Lilu is now over 11 weeks old and got her first round at 7weeks and her 2nd at 10 weeks (last Sunday). I have read conflicting things, so now I'm really confused.

First I read that puppies can contract Parvo until their final vaccination (third one), but then I also read that puppies need to be socialized before 12weeks since thats the best time for them to meet other people and dogs. Lilu has met numerous people in the past 3 weeks, but no dogs. She hasn't played with a dog since she left her littermates 3.5 weeks ago.

I also read that puppies can start meeting fully vaccinated dogs after their 2nd shot. Then I read 1 week after 2nd shot. Then something different that said 2 weeks after 2nd shot.

Since she'll be 12 weeks next week, and most people say that puppies should socialize with other dogs before 12 weeks, are we hindering her growing process?

Whats the right thing to do? Can we introduce her to other dogs? Can we take her on short 10-15min walks around the house?

Any advice anyone?

To be safe, I would avoid any area heavily trafficked by other dogs until she has her full run of shots. That doesn't mean you can't introduce her to other (known) dogs. I felt comfortable taking Bode to my parents house and other relatives that have dogs that I know their full medical history and that they are healthy and no other strange dogs have been around.

Best course of action would be to introduce the pup to dogs you know, like Sara stated above. Make sure they have ALL their vaccines up to date (or titer-tested), and then everything should be okay. I'd avoid areas with TOO many other dogs (dog parks, trails etc) because not all the dogs that frequent that area could have been UTD on all their shots, not a risk to take IMO.

Got it thank you. I will take her to my friends who I know have UTD dogs.

Hi! Hard to believe she's 12 weeks already!!! So my vet said that I could allow my puppy to play with and meet fully vaccinated dogs after his second shot. I sort of had an interesting challenge raising him in the city. I don't have a yard and wasn't willing to allow him to go to the bathroom in the apartment for a month before I started potty training. So I kind of took a risk and took him outside so he would learn how to go potty on the street (a unique challenge in and of itself). Everywhere in my neighborhood is heavily trafficked by dogs. In fact, I now realized that nyc is just a giant dog toilet! I was just very choosy about where I allowed him. Most buildings around where I live actually wash the sidewalks in the morning. I made sure I allowed him down in front of those buildings and concrete areas that were really sunny. I figured that sun on concrete would hopefully bake the parvo to death. I also actually washed his paws after I brought him inside so he didn't lick them or carry in something from outside. That said, anytime another dog approached, I would pick him up and tell people he wasn't fully vaccinated and people were very understanding. After getting to know some dog people in my neighborhood, I let him make some doggie friends with people I had seen around and trusted with their dogs. I don't know/have any friends nearby that have dogs, so I couldn't just take him to see anyone I knew. There are also places in my neighborhood that have free puppy play groups. I took him to those a few times, as well.

One thing I didn't do, that I wish I had, was introduce him and expose him to small dogs. He plays pretty rough and for a while his only small dog friend was a tough little border terrier that also plays rough. I've been sending him to daycare for a couple weeks now and he's getting much better with that, but its still a work in progress. I definitely suggest finding a friend with a small dog that can correct her well.

wpskier222 wrote:

One thing I didn't do, that I wish I had, was introduce him and expose him to small dogs. He plays pretty rough and for a while his only small dog friend was a tough little border terrier that also plays rough. I've been sending him to daycare for a couple weeks now and he's getting much better with that, but its still a work in progress. I definitely suggest finding a friend with a small dog that can correct her well.

I agree with Jen here! We got lucky with Bode because he just has this innate understanding that small dogs are different, even though we didn't get to expose him to many small dogs early on. Once we started going to the dog park though around 4 months he got lots of small dog interaction.

Even by 4 months, he was too intense for small dogs. He was/is a little maniac. They call him the Dizzy Monster at daycare... I have seen a lot improvement though, but if he's wound up, then I can't let him approach a small dog lol, unless I know the dog and know it will correct him for being an obnoxious puppy.

Also maybe look into puppy kindergarten classes. You can start those pretty early if I'm not mistaken.

@cinnamonbits will do thanks. Are your 2 dogs in the pic twins???? They look SO alike.

We introduced Kai very early on to other dogs, but avoided dog parks/heavily trafficked trails. I was very scared of Parvo because of the horror stories I've heard, so I wanted to make sure she met dogs that we knew were up-to-date on shots. Since we live in an apartment complex with a ton of other dogs, it was unavoidable to meet other dogs, but it turned out just fine for her and she is incredibly social.

We also enrolled her in obedience classes as soon as she was able to and she has begun to attend puppy daycare during the day while we're at work, which is an amazing experience for her. If that's feasible to you, I'd highly recommend it. The place that we take her to has three rooms (2 for larger dogs and 1 for smaller dogs and puppies). She is 15 weeks old and so is in the small dog room, which has been very good for her ability to play with the smaller breeds, though I'm not sure if they like how she plays lots of the time! There are other large breed puppies in there with her, so they basically play the whole time, but it's good for her to be around all of the smaller dogs. Hope this helps a little bit!