Max out in the Lake District

[wowie69]

I don't know if anyone else follows their page...but why are they letting a 9 week old puppy out in the fields and in the lake before his 12 week jabs? Am I missing something?

I presume they know a bit about dogs, having had three before.

He's probably already vaccinated.

Some vets will start vaccinations as early as 4-6 weeks old and so they can be fully protected at 8-10 weeks.

I don't follow the page, so I am speaking in general principles here.

If the mother is vaccinated, it's likely the puppy will have meaningful maternal immunity. One of the reasons for a series of vaccinations is that maternal immunity tapers off at a different rate in every puppy. The aim is to catch the point it tapers off with one of them, so that the window when the puppy is unprotected is as short as possible.

The initial socialisation window closes by 12-16 weeks and, if you don't get the pup out at all until after their last vaccine, you miss most of that window. Far more young dogs die due to euthanasia on behavioural grounds than to infectious diseases.

So there's a tradeoff between early socialisation and not exposing them to disease risk. Everyone will manage that tradeoff differently, taking into account breed temperament, local environment, local disease levels, and owner appetite for risk. A low trafficked field in the lake district has a different risk profile from a busy park that gets hundreds of dogs a day, and different again from an area with stagnant water with a heavy rat population.

I personally socialise early, getting my pups out and exploring well before the 12 week point. I'm not saying that's right for everyone, and there are other solutions (e.g. carrying the puppy everywhere), but it's what I have decided is right for me and mine.

There's an American paper at https://avsab.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Puppy_Socialization_Position_Statement_Download_-_10-3-14.pdf which looks at this in the context of puppy classes pre-vaccination

I'm assuming they have an open page since you're following them. Why not ask them, not us, for their reasoning?

I personally socialise early, getting my pups out and exploring well before the 12 week point. I'm not saying that's right for everyone, and there are other solutions (e.g. carrying the puppy everywhere), but it's what I have decided is right for me and mine.

So do I for exactly those reasons. However, my vet has always told me to stick to pavements and avoid grassy areas until after the final jabs, and definitely avoid water because of other diseases carried in it (can't recall what they are)

Interesting I would avoid pavements like the plague where other dogs may have walked.

Leptospirosis is the disease with water. The vaccine is not totally effective and it can be treated and cured if caught in time however I would not want my puppy to catch it if it can be avoided.

I guess it is all down to the owners own risk assessment.

We are lucky to have a lot of our own land and our puppies are always allowed out on that before all the vaccinations are complete.

The puppies will have some immunity from their mothers (if healthy mothers) which is why the vaccination programme usually starts at 8 weeks not 4.

Depending on where you get your pup from most pedigree pups get their first jab at 6 weeks.

They do, but they're not fully protected until a week after their next lot of jabs.

Lots of vets encourage puppies to get out as soon as they've had their second jabs, as they believe the benefits of socialisation massively outweigh any potential risks.

@wowie69 personally I took my dog out but not on floor as he had had first vaccine when I got him . My dog was full vaccinated and allowed on floor at 11 weeks old. A few weeks waiting is better than losing your dog. You can get a dog buggy push them around til they are old enough.

Lots of vets encourage puppies to get out as soon as they've had their second jabs, as they believe the benefits of socialisation massively outweigh any potential risks.

Yes I know, but the puppy in question is 9 weeks old so will only have had one lot of jabs.

Not necessarily.

As I said above, some vets will start the vaccination process as young as 4-6 weeks, so they get their second set of jabs at around 8-9 weeks. I'm sure Kerry and Angela know what they're doing and aren't taking an unvaccinated puppy out to dive in the lakes.