-10 week age that can be a fear stage so it is important to monitor any interactions and if you feel the pup is being overwhelmed then make sure everyone gets a time out .
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Old February 20th, 2009, 11:20 AM
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Thank you, for this very informative article; I truly appreciate it. After reading this article, I discussed this with my wife. The outing we are invited to will likely have a lot of people there, along with the 2 dogs I previously mentionned. We have decided that we will not attend this outing but, instead will visit the next day; the 2 other dogs will still be there but, there will be less people and allow for socialization both with people & the dogs. It will be a little more controlled and easier to supervise.
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Old February 20th, 2009, 08:55 PM
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I read from a book that you should make an effort to let your puppy meet 100 people during the 1st month you have him. We threw a few puppy parties for our teenage children when we got ours. He grows up to love 2-legged creatures more than the 4-legged ones. He'd now greet every owner in the dog park before running off with other dogs.
I wouldn't worry too much about the number of people in your get-together so long as they are responsible, sober, and you are with your pup at all time. Bring a crate with you is a good suggestion unless the meeting is short. Getting used to travel in a crate is also beneficial to the pup.
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Old February 21st, 2009, 03:09 PM
Etown_Chick Etown_Chick is offline
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prwca,
your decision makes sense - he still gets to meet other (vaccinated) dogs without being overhwhelmed by that many people.
Have fun!
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Old February 23rd, 2009, 08:16 AM
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Well thought I'd update on our outing. We first visited the family with the black lab & 1 yr old daughter. It was so cool to see the dogs interact, Mooshie is definately not intimidate by big dogs, actually Hershey the lab was intimidated by this little bundle of energy. All this to say that they got along fine and Hershey tiered of Mooshie's running in circles around him and playing. The baby was great and was eagerly played with Mooshie. He is quite used to being prodded, poked, tail & ears pulled as this is something I've been doing daily to him; to get him used to playing without biting or mouthing. We don't have small children, so I've always played with him they way I think a child would to get him used to a little miss handling. You can't escape the tongue but he's used to a little rough play. We then went to visit the family with the lapso; not quite the same welcoming. Barney the lapso, didn't take well to Mooshie; he didn't seem to like him and would snarl and growl, bare his teeth to a point where I wasn't confident that Mooshie wouldn't get bitten. Barney however is older and lives in a home without children and I don't think gets a lot of interaction with other dogs. So having followed the suggestion about bring the crate; Mooshie was put out of harms way in his crate. Barney was still curious but really not interested in having Mooshie loose in his territory.

So tonight we are off to our first puppy kindergarden (obedience/socialization class) it will be interesting to see the interaction with other puppies & small dogs.
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Old February 23rd, 2009, 01:31 PM
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Dachshunds are not intimidated in the least by big dogs - several years ago there was an entire calendar devoted to a mini Dachshund vs a very big Rotti. Dobes and Dachshunds often get along very well. At this point I expect your Dachshund to get along well with children. Just keep an eye on him as he reaches puberty and temperament fully develops. Good luck at puppy class. I don't know where you are going, but I once watched a training class and the trainer was trying to get the dogs to sit - and of course a Dachshund will do anything for a cookie. No cookie - no sit. So trainer kept pressing down on the Dachshund's back. I was watching from a doorway. When the class was released I had a word with the owners - I happened to be holding my last Dachshund - a seriously good looking Dapple -and they had to see him - so I told them not to allow that pressing on their dog's back - the trainer should have known better. They told me they had been worried about it, but were too intimidated to say anything. I know exactly how they felt. At this point though, I would probably have a fit if any trainer pressed on any breed of dogs' back.
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Old February 24th, 2009, 07:26 AM
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Well the puppy kindergarden went very well. Mooshie and I were the first to arrive, so he got a chance to run around and sniff the place out. Due to the fact that the class was already 1 week in, this gave me a chance to discuss with the trainer, how things were going with Mooshie and she (the trainer) answered my questions and provided me with a some sound advice. When the other class participants arrived, they were permitted for some off leash play time. The trainer asked me to keep Mooshie on my lap, as there were a couple of larger breed puppies and she didn't want Mooshie to get hurt. Of course there was a lot of sniffing of Mooshie in my lap and the puppies ran around and played. Then it was down to business, some basic sit, lay, release & come exercises. I was really surprised that when we had our turn for release and come, I fully expected Mooshie to dart off and be distracted by the other dogs; but he somehow stayed focused and we did a have dozen release & come exercise sucessfully. At the end of the class, after some of the larger puppies left Mooshie had some play time with a Pug & Papillion, a lot on sniffing and running around & playing.

Overall, I felt the trainer (her training is a Veteranry Technician) was very good and vey knowledgable of the Daxie breed, traits and habits (much of what I had read before) but, it was good to see she knew her stuff. She uses a combination of clicker, treats and praise for training and not once did I see any forcing of puppies into a sit or lay position. There was one larger breed puppy who seemed to like to jump a lot and her advice was to ignored untill he settled, then was awarded once settled; it was surprising how quickly he caught on.

I was pleased to see that, I had made some significant progress with Mooshie in advance of attending class, he had most of the basic commands mastered here at home, a little more challenging in class environment but I was pleased with the results and look forward to continue Mooshies training both at home and at our next classes. Now of course we have to do the daly homework LOL and have some substantial reading material to cover.
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Old February 24th, 2009, 11:01 AM
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Great news that your trainer has experience with Dachshunds - that will make all of the difference. Expect your pup to be the star pupil - when he decides it is worth his while. A Papillon is a very good match for a Dachshund. Actually the young lady who runs my Eskie's grooming office has an 11 month old Pap - probably weighs about 9 lbs. My Eskie is his mentor - kind of a scary thought. They are good together and while my guy weighs 22 lbs. with the claws and jaws of death, he is very gentle with the Pap and last Thurs. - he goes once a week for socialization - they were playing and the Papillon was hanging from my guy's belly with his teeth and paws holding on to his tantalizing tail and his hind legs holding on to his front rib cage. It was rather funny to see them running about this way. I think my Eskie is very happy that the Papillon did not grow to be bigger than he is - most of the other dogs are much bigger so this works. The Papillon is a sturdy little breed - without the back issues, so I am not worried about that. And they look so good together. Actually I have seen 2 Eskie/Pap mixes - about 20 lbs., body type and face pure Eskie, but with the black stand-up Pap ears and a black spot on the lower back. Adorable looking. I hope your progess continues - can't wait until your little guy decides he is in charge - don't worry - might not happen - my 2 Alphas were clearly so from the beginning - but benevolent. How I miss them.
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