Hello, i'm picking up my new puppy in about a week (so excited!).  I've been looking at puppy classes in my area and have found one where you can take puppies from after having their first injection to play (under supervision) with other puppies of similar age/who have also had their first injection.  I'm torn about whether to book my puppy in for these classes as i'm concerned that as she won't have had all her injections and she may pick up something nasty (although the website for the puppy classes says there is a small chance of this), but at the same i'm conscious that the early weeks are the most important in socialising puppies and would like her to be able to be confident and know how to behave around other dogs... just really looking for some thoughts/re-assurance from more knowledgable people whether you would take your pup to a class when it hadn't had all its jabs?

I suspect the replies you get wont help, as some...like me & my mother(56 years of dog experience)..think its too risky & I have never taken any of mine out anywhere(other than my garden) before a week after the 2nd jab. My pups are well socialised once able to go out & are happy amiable little people. In fact the litter I have now were late having jabs....I still had 7 pups to jab at 12.5 weeks..therefore not able to go out until 15.5 weeks & I have had comments on how friendly they all are(both to people & other dogs).
You will also get others who do the opposite. At the end of the day, it is down to how you feel & what you believe is right or wrong. good luck with your decision & your pup.

I'm not sure puppy classes are a great thing for socialising, to my mind, your better off finding friendly well mannered adults to teach a puppy appropriate play, rather than a bunch of like minded nutty puppies, who will run each other ragged.
As to the risk of disease, it wouldn't stop me using a class, if I wanted to go to one.

I agree 100 % with Celli. I wouldn't worry the slightest about going out after fist vaccination (if a Malinois was left until 15 weeks before it went out and about, you'd have a dog that would have very, very serious problems for life) but I would not want to take a puppy out to play with other pups either. I want a puppy to learn that you should be friendly towards other dogs and be able to say hello, but NOT rush towards them and expect to get to play.

In all honesty, I would give them a wide berth.    From what I've seen and heard, the supervision isn't always all it could be, and there's too much risk of a pup having a bad experience.  I'm also very wary of taking a young puppy where there are a lot of inexperienced puppy owners.  

This is my personal opinion.

I would not want to take a puppy out to play with other pups either. I want a puppy to learn that you should be friendly towards other dogs and be able to say hello, but NOT rush towards them and expect to get to play.

Absolutely!

In my experience, finding a ringcraft class - even if you have no intention of showing, or have a crossbreed - is a better bet.   There will be a mixture of pups, youngsters and adults of all sizes, plenty of supervision, and the pups get a more rounded experience with adults and pups and with being handled by humans.   The people running the ringcraft classes and attending are usually experienced dog owners too, as are many of the puppy owners, so there's plenty of opportunity for a new owner to ask questions.    Ringcraft classes also continue through the year, and the opportunity to socialise  your pup continues for as long as you wish.

Seeing my 10lb Bedlington pup interacting nicely with a tiny Griffon puppy and a gigantic six month Great Dane pup, all under appropriate control, has to be one of the best experiences I've ever had.  And the bitch grew up to be very well socialised.

Thank you for your replies guys :)
I'd not consider ringcraft classes and will look into this. I'll also look at more structured classes where it won't be so much of a free for all and give the play classes a miss.

I'm a trainer and I run puppy socialisation classes for puppies after their 1st vaccination.  In my opinion they're invaluable for early positive experiences with other dogs. 

Those people who are suggesting that contact with adult dogs is better, is all well and good - but how does a pet owner, who doesn't know many/any other people with *suitable* adult dogs, go about providing their puppy with safe socialisation before vaccinations are finished, without the use of a class like this??  Even once vaccinations are finished, it is hard enough to know if strange dogs you encounter in the park are friendly or suitable - especially if you are an inexperienced pet owner who may not be able to read dog body language well.  Disasters happen when new owners don't know how to read their puppy's signals or to know when it is afraid and wants to move away.  If the class you're attending is any good, this is one of the many things you will learn.

There are some puppies who outgrow the class quickly - often boisterous gundogs do - but there are other breeds, like small breeds or guarding breeds, for whom this early contact with other dogs is irreplaceable.  There are some breeds which, if kept indoors until the 2nd vaccination, simply will never fulfil their potential and never be ok around other dogs.  Attending classes where all dogs are kept on lead just does not give dogs enough freedom to communicate and use body language, and also ends up with shy puppies being forced into close proximity with other dogs and being unable to move away.

If the class is well supervised (as you say that it claims to be), a 'free for all' will not be allowed.  What will take place is very careful and progressive socialisation, taking into account the very different needs of the puppies at the class.  Supervising puppy socialisation well is a skill.  Owners will also learn what healthy, good puppy play is - and when to intervene.

Please, if you haven't experienced a well-run and closely supervised puppy socialisation class, keep your opinions to yourself!  Basing your opinion on a 'free for all' where puppies run amok and learn unhelpful things from each other is really not comparing like for like.  It's a bit like telling someone never to attend a training class on the basis that training classes involve leash-jerk corrections, so they had better avoid all classes, full stop.

OP, any good trainer will allow you to watch a class before deciding whether to enrol.  If you're unsure about the class, why not ask if you can go along and watch?

I'd be wary of mixing my pup who isn't fully vaccinated with other pups of the same, depending on when the vaccination was done in relation to Mum still feeding the pups[some still allow a suckle right up to day of leaving for new home] the first jab may not work as Mum's antibodies knock it out and it takes the second one to do the trick so your pup and those you are mixing with may be in that situation.

I carry my pups out and about from about 4/5 weeks old, depending on the weather to socialise without their feet touching the ground and this continues till fully vaccinated at 12 weeks, then they either go to their new homes or stay here. Ringcraft classes are more ordered than classes I attended with my Mums pups in the past, they get hands on from several people of different sexes, they get to see a variety of breeds in varying sizes and learn to walk past on the lead and are not going to be picked up every couple of seconds so I highly recommend them.

Just incase some had the wrong opinion in my earlier post, my pups do see people when visiting the home, from around 3-4 weeks old!

>I'd be wary of mixing my pup who isn't fully vaccinated with other pups of the same, depending on when the vaccination was done in relation to Mum still feeding the pups[some still allow a suckle right up to day of leaving for new home] the first jab may not work as Mum's antibodies knock it out and it takes the second one to do the trick so your pup and those you are mixing with may be in that situation.

There is very little risk in attending classes which are designed for puppies this young.  In fact, this article (below) in a reputable vet journal provides the opinions of several vets, who all state that early socialisation classes should be attended and the risk of catching something is tiny.  In the 7 years I've been running classes, no puppy has ever caught anything covered by vaccinations in coming to class - and that's hundreds of puppies.  Meanwhile, loads of puppies who wait and come to me after vaccinations have finished end up with behavioural problems, some quite severe.

Article:  http://digital.dvm360.com/nxtbooks/advanstar/vm_200912/#/36  (Takes a while to load - it will eventually.)

I took my lab pup to 'puppy party' classes...he had his first injection (8 weeks) and went the following week. The pups were never allowed to have a 'free for all', they were allowed to have some play (two at a time, similar sized) and the rest of the time was spent basic training, talks on puppy related subjects etc... Personally I found them really good, it not only socialised the dogs but taught them that just because another dog was there, they werent going to be allowed to play with it. Coupled with meeting nice older dogs it made my lab sociable without being 'dog mad'. When I recently collected my collie pup I was disappointed that the puppy class (still running 8 years later) clashed with our obedience lessons :( I would suggest going along without the pup, watching a class and deciding from there :)

Well said Rabid!  Both my pups went to socialisation classes, they were well run and invaluable and for Opi, they were the crucial thing that helped her grow from a timid pup frightened of all dogs into one confident about them and able to go on and meet adults out and about.  Without those classes she would not have been confident enough and I'd have a totally different dog now (so good with body language and calming frightened or aggressive dogs that she has been my best stooge dogs for a number of years now).

From what I've seen/heard a lot are badly run but that does not mean all of them - observing without a puppy to start with is definitely a good idea.

My puppy classes include 'some' meeting other pups under control and on lead. But I always emphasise that making the recall away from other pups (back to the owner) more fun is just as important as the last thing I want is for their dog to automatically assume they will be allowed to meet every dog they come across. So, as well as the controlled meeting/recall away from other dogs, I put a lot of emphasis on distraction training, where the pups learn to respond to and focus on their owners rather than the dogs around them.

I have only once one to a puppy class and I argued with the vet nurse the whole time. It was run by my vet clinic. There was a free for all, and some pups were terrified. I argued about neutering (it was discussed at great length ;-) ) training classes, feeding, you name it I think the nurse was glad I didn't go back :-)

I have no doubt that a well run class is invaluable to the 'pet' owner, but if the person running it isn't qualified in pet behaviour I would run a mile.

I take mine to ringcraft, and my latest pup went to gundog training classes. I find these more valuable than the class held at the vets.

I've only been to 1  of these classes, it was with Buster when he was 14 weeks old (all pups in attendance were 14 weeks old). It was at our vets clinic with a behaviourist & vet there. There wasn't much 'free-for-all' time, it was mostly listening to some basic dog-care talks. Each pup had a turn at standing on a vet's table and having a mock physical examination.
Allthough I enjoyed it, Buster didn't really get anything from it. Each pup was passed round the circle to sit on everybodies lap - Buster was too large for that part so just had to sit on the floor next to each person. When it came to the pups having thier leads off to interact, Buster tanked off to the dog food sales area to investigate all the sacks of food - LOL, nothings changed, food has always been his no.1 prioritory! In all fairness to him, he had been sat patiently watching all the other pups for 30 mins (and had a female rottie pup biting his face for a game for most of that time) so the novelty of pups had worn off by then!
I never took him back and just used every real-life opportunity to ensure all doggy encounters he got were good ones and he's turned out fab :) (oh & he's a gurading breed that needs extensive socialisation).

I seem to be one of the few show people who actively use puppy parties/classes.  Whenever possible I take pups we are keeping/running on to the classes at my vets.  They are well run, well attended, the pups have a lot of fun in a well controlled enviroment.  I take them purely for the socialisation aspect, but they seem particularly valuable for pet owners to get some good, sensible, down to earth info.  At parties now about 50% of the pups we meet are "designer mutts" and come with all sorts of daft, airy-fairy or just plain wrong info. from the breeders - of no info at all!   At last weeks class we had a "maltichon"  (guaranteed not to cast hair) a "sprocker" (ideal first time owner family dog) 2 border collie X (again, ideal family dogs).

On the flip side I have heard some horror stories of badly regulated parties which become a free for all, so the value must depend on the quality of the class and the instructor.

Puppy classes run at vets tend not to be very useful: lots of talk about worming, vacs, etc and a vet or nurse with little knowledge of terrifying nervous puppies and insists on letting them all off together. A  proper puppy socialising & training class run by experienced, knowledgeable people is very useful if carefully managed.
A free for all is never advisable.