Just found out our puppy will actually have had 2 sets of shots once we get her in two weeks, including 2 doses of parvo. We also plan to take all of the standard precautions to prevent her from contracting parvo. However, I still worry about this issue a lot.

I've also received conflicting opinions on when they can start to socialize, etc; some on the conservative side and some less so. Just wondering if I can please get some other opinions on the subject? Apparently, I enjoy conflict, LOL. Kidding. Seriously, I would appreciate any input from other husky owners.

Thanks,

Carrie

I would wait until all shots are complete, if you do take her in public carry her and refrain any doggy contact, unless your own.

Its after the pup has had the full series of shots and then I believe 2 weeks after that to be certain the pup is fully protected.

My pups wer socialized with dogs I knew though, but I was taking a risk.

Renee, hat's not very practical advice for a 4-5 month old Husky who would not be fully vaccinated yet.

You should talk to your vet about the prevalence of parvo in your area.  You can take your puppy to puppy socialization classes that require a certain level of vaccination in line with your puppy's age.  You can arrange play dates at your home with known, vaccinated dogs or at the house of friends.

Yes you want to avoid pet stores or dog parks or the neighborhood potty grounds for dogs, but you have to be realistic about your puppy's needs that should take precedence over such worry.  It is a nasty virus and it can kill a puppy, but it is generally not the boogey man waiting around every corner.  

Just remember, there's always a risk.  It's a virus and preventing it completely is unfortunately not always rational. You can be paranoid and take all the precautions in the world and your puppy will get it, or you could be completely careless and your puppy will not get it.  

Take any advice on this issue with a grain of salt because your experience could very well be different than ours. It's a virus that can be tracked almost anywhere, so it's really playing the odds and a cost/benefit analysis of your play.

You can still be active and social while being practically safe and cautious.

Jeff, what is not the practical advice I gave? Indeed puppy classes in big cities I am unaware of, sorry, but I did not give unpractical advice. Play with dogs you know, carry dog in public places example pet smart, and wait until full shots are complete 16 weeks or 4 months. You can certainly socialize between 8-16 weeks, and last set is 16 weeks, no? Maybe my answer was not specific, however, being cautious, yet socializing is important. Many people here wait until all shots are complete before puppy play dates, I have read this a gazillion times, and refrained so myself. Socializing you puppy can be done in many safe ways. Asking your vet about prevalence in your area I highly recommend.

Carrying a 4-5 month old puppy everywhere. This is common advice given to people worried about parvo.

I did not say carry puppy every where. Really I threw caution in the wind with my girl. Maybe parvo is not that common out in the country, where I live, I took precautions as in no play time with other puppies and dogs I didn't know, and only took her to public places after she was done with her shots. I still walked her on my country roads. It really never crossed my mind.

Btw, I've only witnessed parvo once in my life, when I still lived in NY, in the country as well, and the owner figured it got it from his litter mates. It is a terrible sickness for a puppy which as far as I understand a death sentence. But my puppy situations have always been different than others I guess.

I agree with Jeff on this one, especially given the pups age. Here is a link to vaccine protocol recommended by one of the foremost, and highly qualified vets in the field, Dr. Jean Dodds. She recommends waiting until pups are 6-9 weeks to begin shots, and only doing two sets of parvo.

In terms of balancing socialization with risk, I can share my experience. I was honestly terrified of parvo raising a puppy in the city. I mean there is dog crap and piss everywhere (even though people pick up the poop, there is still a residue). Ever wonder why you see building supers washing the sidewalks in the morning? That is why. NYC is a giant dog toilet (which I wasn't aware of until I got a dog here).

So, anyway, I was so scared that I would pick him up up or block him from sniffing any approaching dog until he had 4 sets of shots (little did I know that 99% of vets recommend 3 sets). This has created a long term issue for me that I am still working on. He now is leash reactive, and it is a direct result from the nervousness, and fear I would feel when approaching another dog on the street, which happens every single time we go outside, multiple times (we live in a very dog friendly neighborhood). He developed an issue of prey stalking and prey pouncing dogs as they approached and passed on the sidewalk. It has taken an incredible amount of work to get him to pass a dog without reacting, and I still do not allow him to sniff many dogs on leash because he goes from 0 to 100 and starts rough play too soon. I taught him not to be polite while greeting a dog on leash and instilled a sense of insecurity in him when greeting dogs in general because of MY fear.

So, it's really up to you, but your puppy's window for socialization is closing, and its absolutely crucial that you begin to expose him to as many dogs and people as possible. That said, still take some common sense precautions. Don't go to the dog park, don't let him eat grass in a high traffic area, avoid petsmart etc. I would recommend saying to people with other dogs, "My puppy hasn't had a full shot series yet, has your dog been fully vaccinated this year?" If so, allow them to meet and sniff, and then move on. Parvo is passed by oral ingestion of infected feces. If you are concerned about exposure after a walk, wash your puppies feet when you come in, or get some disinfecting wipes (baby wipes work well for this).

I know its scary and confusing, and you will have advice coming at you from all directions, people aren't shy about telling you what they think and what a 'horrible' puppy owner you are. I think its great there is such an awareness of protecting puppies from disease, but in my opinion the pendulum has swung too far the other direction into paranoia. Trust your vet, and most importantly trust your instincts. If you think it's too much you're probably right.

Thank you all for your thoughtful input. It's so hard to decide what to do. I have talked to several local vets and two of them have told me how prevalent parvo is in our area, while one downplayed the issue. We are a small city, most likely with a lot of un-vaccinated dogs. I think I am going to err on the side of caution, on that note, and go with the vet who told me to wait two weeks past the last shot. Our puppy is getting her first set of shots today at 6 weeks and 4 days. She will get one more right before we bring her home. I think our vet will want to do 4 shots of parvo total, since she worries about puppies' antibodies dwindling after they are weaned for a certain period of time. So she will probably have her last shot at about 16 weeks and then we are to keep up standard precautions until she is 18 weeks.

This seems daunting to me, as I agree that a Siberian is going to be pretty leggy and awkward at that point. Our trainer says she takes her puppies out after the third shot. When I told her I was concerned about the social aspect she said I could take the puppy to Petsmart, etc, if I put a towel in the cart and kept the puppy off the ground. Of course, she is talking about doing this till about 12 weeks, which seems practical. However, I am concerned that I should take a more conservative approach, which I don't think is going to be that easy.

I wrote some more that I now realize I should probably post in the show forum, so if you want to check that part of this post out, it will be over there. It just kind of took a different direction, so I think it would be better off in that section.

At any rate, I thank you all again. Your input is greatly appreciated.

Carrie

What is your breeder's opinion?

Hi Jen,

Good point. I am going to talk to my breeder about this. She's super busy and hard to get a hold of, but we definitely need to have this conversation ASAP. I'm sure she will also have some good advice. It's been nice getting everyone's input, though.

Carrie

Also, if you are on facebook, there are a lot of dog show groups, including one specifically about huskies. If you haven't yet, look for a local breed club in your area, find a mentor, and start attending shows (sans puppy). You may be able to find a mentor that can help you as you're starting out, experienced owner handlers are a great resource and I've been very lucky to come across some that have been amazingly helpful. Also, to comment on the other thread, I agree with Sara. I originally got my puppy as a show prospect (unfortunately it didn't work out), and I will say that socialization is even more important with show dogs. I would, however recommend NOT taking him/her to dog shows until the full set of shots are done, I have heard of puppies contracting parvo at shows, at least in my area.

That said, socialize the hell out of him/her. Take the puppy preschool classes, but just don't teach her how to sit yet. You don't want to ingrain sit as her first instinct when a treat comes out. At a show, she will have to be able to be left in her kennel, she will be surrounded by other dogs, and there will be tons of people around. Not to mention, being examined by judges, having to wait to go into the ring, and having to essentially ignore other dogs. When the puppy is 3 months old, you can start doing match shows and I highly recommend it. The more you do the better. Shows can be quite a chaotic environment and its important that she doesn't get anxious or scared by that, and make every outing as fun and happy experience as you can. Remember, matches don't 'count' so you can just relax and look at it as a dress rehearsal and a fun time for your puppy, and if she acts nutty, you'll know you have a genuine siberian husky on your hands. UKC shows are also great for this type of work.

I would ask your trainer to clarify why she recommends avoiding puppy classes. It may be she has a specific intention in saying that, and if you find out what that is, you might be able to balance socialization with conformation training. Remember, you don't have to do everything one person tells you. Most likely you will make some mistakes with her if she is your first show puppy, but she will turn out okay.  It seems intimidating, but once you get the hang of it, it's really not too difficult.

Hi again, Jen, and everybody,

I agree that having a local mentor is great. Luckily, our local Kennel Club members have really taken us under their wing and have been very helpful. Olivia (my ten year old) has been taking conformation handling classes using the Kennel Club president's "push-button," grand-champion Australian Shepherd. We also met some really nice people who have had a lot of success in showing their Malamute's, and they do dry-land mushing, as well. They've been super-helpful with show tips. In fact, her advice about shows was very similar to your own.

Olivia handled the Aussie as a Junior for the first time in a B-Match last month and took second place. We are lucky to be a part of the Kennel Club because they are always having events that we get to help out with and so many people share their knowledge with us. This forum has been awesome, too. It is nice to be able to tap into so much knowledge from you all.

Thank you so much for all of your advice. Our trainer just doesn't want the puppy to learn habits that need to be undone later, as the puppy class is clicker-based, which is not how she trains. She has given us a lot of good ideas for socializing our puppy without the class. Our trainer has agreed to meet up with us a few times in a safe environment with her vaccinated dogs to help get us started with training and socialization.

I also got a hold of our breeder last night when she was on her way to a show, taking place this weekend. She's a professional handler. She was on the same page with our trainer, in the sense that she said her puppies are very well socialized already and that she feels like we will be able to continue to safely socialize the puppy without the class.

Another major issue; I just checked out the local news website and they just put a huge warning out about a local parvo outbreak, pretty darned close to us, in fact. They recommend not putting any puppy under one year old on the ground, or any dog that has not been vaccinated. So if I wasn't paranoid enough, I am super paranoid now. Oh well, I guess we will just be super careful about it. Not much else we can do at this point.

I appreciate all of your input! Thanks again!

Carrie

I have no idea if its around here,but if your dogs were rescued as adults ,like ours were,how would you know if they have been vacinated? Shoulda ask the dr when we were there today,but had bigger things on my mind!

Hi Robin,

The only way to know for sure is to get titers. This will show if your dog has immunity to specific viruses, such as parvo, or other diseases/illnesses. Doing titers can be kind of expensive and some people just opt to vaccinate for everything with a newly rescued adult dog, just in case.

However, if you rescued from a shelter or rescue organization, they generally take care of all of the shots before they allow an adoption to take place. If this is the case, they should have those records available for you to check out. Otherwise, you should speak to your vet about choosing between titers or vaccinations. While vaccination is generally the least expensive option, over-vaccinating may have it's own set of problems. Your vet will be able to help you make the best decision.

Is one of those puppies in your avatar pic going to be your puppy? They are both so cute!

Hi Jen,

Thank you! Yes, we are getting the one on the right. Our breeder says she likes her coloring and temperament for show. We can't wait to bring her home!

Ooo, she was my favorite of the two! I can't wait to see her!
Just a couple more days right?

Aww, thank you! I think she is pretty darned adorable, if I do say so myself. I think her markings are pretty cool and she is so friendly and playful in the videos we have seen of her. Only 4 more days to go! I can't stop thinking about it!

Ha ha! I bet! I love her head shape. I bet your daughter is getting pretty excited too!

I know, she is so, so...Husky-like, LOL! They look like big ole teddy bears. I can't wait till her ears pop up. Yes, Olivia is going crazy with the countdown! This is all we talk about. I really have to do some studying this weekend, which is so hard, when all I want to do is watch Husky videos and read everything Husky-related, haha!

I did the same thing before my baby came home I was all "husky" this and "husky" that. My poor customers got an ear full of all my husky chatter.

The day we went to go get Barty the Breeder's little girl pushed him out in a clothes hamper and he looked so baffled. *memories* His ears had only just turned up. He howled for his mama for the first 20 minutes of our trip home, then seemed to forget about them and simply wanted to crawl up onto my shoulders and hide in my hair.

Its strange to see him now. From timid puppy to this wonderful little, fluffy, sassy, pain in my butt/wallet. I hope you and your little gal have a blast together.

I know what you mean! I talk about this puppy to anyone who will listen! Hehe! LOL about the laundry basket, that's too cute! My breeder has warned me that our puppy is going to have a howling fit when she leaves her sisters for the first time. This part makes me feel so guilty, but I know it's just a part of life for most animals. I wish I could take them all, but I need to focus on reality. I'm just glad to know that Huskies are very adaptable and she will get lots of love and attention from us. I can't wait! Wooohooo!

Oh yeah, my heart broke when he started to whimper and scramble back to the family he has always known. I thought "Oh lord, I am a kidnapper. I deserve to be tar and feathered." But now he is three and a half months old and he is my best pal. It takes longer for some I have heard, but Bartok is MY boy.

Just remember they will be aloof for like, a month before they start warming up to you a little. Just keep telling yourself, while she gnaws on your hand, "One day, we WILL be friends. She will be my pup and I will be her hooman."

LOL, you mix your very solid advice with a dose of such an endearing mixture of humor. I like that. I am sure I will feel the exact same way when it comes time to bring our little one home. Oh, the guilt! It's good to know in advance not to expect a little cuddle bug. I'm sure you are right that it's going to take some time for her to settle in. I am looking forward to her viewing us as her new pack, but at least I am aware that it will happen in her own good time.