Unvaccinated puppy - where is safe for him to go?

[PawprintsOnMyHeart]

I'm collecting my new puppy from a rescue in a couple of weeks. The rescue is 3 hours drive away through rural countryside.

I assume we'll need to stop at least a couple of times on the way home for pup to have a wee etc. But he won't be vaccinated yet - what are the risks of allowing him out in a layby for example? How do they pick up disease - is it through direct contact with other dogs, or could he pick something up from the grass?

Also, he'll be going to doggie daycare at my friend's farm where there are some unvaccinated dogs. He'll have had his first set of jabs by then, but not his second set. Friend says she'll keep him away from the unvaccinated dogs and carry him around - is this ok?

I'm a bit puzzled at the risk factor during those first few unvaccinated weeks.

You'll get different answers to this as some people vaccinate but some don't.

I've never vaccinated. I took mine out from day 1

Socialising them is the most important thing you can do for them (other then training of course!). By the time you wait for the "safety point" you've missed half of the crucial socialising period.

Puppies still have antibodies from their mothers milk up until they're 16 weeks old. This means that even if they do come into contact with a disease they'll have the antibodies to fight that disease.

If you're planning on vaccinating but want to take him out, for your own piece of mind just keep him away from places which have a lot of dogs visit such as doggy parks etc.

Truthfully though, he'll be fine. He's not gunna role over and die just because you've put him on the ground.

Dogs lived for thousands of years before we came along insisting on vaccinating them

Can you take some puppy pads or newspaper with you and pop him on that to pee when you stop on the journey?

Hi OP
see
www.thepuppyplan.com
for clear socialisation guidance, it's a great resource.

Please ignore the nonsense previous post:
Puppies still have antibodies from their mothers milk up until they're 16 weeks old. This means that even if they do come into contact with a disease they'll have the antibodies to fight that disease.

The presence of antibodies will vary depending on the mum's vaccination status and the age of weaning. It's perfectly possible for a puppy to die of distemper or parvo before the age of 16 weeks.

However the risks do need to be weighed up against the risks of unwanted behaviour problems due to poor socialisation.

I'd be wary of the daycare if there are groups of unvaccinated dogs there. Also it's important that socialisation is a positive learning experience - not a puppy fending off lots of bigger, older dogs - are you confident your friend will supervise properly?

There are useful links on a range of dog topics on this thread

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/the_doghouse/2956670-Useful-resources-for-common-questions

Dogs lived for thousands of years before we came along insisting on vaccinating them

Except for the millions of unvaccinated dogs that die of infectious disease. Have you ever see a puppy with its insides turned out due to parvo? Or one with distemper encephalitis and pneumonia? No thought not.

Only someone with zero experience of infectious disease in dogs (and wearing a tinfoil hat) could be so utterly confident about something they have no knowledge/experience of.

You need to avoid unvaccinated dogs and areas where dogs have fouled until your pup has had all his vaccinations.

So out in your garden is ok but carry them outside the home. As PP said on the route home if you need to stop find a clean area and place paper or puppy pads down and have him on a lead so you can keep him in one spot.

As for the daycare. How many dogs are there and unvaccinated? Why are they unvaccinated because every day care I looked at required vaccinations. Is it easy to segregate them and do you have confidence that your friend understands the risks. Mine went to daycare at 13 weeks but fully vaccinated and they only had a very small number of dogs. If there are lots of big bouncy dogs make sure that your friend understands that the puppy will need supervising so he gets positive socialisation as Veterinari said.

A Vet said plus your pup is coming from a rescue so it is highly likely that Mum was never vaccinated so has no antibodies to pass on to pup.
Consult your vet for the local risks as in my area at the moment Parvo is a serious issue with several puppies having died this year.

Parvo is horrible. Please don't leave your puppy in doggy daycare until fully vaccinated. I'm surprised there is one allowing unvaccinated dogs -vaccinations are usually a requirement!

I wouldn't put a puppy in daycare that young,vaccinated or not. How are you planning on training him?

It's a weigh up. Ddog is having his last jabs today and will take him out shortly after. Not waiting two full weeks but still wanted him done before properly taking him out as he is 11 weeks old and need to get him socialising.

We collected wolfie pup from breeder 3 hours away. We didn't stop. We took towels and cleaning stuff but didn't use it as she stayed clean.
Until she was covered by vaccines she stayed in my garden, in my arms or in the back of the car.
I wouldn't put a new pup in daycare. Not appropriate. They need to be separated from unvaccinated dogs and carefully introduced to other dogs for very short sessions. Risk of injury.

Rats carry dangerous diseases for dogs too, so I wouldn't even put down at the side of a road for a wee. Plus he won't be trained enough yet to hold it and then do it when you let him out, so pretty pointless! Take towels.

JigglyTuff although my pup was abit older the lady looking after mine did continue with his training as we agreed on what commands to use for what. What would worry me more than anything was why this daycare allowed unvaccinated dogs as I have never seen that.

It's a balancing act between the risk of disease, the puppy's need for socialisation, the puppy's need for exercise and stimulation, and how you as an individual weight those things.

I have had working-line puppies who go stir-crazy when kept confined, so I have made myself slightly unpopular with the vet by taking calculated risks, on the basis that a dog being raised with access to a large rural garden with a footpath alongside would be equally exposed to pathogens.

But as others have said, I wouldn't put a young puppy in doggy day care. How old is the puppy your will be collecting?

Continuing training is fine Bitey - but it sounds like this puppy is going straight into daycare the moment the OP gets him.

I agree with Wolfiefan - there is a huge danger to a tiny puppy from being around adult dogs, and not just catching something nasty from them.