Hello,

I just posted to the medical forum about my concerns about parvo. If you'd like, you can read that post at the link below. It might help this post to make a bit more sense.

https://www.itsahuskything.com/t13721-so-worried-about-parvo

I posted the rest of the post here, as it seemed to delve more into show pet territory. I am hoping to get some opinions on the advice I have received from my trainer.

The other day I told our trainer, who does not offer puppy pre-school, etc, that I was thinking of going to a place that does offer this service in a "parvo-free" environment, just for socialization purposes. She didn't think this was a great idea, because they don't train for conformation at all (which is a goal of ours) and that it is really hard to undo what has been learned. She also said that because the puppy has been well-socialized with her litter mates that we don't need to worry too much about this aspect. She said it would be better for the puppy to spend those weeks bonding with Olivia, since Olivia is going to be her master and will be showing her in conformation, etc. I am wondering what others think of this. Does it sound accurate to those who show their Siberians?

I really want to avoid parvo, of course, but I wonder if we can provide enough socialization during the time that we need to worry about parvo, since I am leaning toward being more conservative about this aspect. Your input is much appreciated.

Thank you.

Carrie

I don't have show experience, so take that into account with my response.

First of all, I don't know how you found your trainer, but I would be EXTREMELY skeptical of a trainer that says the socialization they receive from their littermates is enough. You could say it's even MORE important for a show dog to have good socialization because they will be in situations surrounded by unfamiliar dogs, people, and lots of hustle and bustle. Yes, you want the dog bonded to your daughter, but show dogs can have different handlers throughout their careers, so I also am a little hesitant to take that advice seriously as well.

For socialization, many people in my family and extended family have dogs. During that crucial "parvo period", we just stuck to doing playdates at people's houses that we knew and know that the dogs are all updated. Even using this forum or the H2M2 group as a resource to meet people near you who may be willing to do playdates at a non-public place is an idea. There are ways to do it. You also got some good advice in the other thread. I would definitely talk to your breeder about your concerns. If they are selling you a show quality dog, I'm sure they will have some input.

Thank you, Sara. I had my reservations about her advice as well. I'm still seriously considering doing the puppy pre-school a couple of weeks after we get our little one, as I feel this will provide the socialization she will be missing during those parvo-alert weeks. Afterall, it's more about socialization than training. I'll be sure to talk to our breeder, too. I'm sure I'll be posting about whatever we decide to do.

Carrie

I show, and yes early socialization is very important. The only downside is many of those classes use treats to 'lure' the dog into sit and down, which makes it harder (for me) to teach stacking. However, most dogs easily overcome that once they begin handling/conformation classes.

I too am skeptical of any trainer who says socialization with littermates is enough. But I also wouldn't do puppy pre-school either, since it WILL be tougher to untrain sits and downs.

Some dog obedience schools do puppy socialization play, where it's basically a mini-dog park for vaccinated puppies, with no obedience training. It's a nice way to socialize your pup in a "safe" area...and its too cute to boot!

Otherwise, could you reach out to your breeder to see if the pup can be socialized with her dogs? We did that with ours since we didn't know anyone else with "safe" dogs.

That is really disconcerting to hear that a breeder is saying that they socialize their dogs "enough". One of my good friends requires her buyers to have their pups meet a minimum of 100 new people each and every week.

Honestly, even vaccinated, your puppy does still stand a chance of catching the parvo virus. Talk with a good reputable behavioral trainer and find a class through them. I don't recommend classes that are found in retail pet stores or at veterinary clinics where sick dogs are constant.

Thank you, everyone, for your advice. I've been super busy finishing up a crazy semester, so I apologize for not replying sooner. We have been trying to get our girl socialized without compromising her health. So we've been taking her out in public and letting her meet lots of new people, but just not touching the ground yet. I agree that un-training the "sit" lures is not the route we want to go, so for now, we are working on her training at home until our conformation training classes start up in early January. I can't wait till we can take her on real walks. Less than two weeks to go and the wait is driving us all crazy.

BTW: her breeder lives quite a long distance from us, so socializing with her dogs is not possible. However, we met a friend who has show poodles and Phoenix has had a great time playing with them. They definitely had to put her in her place a few times, which has been awesome. She was pretty bratty with them at first but she learned really fast that she wasn't going to get away with it with those girls! LOL.