Safe to allow strangers to pet young pup?

[Maxy24]

Yes people can pet your pup all they want as long as she does not appear too fearful, if she is offer the person a treat to give her. Until she is vaccinated keep her from high traffic dog areas, go to regular human parks and walk by bus stops when the bus tends to come. You can and should allow the dog to meet with friendly dogs who are vaccinated (friend's dogs who you KNOW are).

 

[smkie]

YOur family and friends that stop by are plenty enough socialization for this age. THe point is for them to become non fearful of people they don't know. But at 8 weeks, they are infants and just don't need that kind of exposure. I agree with GRammy, the family is enough at this stage.

 

[lizzybeth727]

I prefered not having my pups around other dogs until fullly protacted . I felt that they were well socialized while with me . With one litter , my " friend " who had pick of the litter and was debating one of 2 females , took the pups to both an OFA specialist and her groomer for evaluation . Both develooped earlu sesizures . Wht !?

I'm sorry, but I really don't think there's ANY reason to believe that taking puppies to a groomer and an OFA specialist would cause seizures later in life, if that's what you're trying to say. It sounds like an unfortunate coincidence.

 

[Dekka]

Totally socialize! There are some interesting stats.. can't find them at the moment. BUT it is crazy how many dogs get PTS from lack of socialization vs dying from contracting things before they are fully vaccinated. The greatest risk for your pup to get something is the vets.

The window of socialization (this has been extensively studies) closes on average at 4 months. You want your dog to have met (and this means handled by) 100's of people.

Its not the petting of your dog that is the main risk, its sick animals. So no I wouldn't go in pet stores unless you carry your pup. But hardware stores, any store that lets dogs in (but not pet stores-unless it is a small mom and pup store that sells no animals and has low traffic) open air markets etc etc.

I carry little treats around with me when I have a pup and ask people to give her one when they stop and pet her.

 

[Romy]

A good rule of thumb to follow: before they turn 16 weeks they need to have met at least 100 different people, 100 different places, and as many different vaccinated/titered dogs as possible.

I'm going to have to agree with Sis here. This is what we practiced with Strider, and turned out really great. He's already starting to show strong signs of recovering mentally from being attacked twice in the same week by dogs a month ago. I don't think he would have that kind of emotional resilience without the kind of early exposure to everything Sis is talking about.

He loves loves loves people, never once went through a fear period. Every dog will grow differently, but I feel that he would be a totally different dog with a very different temperament if we sheltered him those first weeks. We even took him camping in the Chiricahua MTS when he was 15-16 weeks old, with a friend's pair of well mannered fully vaccinated dogs so he could have the experience of playing in a river and traveling, long car rides, etc. That was when he finally learned to poop on leash, lol. He can walk calmly next to a freight train, or a cement truck, any of those things and none of it fazes him.

 

[goldiefur]

Hmmm I would stay out of ANY store that allows pets in. Our petsmart is contaminated with Parvo right now. A vet assist that used to work there said they do not bleach the floors and when a dog does come in with parvo they do not have a separate entrance and the sick dogs walk all over the store. The vet assist said they would tell the managers the whole store needed to be bleached and they did nothing about it. We have a huge outbreak of Parvo here in Louisiana that could be under control if this place was not swarming with morons. These people know their dogs have Parvo but they walk them through the store anyway. Me personally I would not let strangers pet my dog until all shots were up to date. I have a new puppy myself and the vet told me to keep him out of public until his vaccines are done.

 

[goldiefur]

If you really want to socialize right away I would get family and friends to do it.

 

[dr2little]

Socialization is so important. Who ever gave the 100 rule by 16 weeks is absolutely right on. Stats tell us that more dogs die because of the consequences of lack of socialization than the number lost to disease...by a long shot.

The only reason that I mentioned pet stores is because if they do carry pups, then disease is present. I would not even take my adult dogs to a pet store that sells pups. The staff handle the sick puppies and then touch my dog....NO WAY!

As a matter of fact, we have a pet store here that has a "pets for life" program (rescue) and I will often handle the cases slated for euth. but will not go into a store to see them nor will I see another client without changing my clothing first.

Pet stores are to dog what sick childrens hospital wards are to kids....no way would I take any chances.

There are so many other less risky places to socialize your pup.

 

[Dekka]

If you really want to socialize right away I would get family and friends to do it.

LOL maybe, but I dont' have enough family and friends! No where near over a hundred! If I had a huge family maybe

 

[Romy]

What I discovered is a really great, fast, and relatively safe way to hit that 100 mark is to visit your local hospital (without your dog the first time). Talk to the security guys there, since they are the ones who might make you leave if they think you are a weirdo. Ask them if it would be all right for you to bring your puppy and sit outside the main entrance with it during lunch hour. Explain that you would like to certify your dog as a therapy dog some day, if that is something you'd like to do. If they say it's all right, show up around noon with your puppy. Most hospitals have a roundabout in the front where people get dropped off and picked up by the dozen. Bring a lot of treats, hold your puppy or have him on a leash. Ask everybody who walks by if they could give your dog a treat and let them pet him. Your puppy will see everything. Wheelchairs. Ambulances. Oxygen tanks. All colors of people, all ages of people. And there is an extremely low chance of encountering another dog. Hospital lunch hour is super rush time, and a great time to cram a lot of positive experiences together with a lot of new stimuli.

Other things you can do is contact your local firefighters. They generally work 72 hour shifts, and get kind of bored between calls. Most firefighters would be delighted to play with a puppy for a little while, maybe put on a mask and give it a treat, or even turn on some sirens while you cram teriyaki duck skin in your dog's mouth. It can be a good idea to get your dog to like people in uniforms, since these are the people who might be pulling you out of a mangled car wreck some day and you do not want them to have to shoot your dog because your dog wouldn't let them help you as you were bleeding to death.

 

[GSDlover_4ever]

Personally, I wouldnt take any chances in a petstore. There are plenty of places to socialize that dont involve other pets. Hardware store (as already suggested) and what I like to do is stand outside of stores, like meijers or wal-mart and just allow the puppy to observe. If people approach and ask to pet, thats fine (but do NOT allow your pup to be overwhelmed) and the chances of them just recently petting another dog prior to that is slim.

 

[DogLuvvr]

Thanks for your replies, everyone.

To the folks who bring their pup out in public but would not allow strangers to pet the pup, what do you do when someone attempts to pet your pup without asking? Do you move the pup out of their reach and explain that you don't allow strangers to pet your unvaccinated pup?

It seems that there is no clear answer regarding whether strangers should be allowed to pet pups. There have obviously been studies recommending that pups be socialized extensively throughout the first four months by exposure to various people, sounds, and sights, but there is also a risk that the pup might catch a virus, even by being petted by a stranger. Sure, we can say the risk is low, but how do we know that unless we know where the person has just been? I would bet that most people do not verify that the stranger had not just touched another dog before being allowed to pet the pup. Furthermore, if the stranger is in a place that permits dogs (like a hardware store), chances are the person could have just pet another dog that could quite possibly have had a virus. You just never know.

Don't get me wrong, I am taking every precaution I can to protect my little guy, but there just seems to be conflicting information out there about the risks of contracting a virus. I mean, how far do you go to ensure your pup is safe? Do you take your shoes off before entering your home, especially if you are returning from a pet store? If so, do you require all of your guests to do the same until the pup is fully vaccinated? If you are walking down the street and pass a stray dog, do you turn in the other direction to protect your pup from the risk of contracting a virus that can be transmitted in the air? Like I mentioned above, do you make sure a stranger who wants to pet your dog did not recently touch another dog?

I would think most people do not take these precautions, and my question is whether you need to to protect your pup.

 

[smkie]

Yes on the shoes, or wipe off the soles with a bleached cloth and let dry if i have been to the pet store or the vet office, or an off leash park. Honestly i would lean on teh over protective side when a pup is this young. I don't ever remember taking any of my pups out of the house at that age. FAMily and children's friends were allowed to visit (with monitoring on the children you can't be too careful there either) and all of my dogs, every single one has been people friendly. I Don't think VIctor had much of anything but some severe teasing and abuse before i got him at 5 months and you could not get any more people friendly then he is. DOn't know if that answers your question or not, i just don't think it is necessary at all to bring people i dont' know around my babies.

 

[funzo333]

as long as he's not around strange dogs, I would be ok with it. The chances of a person passing a disease to you dog are so minimal, that I wouldn't worry about it

 

[Toller_08]

I really wouldn't worry too much. Due to Dance's breed and their extreme sensitivities to almost all vaccines out there, I had no choice but to take her out in public and socialize her with just a single Parvo shot (at 12 weeks). She survived just fine. I just made sure not to take her to heavily populated dog areas, and did most of our socializing around malls and schools and such.

When we got Keira, I waited until she was 9.5/10 weeks to start taking her out a lot, but it had nothing to do with her vaccination schedule. I feel at 8 weeks it's a little overwhelming to start heavy socialization right away, and she was just getting used to her family at that point, so I figured waiting a week or so to start going places wasn't going to hurt her. And it didn't... she adores people & is fantastic with other dogs.

 

[Dekka]

Just to point out I know breeders who are anti vacc. These are pretty big time breeders too. With lots of ch dogs who show in other areas too. They will not sell pups to people if they will vaccinate any more than what is required by law.

They have been doing so for generations (some for almost 20 years). Strangely enough they don't have sick and dying pups.

Not saying I don't vacc my pups, just saying its not always as risky as some vets would have you believe. My vet encourages people to take their pups out and meet people.

If you are really worried then I would look at breed type and parent's temperament. If you have a lab from lines where they are smushes and love all people-then you can maybe wait. If you have an edgier breed then I would NOT wait.

 

[IcyHound]

I will, can, do, have, continue to, often will, shall, and have not had a problem with.

 

[HoundedByHounds]

The danger posed to a dog from poor socialization is IMO much higher than that from disease. I always have my youngsters OUT and being handled by many when they should be....8-16 weeks and beyond. Mine don't get vaccinations til 8 weeks so I can be sure that immunity window is open to the vacc.

I avoid dog heavy places and instead do supermarkets Home Depot...schools...etc.

 

[DogLuvvr]

Thanks for the advice, everyone.