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Puppy Class? - Socialization or Illness prevention? Hi so I signed my puppy up for classes. He will be 15 weeks old 2.5 lbs when the class starts. That's one week away from his 3rd and final puppy vaccine (i think the 5/1 DHPP shot?) The trainer told me that he will be OK in the class because they require all the dogs to show proof that they have had their shots. The class is for puppies up to 6 months old. Do you all think this is OK? I care a lot about having an obedient, well mannered dog who is well socialized etc....but I don't want it to be at the cost of his health. :confused: Do you think it's OK that he is 1 week away from his last vaccine?:confused: Should I maybe bring him to the class but keep him in his carrier crate? or should I let him roam the class free since he has had his first 2 shots? -do the first 2 shots give him some prevention from getting ill?:confused: Thanks!:) |
Joey's breeder told me to take him lots of places, but don't put him around other dogs until 2 weeks after his 16 week shots. It takes a couple of weeks to get the immunity, right after the shot, they are a little sick sometimes. Anyway, another problem I have with taking a Yorkie that young and small to puppy classes is most the dogs in puppy classes are much bigger breeds, and a large breed puppy is often very clumsy, Joey was older, but he was trampled by the larger puppies in his class. They didn't have a small breed class, so we signed up for trick training instead. The dogs in that class were all adults and very well behaved, so nobody jumped on Joey. The trainers in these classes are not often that great, one told me to take Joey to a dog park to help with socialization, and he got trampled there too. Anyway, if I were you, I’d wait until he was older, and I’d try to find a small breed puppy class. I feel like some of the things we did to try to help socialize Joey, ended up making him more fearful. |
Thank you for your reply. I will be extra careful with him since he's so small... hmm i had been reading a lot about how essential early socialization is. That dogs are more likely to have behavioral issues than catch a dog virus. The trainer said that the other dogs would have to show proof of vaccination too. She said that the my puppy should be fine in the class... I'm not sure what I'm going to do, maybe just go to the classes myself and leave him in the car or maybe bring him in his crate? I just want him to get the experience he needs. |
To play it safe, I agree with Nancy. My breeder said much the same thing. That said, I bent the rules with Jillie for one main reason: I think those first weeks of a dog's life are incredibly important for socialization, and you should be doing everything you can in those weeks to expose your dog to people, places, things and other animals. I didn't take a public class that young, but I did take her to meetups with a handful of friends. I knew them well and I knew their dogs well. We met at a location I deemed safe from exposure to other dogs who might have a disease. It was a risk, and my breeder wasn't happy with me, but the risk paid off. I have a terrifically social 4 1/2 pound Yorkie. If she'd been exposed to a disease, I would likely be singing a different tune, but in my case the risk was worth the reward. |
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I wouldn't expose my pup to a public class before all shoots are done. While I wait for full immunity, I'd be working on the ground rules I have for my home, and some basic obedience/simple tricks. This is just my opinion of course, and this is what I would be comfortable doing. |
I took all three of my dogs to puppy classes before completing their puppy shots. The socialization before 16 weeks of age is critical. I agree with your trainer completely. Good luck! |
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