Please be very careful of what you expose your baby too. Mine never walk on the vet's floor and usually wait outside in the car until their appointment. Pet store pups are exposed to so many things they are not who you want your dog to play with. Not their fault, but dangerous all the same.:(

Thank the baby. He is the one that found me! For some unknown reason, I decided to stop by a pet store that I did not usually patronize. I was headed back to the cat treat isle looking for a brand of treats that I had not been able to find (for one of my other cats). Then, I heard the little mew. I looked down and here was this adorable Himalyan kitten looking up at me, mewing, as if to say, "Lady, please take me home with you!" I held him and that was it. The clerk said, "do you know how much he costs?" I said "I don't care" and handed him the plastic. We went to the vet right after that. He is now my best friend. He is so special. You would never know that Sonney had such a rough start. I know this is a Yorkie site but I just had to share this story. I will shut up about my cats now!

What a beautiful story, I agree with you..every animal deserves a second chance! Bless your heart. :love-hug1

That was a very nice story thank you for sharing and giving him a good life, all animals deserve that;)

IMO, i think animals deserve a second chance. i was watching animal precnict (sp) last night and they were saying that when the dogs and cats they rescue are healthy again and pass a behvioral test, they are put up for adoption :love-hug1

I agree! :thumbup:

i'm a new yorkie owner. you guys mentioned it's unsafe for our lil one's to go into pet stores? is it pet stores that sell puppies only or does that include petsmart and petco where they don't sell pets also. what if your lil yorkie has all his shots already? poopy is 5 months old and has all his shots, sometimes i take him to petsmart to walk around while i shop for his toys. i'm in las vegas and there's not many places i can walk him without the heat burning his lil paws. the heat keeps us away from dog parks as well. what can happen in the pet stores? now i'm afraid to take him there. what do you guys recommend.

[QUOTE= i'm in las vegas and there's not many places i can walk him without the heat burning his lil paws. the heat keeps us away from dog parks as well. [/QUOTE]

To protect Mitzis paws from getting burned or cut or anything I put shoes on her feet. I make them myself and they are very comfy and cheap. If you like I can make you a sample and send it to you. :aimeeyork

I have only taken my pups in twice to Pet Stores - Pet Smart and only because I had them with me and had to stop on the way back home and I didn't plan to go before we left. But I had her wrapped up in a baby blanket, so no contact to the cart and never put her down at all. Actually I pretty much held her like a baby the whole time. It is not Pet Smart - it is any place where other dogs have been - that is risky. I do not want to take the chance. Even when we go to the vet for check ups - I bring my own blanket or carpet square and place that on the table first before my dog - so there is no contact to the table. I use to be a vet tech, so I know they clean them, but it is only as clean as the one that cleans it - in other words - did they do the best job they could cleaning it. Once I went to the vet and they put me in a room and they didn't know the table had not been clean. I knew it was dirty, since white dog hair (the short hairs) were all over the table and even a sopt of blood. I was not going to quit going tomy vet, since he does not clean the tables. They had just forgot about it and were very busy. They are human too. But as a resposible pet owner and I knew better - I waited till they cleaned the table and then again put that blanket down before I placed my baby on it. Then when I get home - that blanket goes right in the washer.

BAck in the 1980's I brought Parvo home from where I worked - vets. I made the mistake and did not take off my shoes and clothing before coming in to my home and I had a litter of pups. This was a time when Parvo was new and no vaccine yet. We had a lot of cases coming in to my work every day. Well, I had to nurse (tube feed) those pups round the clock - had 5 puppies. They made it and were the friendly pups I have ever had, but it did teach me a lesson. From that day on - I would strip in my garage and place my clothes right in the washer and changed shoes. I also wiped my work shoes down with bleach (soles). I did this every day, because I worked in a place where I was in contact with sick pups all the time. I also do this when I come back from a show too. Same treatment when I get home. Just because people show does not mean all of them treat their dogs the way you do. So please - just be careful. You never know what you might bring home.

wow... can they still catch things if they had all their shots because mine has all his shots already. at what age can you take them places?

Shots are not 100%. It is like the pill - you still have a small chance to get pg. I just use the rule of thumb to be very careful. And there are other things that they can catch that they are not vaccinated for - worms for one thing, not including mange, earmites, fleas, etc... And there is that new flu out there, especially in Fl. and TX that is spreading to the other states now - similar to kennel cough, but it is different and there is not a vaccine for this yet.
T.

oh my, i didn't know all that. thanks for informing me. i'll definetly be more careful. so where would you recommend taking poopy for walks at?

Good question! Best - walk her in your fenced in yard - where no other dogs go. But that is almost impossible to keep them totally isolated from the real world. It is like - do you take your own human child out or keep them inside all the time? Just be informed and protect them. The boots are a great idea to protect them from picking up something from the ground. Keep them away from other dog BM. And just be careful of the surroundings. If you feel uncomfortable and strays around - pick another place. Then when you get home - check them over carefully for fleas, ticks, etc... My hubby and I were on our way back home from the store and ran into a fox going up someones driveway. My husband asked me if you could tame a fox! :eek: What was he thinking! So you just have to be careful.
T.

I agree that before your puppy has had is shots you shouldn't expose them to the outside world or at least limit it as much as you can. After that however I think it's fine to do things with your dogs...go to Petsmarst, take them for walks in your neighborhood...heck even let them down on the table at the vets. You can't put your dog in a plastic bubble, that's not realistic and it isn't fair to the dog. It has been proven that children exposed to viruses, bugs, germs actually have healthier immune systems than those that have been sheltered from those things. I don't know if this is the same for dogs but it makes sense to me. Becoming neurotic about every little germ or virus that your dog might have come in contact with and taking measures to make sure they NEVER come into contact with these things will NOT make for a happy dog or dog owner...relax, enjoy your dog....take REASONABLE measures to protect them and have a margarita!! LOL!! Happy Summer All!

You're right! Thanks for the reminder, Pat!