Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 12
Results 11 to 20 of 20
  1. #11
    Senior Dog Tanya's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Eastern Ontario Canada
    Posts
    3,336
    Thanked: 2070
    Quote Originally Posted by taysel View Post
    Thank you all for your advice!

    I finally got in touch with the neighbor who said her dogs were very dog friendly and up to date on their shots and she wants to have a play date soon for the socialization!

    I appreciate everyone's insight. I am taking off of work the first week we have the puppy to help get him acclimated and look forward to working with him and socializing around town!
    that's great, i highly recommend starting work on crate training day 1 and to practice leaving the puppy for a few minutes each day even if you are off work so it's less of a shock when you are gone all day. Do you have a plan to get him outside to potty while you are at work?

    remember socialization is only good when it's positive. it's good to get the puppy out there i completely agree and encourage it (in safe environments, in a smart way). But if the puppy needs space or doesn't want to be pet please back off. people can toss or hand him treats if he isn't wanting to get in for full petting right away. Watch what he does when he has the choice. You can encourage coax and make it positive to get him over his fears but don't "force or push" things on him.

  2. The Following User Says Thank You to Tanya For This Useful Post:

    Charlotte K. (10-05-2016)

  3. #12
    Puppy
    Join Date
    Oct 2016
    Location
    Virginia
    Posts
    23
    Thanked: 5
    Quote Originally Posted by Tanya View Post
    that's great, i highly recommend starting work on crate training day 1 and to practice leaving the puppy for a few minutes each day even if you are off work so it's less of a shock when you are gone all day. Do you have a plan to get him outside to potty while you are at work?
    The breeder has already started working with the crate with the litter so I'm hoping crate training will go nice and quickly. When we went to visit them, they were playing in the grass in a pen with a crate in the middle and I noticed some of the puppies would go in there to lay down if their siblings were getting too rambunctious.

    My husband and I will stagger our working hours for these first few months - I'll start work at 6 and come home between 3 and 4. He'll stay with the puppy until shortly before 8 and come back for lunch around noon. We know this is pushing it with the little bladder but we've both had changes in our careers in the two months since we've committed to this litter that made our work days a little more restrictive (I changed jobs and he received a staff that he must now supervise). We have no internet and no cable at our house so the puppy will certainly receive a lot of attention before and after work

    Quote Originally Posted by Tanya View Post
    remember socialization is only good when it's positive. it's good to get the puppy out there i completely agree and encourage it (in safe environments, in a smart way). But if the puppy needs space or doesn't want to be pet please back off. people can toss or hand him treats if he isn't wanting to get in for full petting right away. Watch what he does when he has the choice. You can encourage coax and make it positive to get him over his fears but don't "force or push" things on him.
    Thank you! I will certainly keep that in mind!

  4. #13
    Senior Dog shellbell's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    St. Louis area
    Posts
    836
    Thanked: 497
    Here is some good info on puppy socialization. The risk of any type of infection is pretty small as a result of the combination of maternal immunity and their initial vaccinations given at the appropriate intervals. It would be riskier (IMO) to chance a behavioral problem from keeping the puppy isolated until he is considered fully vaccinated.

    https://avsab.org/wp-content/uploads..._-_10-3-14.pdf

  5. #14
    Senior Dog Tanya's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Eastern Ontario Canada
    Posts
    3,336
    Thanked: 2070
    Quote Originally Posted by taysel View Post
    The breeder has already started working with the crate with the litter so I'm hoping crate training will go nice and quickly. When we went to visit them, they were playing in the grass in a pen with a crate in the middle and I noticed some of the puppies would go in there to lay down if their siblings were getting too rambunctious.

    My husband and I will stagger our working hours for these first few months - I'll start work at 6 and come home between 3 and 4. He'll stay with the puppy until shortly before 8 and come back for lunch around noon. We know this is pushing it with the little bladder but we've both had changes in our careers in the two months since we've committed to this litter that made our work days a little more restrictive (I changed jobs and he received a staff that he must now supervise). We have no internet and no cable at our house so the puppy will certainly receive a lot of attention before and after work



    Thank you! I will certainly keep that in mind!

    Sweet! you are super well set-up. I really hope when I do get a puppy (probably not until I retire) that the breeder started on crate training worse case a few weeks of a dog walker/neighbour for mid-day pee break but won't be long until they can hold it or set-up an expen with a potty area/litter (not ideal but if they have trouble keeping the crate clean it's an option)

  6. #15
    Best Friend Retriever
    Join Date
    Jul 2016
    Location
    Ohio
    Posts
    517
    Thanked: 103
    IMHO; I see much being made out of the breeder starting crate training, and though I think it's a fine idea when I brought Rocco home he had never seen a crate, zero problems, zero crying at night, yes maybe I was just lucky.
    My only point is often I see things repeated over and over and wonder what kinda message is being sent to folks considering a new pup.
    Many things are good, but not mandatory.

  7. The Following User Says Thank You to Bernie For This Useful Post:

    Meeps83 (10-05-2016)

  8. #16
    Senior Dog
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Ellicott City, MD
    Posts
    6,626
    Thanked: 3641
    All good advice above.

    Welcome to the board.

    Two things to remember:

    We like pictures.

    Vets don't tell you everything. That's why we need to ask questions...at the vet's office as we think of them and here as we think of them. (I've never had a vet tell me to carry my puppy at the vet office and I've carried them all.)

    Oh, a third thing....hard surfaces like pavement are far less likely to transmit any pathogens. Grass where dogs/wildlife have walked are far more problematic than the sidewalks and parking lots.

    Enjoy your pup!

  9. #17
    Senior Dog Snowshoe's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    8,136
    Thanked: 5108
    When I saw your title I thought your question was going to be about which, when and how many vaccinations to give. That's another big conundrum for most of us. There is lots of information to suggest we have been over vaccinating our pets. Have you run into any of that literature? It's definitely something else to bone up on.

    Pet Vaccination, Vaccine Dangers, and Vaccinosis


    Dangerous Over-Vaccination Is On The Rise - Dogs Naturally Magazine


    Rabies vaccination is by law in most places (not all) but the others we have some choice in. It would be nice if the Vet authorities would all agree about it.
    Hidden Content

    Castilleja's Dubhgall Oban, the Black Stranger of The Little Bay
    Oct. 15, 2007 - June 13, 2021
    Oxtongue Rapids Park. Oct. 2019 Hidden Content

  10. #18
    Best Friend Retriever
    Join Date
    Jul 2016
    Location
    Ohio
    Posts
    517
    Thanked: 103
    I'm being redundant here, so will make it short;
    please make sure all corners of your crate are secured, (cable ties work good) also, always use both latches on the door.
    puppies push when they find an opening and it's no fun to find his head stuck cause he can't get it back in.

  11. #19
    Senior Dog Shelley's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    United States
    Posts
    1,226
    Thanked: 1739
    Quote Originally Posted by taysel View Post
    We will be getting our 8 week old puppy this Sunday! I am pretty nervous about doing everything right, and one of my biggest fears is over the puppy getting sick before his vaccines are up to speed. I've read some horror stories about puppies dying because the owner let them go outside, and other stories where people took their fresh puppy on all sorts of walks in areas with other potentially unvaccinated dogs.

    How serious is the risk of infection? I've read that we shouldn't let him walk on the floor of the vet's office, but if it was such a serious concern, wouldn't the vet have stressed that to me on the phone when I made the appointment?

    I'm also a little concerned because our neighbor's dog wanders into our yard every so often. It's a totally friendly dog with county tags (indicating it's had it's rabies shots), but I haven't been able to get in touch with the owner to ask her whether it's vaccinated (although believe me I am trying!).

    I appreciate any and all guidance! Thank you!
    The reason vaccines are spread out every 3-4 weeks for the puppy series, is that we really don't know when maternal antibodies wear off, and it varies puppy to puppy, even from the same litter. So we give a series of vaccinations, hoping that we caught the window where the maternal protection ends, and we can effectively stimulate the puppy's own immune system with the vaccine. This window can be a period of time that the puppy is unprotected by maternal antibodies, thats why it is scary to take a young puppy to unsafe places. Most puppies do not seroconvert or react to a 6 or 8 week vaccination, but a very small percentage do, so we start vaccinating then. I read a study where almost 95% seroconverted at 12 weeks, and the 16 vaccination will catch any that the if any didn't at 12 weeks. In the show community, there has been a few dogs I know of, that have gotten Parvo around 6 months of age, so I have gone to the initial puppy series, then another one around 6 months of age.

    I *usually* feel more comfortable socializing puppies after the 12 week vaccination, but you have to get them out during the critical 8-12 week socialization period. Get in the car and go for fun rides, sit in parking lots, with treats and get them used to the sights and sounds of the world. I take puppies to Starbucks at 8 weeks, they sit in my lap while my hubby goes in for coffee. In the 15 minutes or so it takes us to have our coffee, we get 10-15 people visiting our puppy. My goal is for the puppy to meet 100 different people in the 8-12 week period. I also put a clean towel in a basket at my local hardware store, its an OSH, or Home Depot, and have anyone my puppy meets give them one of my treats. Anything you want your puppy to do later in life, try to expose them to before 12 weeks, car rides, boat rides, swimming, the sound of shotguns, etc... etc... Just do it safely. I carry puppies into the vet's office.

    I show my dogs, I need them bomb proof, so we do a lot, we also go to handling class at least once before 12 weeks, all the dogs are required to show proof of vaccination before they can participate, so I know my puppy is safe there. Puppy kindergarten is a good safe way to socialize your puppy too, as long as the facility is safe. (Not pet stores)

    Breeders spend the more critical time period of 0-8 + weeks with the puppies, so the more they expose the puppy to loud noises, TV, the vacuum, household noises, crates, doorway thresholds, steps, different flooring surfaces, grass, car rides (mine go for at least a few rides, one to my vet for a check up, and one to the animal eye Dr for a CERF exam) leashes, learning to walk on a slack lead, (so they never learn to pull), and other challenges to build confidence.
    When I have a litter, I place a crate in the puppies night time pen, (The door taken off or zip tied open) with a soft comfy bed, and they all pile in there to sleep at night. We have bright lights, a TV on loudly, and lots of noise during the day, and it's cookies and lights out for them to sleep at night. My 6 week old puppies sleep from about 11pm, to 6 or 7 am, then they all get up and use the potty box. They have a potty box at one end, and a clean area to eat, sleep and play, so they go home mostly crate trained and housebroken. So what your breeder does during that time totally affects your puppy's potential.

  12. The Following User Says Thank You to Shelley For This Useful Post:

    Charlotte K. (10-06-2016)

  13. #20
    Puppy
    Join Date
    Oct 2016
    Location
    Virginia
    Posts
    23
    Thanked: 5
    Thank you to everyone for your advice and insights! We are definitely very excited (and extremely nervous!) to enter this new chapter in our lives on Sunday! I'll post a picture as soon as I can Sunday

  14. The Following User Says Thank You to taysel For This Useful Post:

    Meeps83 (10-06-2016)

 



Not a Member of the Labrador Retriever Chat Forums Yet?
Register for Free and Share Your Labrador Retriever Photos

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •