I have an 11 week old. He had his first jab at 8 weeks. I have to wait 4 weeks for 2nd jab which is a long time, then another week after that before he can go out. By the time he can go out to socialise and see the outside world he will be almost 14vweeks old. I'm taking him out but not putting him on floor but he is some size an weight lol. My other dogs it was only two weeks between jabs. Is 4 weeks the norm in the UK now?

Hi Tisme!

I'm sure you're vet wouldn't get his vaccination schedules wrong.  A google search on UK vaccination schedules confirms the current practice.

If you're worried about socialization, you can always enroll your puppy into puppy classes, or make visits to your friend's dogs who have had all their shots.   Alternatively you can chance your puppy in public places.  It's colder this time of year in the UK so the probability of infection is low.  

I live in a condo which is built on top of a dog park, so I really had no other option but to use it to potty train him there ever since I got him at 8 weeks.  I walked with him around the neighbourhood without issues.  I think not putting him on pavement is a bit excessive.  How else are you supposed to potty train him or let him go to the bathroom? I officially went to fenced dog parks with Echo at 10 weeks and he's definitely a much better and well socialized dog because of it.  I will say he did have a couple of colds as a puppy, but nothing that required a trip to the vet or anything.  Just a cough & snotty nose for a week.  Up to you what you're comfortable with.  My work schedule is too erratic to commit to regular puppy classes so I had to chance it.

Good luck with your puppy!

I phoned up the vet they gave him his jab earlier than the 4 weeks. I saw a different vet same practice he said that it was unnecessary to wait 4 weeks so he's going to be out socialising earlier now which is good.

@Tisme and @Husky911 It always bugs me when someone takes the time (a split second, okay ) to tick on "bad advice" without taking the time to expand on why they did.

Puppies tend to be resilient - they can often rebound from a simple disease with no repercussions. But parvo is still all too common and if not diagnosed in time, all too fatal (as high as 91%).

Taking your puppy into a group - where all the other puppies are current on the jabs they need and are apparently healthy is arguably acceptable (and I'm open for comments.) Young puppies should still have a natural immunity to some diseases from their mother's colostrum up to 6-8 weeks.

Taking your puppy into an area where there are / may have been several (or even one infected) dogs is, in my opinion, foolish in the extreme. Kennel cough - the equivalent to the common cold in humans is common and normally not fatal but can compromise the pups natural immunity; parvo - too common and dogs can be carriers without displaying any outward symptoms, fatal in a high percentage of cases; rabies - considerably less common now than in the past with dogs, but still way to common. The primary rabies carriers in North America are raccoons, skunks, bats, foxes, and coyotes. Any contact with the saliva of an infected animal can result in active rabies in a pup. (( note it must be a saliva to blood transfer ))

On the topic of rabies, it appear to have essentially eradicated in the UK. The carrier of concern there is the bat. So probably not much of a concern.

aljones wrote:

@Tisme and @Husky911  It always bugs me when someone takes the time (a split second, okay ) to tick on "bad advice" without taking the time to expand on why they did.

Puppies tend to be resilient - they can often rebound from a simple disease with no repercussions.  But parvo is still all too common and if not diagnosed in time, all too fatal (as high as 91%).

Taking your puppy into a group - where all the other puppies are current on the jabs they need and are apparently healthy is arguably acceptable (and I'm open for comments.)  Young puppies should still have a natural immunity to some diseases from their mother's colostrum up to 6-8 weeks.

Taking your puppy into an area where there are / may have been several (or even one infected) dogs is, in my opinion, foolish in the extreme.  Kennel cough - the equivalent to the common cold in humans is common and normally not fatal but can compromise the pups natural immunity; parvo - too common and dogs can be carriers without displaying any outward symptoms, fatal in a high percentage of cases; rabies - considerably less common now than in the past with dogs, but still way to common.  The primary rabies carriers in North America are raccoons, skunks, bats, foxes, and coyotes.  Any contact with the saliva of an infected animal can result in active rabies in a pup.  (( note it must be a saliva to blood transfer  ))

On the topic of rabies, it appear to have essentially eradicated in the UK.  The carrier of concern there is the bat.  So probably not much of a concern.

I agree I always get my dogs vaccinated. They have always been done two week's apart. This time it was 4 however it is not necessary as I found out. Uk jabs can still be done two weeks apart. In my case it was down to different vets preference. As for the bad advice it is down the side of the forum and if using a mobile it can easily be pressed by mistake. I have just noticed the bad advice thing now. I use my mobile to access this forum. Anyway my advice would be ask a vet as in my case the 4 week wait is unnecessary and my pup now has to wait 1 week to go out.

I didn't give Husky911's post a bad treat, however, when I first read it, I did one of those "yikes" breaths. I can't sit here in a glass house and point fingers though, either. I am guilty of taking gambles with my pups life by having them out in the outside world before they should have been. I was extremely careful , like never going to an area like a dog park where chances of acquiring a disease go up significantly with every dog that has been there in the past year (things like Parvo can live in the soil for upwards of a year, if I remember correctly) but I am still guilty of taking that gamble. It wasn't til I read a members story in here, that I became aware of just how real getting a disease can be, for a pup. A wake up call for sure. And really why we have to be extremely cautious when posting things related to these necessary waiting periods and vaccinations. This members Husky got Parvo, they think from a dog park possibly, and fought valiantly to keep him alive. They were successful but it was A LOT of work, a lot of stress, and a lot of heartache. The risk is very real.

Not entirely sure Husky911's post deserved a bad treat though, most of what she posted at the start, was right on target. She then related her own experience which isn't actually advice per say. So if this wasn't an accidental tick of bad advice, it would have been nice to read a post after it, like Al's, on the "why's" it is necessary to adhere to your vets instructions on waiting periods/vaccinations. So a thank you goes to Al.

Artic_Wind wrote:

I didn't give Husky911's post a bad treat, however, when I first read it, I did one of those "yikes" breaths. I can't sit here in a glass house and point fingers though, either. I am guilty of taking gambles with my pups life by having them out in the outside world before they should have been. I was extremely careful , like never going to an area like a dog park where chances of acquiring a disease go up significantly with every dog that has been there in the past year (things like Parvo can live in the soil for upwards of a year, if I remember correctly) but I am still guilty of taking that gamble. It wasn't til I read a members story in here, that I became aware of just how real getting a disease can be, for a pup. A wake up call for sure. And really why we have to be extremely cautious when posting things related to these necessary waiting periods and vaccinations. This members Husky got Parvo, they think from a dog park possibly, and fought valiantly to keep him alive. They were successful but it was A LOT of work, a lot of stress, and a lot of heartache. The risk is very real.

Not entirely sure Husky911's post deserved a bad treat though, most of what she posted at the start, was right on target. She then related her own experience which isn't actually advice per say. So if this wasn't an accidental tick of bad advice, it would have been nice to read a post after it, like Al's, on the "why's" it is necessary to adhere to your vets instructions on waiting periods/vaccinations. So a thank you goes to Al.

Yes its important to follows vets advice. However with the injections in the UK I have since found out that sometimes a longer wait is down to vet preference not necessarily vaccination protocol. As for the "Bad Treat" the explanation" is above hence why I am on a PC tonight .