What size harness would one get for a 8-9 week old puppy for walking?????????? No Idear what HE will weigh.
Thanks
diaedy

The basic answer is anyone you want it wont fit him at all in a month or two. One thing you might want to think about is that you don't want to take your pup on a ton of walks until his is fully vaccinated so you don't have to worry about parvo.

As far as harness go it depends on if you just want one so you don't have to walk him on his collar or if you want some kind of a no pull harness. I would suggest not getting a super expensive one because like I said he will grow out of it super quick.

If I were you and I wanted to get a harness for walking I would go to my local pet store. Do not put your puppy on the floor because of the risk of parvo. And try there harnesses on and just find one you like for now.

I would hold on a harness for now until het gets his full shots. Take him for quick potty breaks, walk him in dog free areas (such as your own yard) but don't walk him where any other dogs have been. At that age, they shouldn't walk for more than 5 or 10 minutes at a time(but he can play!)

Any harness you get would be outgrown in just a few weeks anyway. It's astonishing how fast they grow.

If you have your heartbeat on it, I wouldn't take him to the pet store-way too many unvaccinated dogs have been there.

I would take his measurements, and go to a store with a good return policy (Petco and PetSmart are good about hassle free returns). Based on your measurements, get the closet, then get one smaller than you think and one bigger. You can try them on your pup in the safety of your home then.

Thanks for the replies. I forgot to mention that I live on a mountain about 8 miles in on dirt road with no neighbors to speak of so the walking was to get him used to surrounding so to speak.

diaedy, parvo is a general canid disease, it's (and distember, et al) not strictly a dog born disease.  While you and I may feel secure living in the back end of nowhere (well, at least *I* do) coyotes and wolves can also carry and pass on "dog" diseases, so please be careful until the little one has had all its shot before letting him wander too freely.

As for the harness, while IndiDog is a UK company (lady) she does excellent work at reasonable prices. But I have to agree with the others, for the next couple of months he'll be growing so fast that any harness you can get today will bee too small in a month. I'd think, better to work with a good collar till he reaches a more stable size.

Now, my curiosity is aroused, the age is about the same, you have a few on me but not much and live "8 miles down a dirt road" if I don't seem too forward, would you mind filling out your profile a bit - I'm really wondering where you are, maybe we can compare notes on this thing called remote living!

I was just going to mention Coyotes and wolves also even if you don't have any close to you that you know of it can live on the ground for seven years. Parvo is on scary disease.

BTW, the only stupid question is the one that doesn't get asked ....

aljones wrote:

diaedy, parvo is a general canid disease, it's (and distember, et al) not strictly a dog born disease.  While you and I may feel secure living in the back end of nowhere (well, at least *I* do) coyotes and wolves can also carry and pass on "dog" diseases, so please be careful until the little one has had all its shot before letting him wander too freely.

As for the harness, while IndiDog is a UK company (lady) she does excellent work at reasonable prices.  But I have to agree with the others, for the next couple of months he'll be growing so fast that any harness you can get today will bee too small in a month.  I'd think, better to work with a good collar till he reaches a more stable size.

Now, my curiosity is aroused, the age is about the same, you have a few on me but not much and live "8 miles down a dirt road" if I don't seem too forward, would you mind filling out your profile a bit - I'm really wondering where you are, maybe we can compare notes on this thing called remote living!

Cardigan Mountain,Grafton,NH. Now I'm a little worried about the parvo as I already have another dog but is a sheltie. I was under the impression that the shots the breeder gives was supposed to help until the vet does his magic.

aljones wrote:

BTW, the only stupid question is the one that doesn't get asked ....

diaedy wrote:

  Cardigan Mountain,Grafton,NH. Now I'm a little worried about the parvo as I already have another dog but is a sheltie. I was under the impression that the shots the breeder gives was supposed to help until the vet does his magic.

Well, shoot, that puts you just a hop-skip-and a ferry ride away from where I was born in upstate New York. That's all beautiful country up there, but way too cold for my blood anymore - I was freezing this morning when it was 65, I can't imagine having to spend too long at freezing or below!

Talk to your vet, if the incidence of parvo and other diseases has been low / non-existent in the area then I'd still be careful, but not outright paranoid.

Okay, you folks with puppies - assuming that he's had his first round (8-9 weeks) how protected is he. I don't and haven't had puppies for a long time so I'm not qualified to even begin to answer that question.

The problem with puppies is that they are protected for a little bit with the antibodies they get from their mother. They get it through the mom's milk I believe it's called colostrum. Now this is important because it helps the newborn puppies fight off illness using the mothers antibodies. The thing is that the mothers antibodies stop having an effect after a while and the pup has to build up it's own immune system. Unfortunately we can't tell exactly when that takes place so we give them shots at intervals. The shots aren't super effective if the pup is still running on mom's immune system but we can't tell exactly when that stops. The fear with young puppies is that they will get exposed to something like parvo when they have not built up there own immune system and their mother's isn't covering them anymore.
At least that's how my vet explained it to me.

Once your pup is old enough and has all his shots this wont be an issue. Also you other dog isn't a problem as long as it has had it shots and hasn't had parvo.

Excellent advice everyone. The only thing I will add is whenever you introduce a new animal always give de wormers to the current pets, this prevents worms being passed around.

MiyasMomma wrote:

Excellent advice everyone. The only thing I will add is whenever you introduce a new animal always give de wormers to the current pets, this prevents worms being passed around.

Breeder says she is doing the de worming. Thanks for the replies from you GREAT dog lovers. A lot has to be said for forums that go without notice.




Oh yea, as for the cold I gotta have it. I love it living on a back country road as I like shooting,snowmobiling, ect. and of course still have a motorcycle to enjoy NH mts at there best.
Thanks again and will be watching.
diaedy

You will need to continue de-worming your new puppy once a month with a heartworm pill. The de-worming the breeder does will only go so far; puppies can still pick up worms from sniffing or tasting contaminated poop or dirt -- another reason to hold off on serious walks away from the house until the puppy has all its shots around Week 12 of age. Many heartworm pills also continue de-worming meds for other worms like hookworm. It's very common for puppies to get worms, so giving this pill once a month will help keep them out of their system. Your current pets could also pass on worm eggs to the puppy through contact with their feces, so I agree to make sure all pets are current on their heartworm/de-worming meds.

While it's not a good idea to take your puppy on walks out in the world yet because he doesn't have all his shots yet, you'll still want to make sure the puppy is well socialized with all sorts of people and dogs, as the period between birth and around 16 weeks of age is critical for the puppy in this regard. You will need to make sure they are exposed in a 100% positive way to all sorts of people and dogs during this time for them to develop a positive association with humans and dogs. Puppy socialization classes are safe, indoor environments to do this. Though you live in the country, vets and shelters often offer these classes for a nominal fee. You can also carry your puppy around town, in parks and at pet stores like Petco or PetSmart; just avoid letting them have contact with the ground. People will naturally gravitate toward the cute puppy and want to say hi. Just make sure the puppy is comfortable in all its contact with other beings. Reward the puppy with treats and praise when he shows curiosity and comfort in these situations. I can't stress enough how important this is to a puppy's development. Poorly socialized dogs are fearful and can react by biting people and fighting with other dogs; they live lives of fear and discomfort. After 16 weeks of age it becomes more and more difficult to socialize a puppy in a positive way. Positive socialization experiences, in addition to its temperament, will help your puppy grow up happy, mentally healthy and friendly toward humans and other animals.