I have heard so many opinions on this including vets. My puppy is 14 weeks old today and due for his last set of puppy vaccines tomorrow. I haven't and will not take him to a dog park for obvious reasons and probably won't until he is at least 6 or 7 months old. I have been walking/running him (at his own pace off leash) to parks nearby and the other day he saw a few dogs whom I have know for years because I know the owners very well. I asked them if their dogs were healthy and fully vaccinated and they were. I let him play with 2 dogs and of course, he had a field day. I will not allow him to play with any other dogs other than those 2 because I know them. I hear some people tell me that they isolate their dogs until over 4 months while waiting for full vaccinations but others say that isolation during their critical socialization period is horrible because of behavior issues and I can agree with that. What are your thoughts? Did any of you allow your pups to play with older healthy vaccinated dogs before your puppy finished his vaccines?

Definitely. It's a tough balancing act between protecting their health but ensuring socialization. Although I still wouldn't have done it at a public park like you mention. We only took our boy when he was a pup to relatives/friends' houses where we trusted the location and the health status of their dogs.

My thoughts, and what I did, are exactly like Sara's.

And these dogs my two played with as pups, even if they don't see each other for weeks/months, the excitement when they see them again is way beyond meeting just any dog. It's really cool to see the recognition and them just having the time of their life playing each time.

My one caution (besides the dog park mention, which was covered in the above) is that when you ask people if their dog is fully vaccinated, that can mean different things to different people. Some people may say their dog is fully vaccinated, but what they mean is that their dog has their rabies vaccine, but hasn't gotten distemper or anything else.

I would only go to a person's home who I knew and trusted to let my dog play.