My breeder and vet (which I admit isn't a holistic and I take their advice with a grain of salt) both told me to avoid pet heavy places parks stores and what not. I am not big on vaccines but usually do the puppy ones and then not really into the yearly ones. How do you guys manage this issue? If your of the no vaccine mindset do you avoid any places for fear of parvo? If you get some vaccines do you avoid or jump in right away or wait till 16 weeks as was suggested?

I socialize early but cautiously. I want to have my young pup experience as many new environments as possible. But they don't need to be "dog" environments. So take them to visit friends, stop by quiet playgrounds to explore. Ask about taking them in Lowe's (most allow dogs). Meet up with someone with a neutral, vaccinated older dog. I brought my pup home at 9.5 weeks and visited at least 3 new places a week for the first couple months.

ETA - I do vaccinate. Minimally, but they do have basic parvo/distemper puppy shots along with rabies.

I breed Poms and Shepherds - I vaccinate my Shepherds once at 7-8 weeks before going to their new homes at the owners request, and the Poms are vaccinated closer to 12 weeks, again at the owners request. If an owner requests no vaccine, I don't give one. Any dog that stays with me is not vaccinated until a minimum of 12 weeks old and that is the only vaccine they will receive their whole lives unless we travel the US (we do regularly), then I give the Rabies vax as required by law.

My puppies go EVERYWHERE at 8 weeks and beyond. I don't use dog parks ever and I don't bring my puppy to the certain parts of town where stray dogs congregate. Other than that, they go everywhere.

With my last litter of Poms we did a road trip (3000 kms each way); 4 Poms (11 weeks), one Shepherd pup (11 weeks) and 2 adult Shepherds. We stopped for potty breaks regularly, went for walks once we got to our destination etc.

Parvo is a very real threat here - but really seems the worst in the outlying communities.

My dogs are all raw fed and I use various essential oils throughout their lives, including blends to support immune system and digestion (for upset tummies) which have proven incredibly effective. Especially because my dogs attend shows and trials regularly, illness spreads fast at those things. So my dogs never go to them without oils on their paws to support immune system etc.

At 16 weeks the best socialization window is already shut. That's WAY too late. Maternal antibodies are gone by 12 weeks. The vaccination given at that time protests the dog fully. I don't know where that breeder is getting 16 weeks from but that's a potentially seriously harmful recommendation for a puppy.

I take my young pups to specialty pet stores with low dog traffic(Pet Club mostly), hardware stores, walk them at strip malls, attend outdoor parades/festivals, etc.

I won't take a pup with less than 2 sets of shots to places like PetSmart, PetCo, or parks with a heavy dog population. Once they have that second set I'm fine with taking them just about anywhere.

If the pup's immune system has been stressed by something I might be a little leery of taking them to heavily dog used areas until they're firmly past the illness.

 Quote: Niomi Smith

Especially because my dogs attend shows and trials regularly, illness spreads fast at those things. So my dogs never go to them without oils on their paws to support immune system etc.

What kind of oils do you put on their paws?

She has had kennel cough and three sets of shots. The vet was like wait till 3 weeks after the last set (which is way to late for my comfort). I am like okay that is retarded. I will take her to lowes and small traffic parks and a lake even. Also the strip mall idea is great, thanks.

Sometimes maternal antibodies are still present at 14-15 weeks. That's why 4 months is usually the recommendation for rabies. The point of a series of puppy shots is to be sure they're getting protection from the vaccine as soon as maternal antibodies wear off not because they need multiple shots.

I prefer to shift the vaccines later because of this. My pup had his first vaccine at the breeder's place, next one at 12-13 w/o and last one at 16-17 w/o Another option would be to run titers to see if they are protected or not before giving shots at 16 weeks

Hey Cathy! I sent you a PM!

I socialize early with family and friend's dogs.

At the same time the schutzhund club I belonged to trained at a public park were other different dog clubs were active.

We can protect only so much without loosing good chances to expose our dogs to the world so I would think it's as much about how serious the problems are in a given area.