This is my first time posting on this forum, I am a new member. :-)

I did do a search but am not seeing my question, which is very basic. At what age do you walk a puppy on public sidewalks? I know it is supposed to be after 4 months when the vaccination series is complete. I have also read/heard much against doing all of the puppy shots and am wondering when it is safe to take my pup out in public?

I have purchased several of the DVD's from here and was watching a portion of the "Establishing Pack Structure" tonight. It was saying to, in the beginning of getting a new dog or puppy, to only take it out of it's crate for potty breaks and walks. I live in the suburbs so a walk in my yard isn't going to be much exercise.

I appreciate any responses.

Well, I'm no expert on the Vaccination battery, but I don't think that waiting to "socialize" your puppy until 4 months is going to be very productive for his/her training??

We brought our puppy to many places when she was young, but kept on leash and out of potentially harmful or stressful situations?

Hi Barbara,

You'll probably get different responses.

I didn't worry too much about diseases and my pup was minimally vaccinated. He came to work with me at a vet hospital where he was exposed to every kind of thing you can imagine and I live in the country with all kinds of wild critter poo in the fields.

Likewise, one of our vets lived over the shop and her Dobie pup was exposed 24/7 to whatever was brought into the hospital or into the back yard. That pup was not over-vaccinated and she never got sick. I would be much more cautious with a young pup who had a particularly hard start in life or who was recovering from a serious illness.

Dunno... maybe I'm a bad mom but I've always thought healthy animals have strong immune systems for having been exposed to stuff, not kept from it.

If I had any concern about you walking your pup it would be more for his joints than his health. You don't want to over-exercise pups while their joints are still growing.

You can take a dog out in public as long as you don't allow it to come in contact with other people or pets. I wait for public socialization until around 4months of age. But then again I don't train for a super social love everybody dog, people are not allowed to come and pet the puppy, I only allow certain people to pet the pup when he/she is about 5-6 months.

For me, public outings are after vaccs if I have done vaccs(which I am shying away from now) and are for getting the pup used to seeing people and things and used to new environments, not used to being touched. The pup is kept away from people and other animals for a while. I want dogs that are neutral to people.

Barb, I only do that crate all the time except for potty part for a few days, maybe a week. Play with a toy in the small yard or go for frequent walks but avoid people and other animals.



Edited by Jennifer Marshal (03/30/2008 12:42 AM)
Edit reason: add

I'm also really interested in hearing people's advice on this matter. So Jennifer when you take your puppy out how do you keep people from petting your puppy (without being completely rude)? When most people see a puppy they want to pet it.

Also you said you wait for public socialization until 4 months. Can you explain in further detail what you mean. I also want a dog that is neutral to people and that's why I'm asking.

I appreciate everyone's thoughts on this.

There are many dogs in my neighborhood, that are walked past my house, and I often when walking my other dog, 15-month-old, meet people with dogs. I can see not allowing other people to pet my pup unless she is timid of people, to overcome that, but I doubt she will be shy. I think I may take her out this afternoon just for a walk around the block. I did have a breeder tell me that if you wait until the typical 4 month age to get a GSD in public you will ruin it, that because of their temperament you must get them out around people before that. Not necessarily letting people touch the dog, just out in public being exposed to having people around. She said just to be very wise where the pup was taken, stores that normally don't have dogs out front; Home Depot for instance. I still need a way to actually exercise her. And I do agree with the comment about not over exercising because of stress to the pup's bones and joints. I suppose I could put my pup on the treadmill for 5 minutes but that seems way too young and more stressful to the joints, and does nothing for bonding.


I was playing ball with her in the yard after she pottied, for exercise, but then saw in the DVD that shouldn't be done (playing with your dog with toys) until pack structure is established. Maybe I just need to finish the DVD so I have the "whole" picture.

Maisha, I would just very nicely ask people to please not touch your dog. Just say she/he is in training or something.

It is my job to protect my pup, if I have to be rude to get the message across I will do so. Generally I don't need to, if people are coming at us I will say "Please do not touch the puppy, we are training" with a smile. If they persist, I step between them and the pup and repeat "I'm sorry but my puppy is in training and can't be handled by strangers right now." If they question further simply say "No, I'm sorry." When you think about it, if they persist after one polite request to not approach or touch the puppy THEY are the ones being rude. This is YOUR dog, not theirs.

It does depend on the pup. If a pup is showing signs of nervousness around people I will likely start socializing earlier, but only after developing a firm bond with the pup for several weeks. You need the pup to trust and respect you before you thrust them into strange and potentially scary situations. For nervous pups you have to pick locations carefully and know that you will probably need to be very firm with people Not Touching Your Puppy and not crossing the comfort zone of your pup. It is your job to protect that puppy.

When I say socialize I don't mean allowing people to come and pet and googoo gaagaa, I mean being in a place where there are people and things so the pup can first see and smell and hear from a distance, decreasing that distance at a comfortable pace for the pup. I want to always be the most fun thing around, the one that the pup looks to while being comfortable and relaxed in a public place.

For nervous pups I may decide to use the stranger gives a treat method but not too often. I don't want a pup to become obsessed with the possibility of a stranger giving them a treat, I only want them to be comfortable and relaxed with strangers. I always want the handler to be the most important thing for a pup. For nervous dogs especially I don't think forcing people on them is an answer, but how far I introduce strangers depends on the dog, the living situation for the owner/handler and dog, etc.

IMO I think it would be ok to take him for a walk up and down or around the block when their little. I think the worry is parvo which I was told can hang around in Poo or in the ground for months, so I just didnt go to parks and where dogs frequent until he was alittle older. I did 2 sets of shots instead of 3 - and he was fine but that is up to you with what you feel comfortable doing. If you are worried about parvo, etc. but want to get him out maybe you could take him to a friend or family member who has a back yard that you could walk him around in just for something different for him to do

Thanks Jennifer,

I have no problem being blunt but I wanted to know if there was something I could say before I had to go there. You cleared it up.

Just one more thing. My GSD will be 8 weeks when I get him. Just to be clear you think it would be okay to bond with him for a couple of weeks before I take him around to different places. It makes sense to bond with him so he can trust you but you always here with GSDs is to socialize, socialize. I guess what I'm saying I don't want to start when it's too late. I hope I'm making sense.

Barbara,

I think a lot depends on what you intend to do with the dog. Is the dog to be a pet, a sport dog or a working dog? have two pet GSDs, an older rescue that I got when she was 1-2 yo, and a younger male that I bought as a pup. Because the older dog is territorial, and problamatic for guests and kids, I spent a lot of time socializing the pup. I did not want another tense animal in the house. I live in a large city, and dogs need to be civil here. If I walk him on the street, I will pass lots of people, and he has to be very calm and social. I think what your breeder was saying is that because GSDs can be aloof and protective by nature, it is important to socialize them when young.

I got him at 9 or 10 weeks, and he immediataly met a few young teens and my own kids, and dogs. Starting a few weeks later, I took my pup every day to sit outside a playground, and allowed kids to touch him (with their parents permission of course). I then walked him to school with my middle school child, and let the squeeling teenage girls pet him, I let people on the street touch him, after asking, and I allowed supervised play with other dogs. I taught obedience all this time. I did not allow touching while I was training. As he matured, he naturally became more aloof, and protective, but his default is non-aggression. This is what I wanted in a dog. Even thought he is very gentle, I do not allow him near toddlers, I do not allow anyone to touch him in an elevator, and I expect people to ask for permission to touch him. I do not take him to any Petco type places. I also do not allow him access to strange dogs, he has a small group of known dogs to interact with, as well as our other two.

For me, and my purposes in having a dog, this is what I want. He was not bought, or trained, to be a guard dog or a PPD. He loves grip and focus work, and building drive, he does this all in prey drive, I have never done anything to test or bring out his defensive drives or fight drives. He does bark, throw up his ruff,and stand between a family member and a precieved threat, but I do not worry that he will bite someone. I am also not at all sure that he would bite someone to defend me, but in my neighborhood, this is a very unlikely occurance. His size and appearance is intimidating enough to the average badguy.