We are getting ready for the arrival of our new Golden Retriever pup, and although this isn't the first dog we have had, we still have a certain amount of anxiety regarding his vaccinations and where it is safe for him to go before he has had them. I know that public places are a no no, but what about the garden? Ours is fenced all around (5-6ft) and although no other dogs can get in, it doesn't stop the neighbor's cat! Also, how safe is it to have visitors who have dogs at home? Can infections be carried on clothing/shoes etc? Basically, do we have to isolate ourselves until a week or so after his second injection, or is it more direct contact with dogs and places they have been that we have to worry about? Thanks!

The garden is fine - and, unless you know that there is an outbreak of kennel cough or parvo in the area, I would be take my puppy out, in my arms, as often as I could, to carry on the important socialisation!     Let your puppy get used to as many experiences as possible, from your arms (whilst you can still carry him ;) ) and you won't have as fearful a pup as you would otherwise have if you restrict his world to your garden!

Enjoy him - he will only be a puppy for a short while!!

Margot

I never vaccinate, I use nosodes, and my pups go out from the age of six or eight weeks when I bring them home. They go everywhere and meet everyone from people to cows and sheep and I take them to my agility club. Don't forget he will have some immunity from his mother and her milk which last several weeks. So chill out and enjoy your pup!

I take my dogs out before their first injection however that is my personal choice and risk.  I view isolation as a bigger risk than exposure myself...........

Claire, what are nosodes? Are they a kind of alternative to vaccinations? If so, how proven/safe are they? Thanks.

They are a homeopathic vaccine, and as with any homeopathic treatment, they have not been subjected to clinical trials. It depends on whether or not you trust the efinancy of homeopathic treatment. They are completely safe though because they are natural. I also use homeopathic wormer which I give on two consectutive days a month and which, unlike chemical wormers, work as a preventitive too. My dogs do agility at an equestrain centre and were forever picking up worms, but since they have been on this treatment, they have not had a single episode. The nosodes come from The Apothecary Chemist, tel. 01709531177, and the wormer is from Phytovet, tel. 0800-0744302 or www.doghealth.co.uk. They are both extremely helpful and will be able to give you more info. and advice. 

>They are completely safe though because they are natural.

Many natural things are extremely toxic!

Absolutely, like Hemlock, rhubarb leaves and some people :D

:D Ah but while the "memory" of Hemlock and rhubarb leaves should not be toxic unfortunately the "memory" of some people can be!!! :D

Hi Claire, you are dead right, h/pathy treatment is perfectly safe :)
I understood you were answering the question that was asked even tho others didn`t & felt the need to expand further your good response to the guest.

Christine, Spain.

Thanks Claire. I've had a look at the worming liquid on that website and I like the idea of using a natural product. Your testimony is reassuring - it's good to hear of someone who has had good results. They say it's ok for puppies too.

Thanks everyone. I forgot to mention that we also have a rabbit who has the run of the house and garden. He has been vaccinated against the rabbit stuff, but are there any risks either way between him and the new pup? (Other than the rabbit becoming a chew-toy...!) Obviously we will have to introduce them to each other very carefully. I would imagine that Monty the rabbit will see himself as "The Boss", but we'll have to see.

Jared

We have a rabbit who has run of the garden too. We've got a 14mth old staff bull terrier and got a new 8 wk old pup yesterday.  The rabbit was slightly alarmed when the first pup came, the pup had no prob with it as she thought the rab was a litter mate and wanted to chase him.  I did stop her chasing him initially as I was worried the rabbit would be petrified but he was absolutely fine.  He now plays with the dog no problem - dog chases rab, then rab chases dog, the rab washes the dog and the dog looks slightly embarrassed but they get on great.  When the rab saw the new pup yesterday, it was a case of - oh well, here's another one - and they've all been playing quite happily in the garden.  The rab was bigger than our first pup when we got her and I still think that in her mind she imagines that still to be the case.  Rab still rules in our garden.  I imagine that your pup would be bigger than the rabbit, so I would always supervise until you can completely trust them together.  If your rabbit hasn't been castrated he may be territorial and rabbits do have very sharp teeth and strong back legs, so I would definately think about getting him 'done' if you haven't already. Good luck!!
Charly

Thanks Charly. Glad to hear yours all get on. I'm quite looking forward to seeing how the rabbit deals with the new arrival. He has been castrated so hopefully we won't have too many problems if we're careful. I wonder if there are any diseases which may be passed from rabbit to dog? Unlikely I suppose in a domestic situation.

I asked the vet whether the rabbit could pass anything onto the pup and she said that it would be highly unlikely.  The main problem I have concerning them is that the first pup finds rabbit poops quite a delicacy and even waits for the rabbit to do some before nudging him out the way to gobble them up.  YUK.  We tried clearing them all up at first, but its quite a task and I have to say there will always be some that go undiscovered, so we just keep the garden as tidy as we can.  It hasn't done her any harm and I've read a book which says dogs are natural scavengers and poos wouldn't affect their stomachs anyway.  When are you getting the new pup?

My dogs have always considered rabbit poo as "Woodland Smarties". Keep up the worming regime (rabbits are generally riddled with tapeworm) and you'll be fine.
:)

I haven't had any probs with tapeworm, perhaps because he's a domestic rabbit.  I would agree with the regular worming though to be safe.

Lol@Jeangenie - chocolate drops in our house!  Freely available to snack on at anytime in the field!!!!  Yum, yum :-)

Speak to your local vets who will have a good idea about any outbreaks of anything nasty in the local area.  Like Tohme, I took my pup to places that I knew would be beneficial for him before he was vaccinated fully.  The vet reassured me that I was doing the right thing as they had no recent problems with sick dogs.  I woudn't choose the main areas where dogs are walked but I was able to visits friends fields, houses, and areas where I knew dogs were vaccinated.  I also took him to meet my youngest from school as I knew the summer holidays were approaching and by the time he could go out, school had broken up.  I though it important to expose him (in my arms) to the hustle and bustle he would experience.  The end result is a well socialised dog.

It is a risk and one that needs weighing carefully.  If you use nosodes and don't have him vaccinated then check the terms of any insurance you might take out as it could be invalid.  This will need checking out.

Good luck.

<If you use nosodes and don't have him vaccinated then check the terms of any insurance you might take out as it could be invalid.>

The insurance would only be invalid on conditions directly attributable to the disease caused by the lack of vaccination.

snomaes

Not on all policies, hence recommendation to check the small print carefully.

Im writing this as a caution really.  I like you was very anxious about vaccinnations.  In the end to make absolutely sure they did not catch anything I did not let them out of the house until a week after their second injection.  I made people remove their shoes and let the dogs  wee on newspaper.  They only went out for vet visits.  Thinking back now, although my heart was in the right place this has caused me to  have an extremely nervous dog, luckily the other two are fairly good socially but this one is awful.  When we are walking and someone is behind us she sits down and wont move.  She does enjoy a walk but it is quite stressful.  She is a dobermann so is quite hard to get moving again.  She was also very poorly when she was a puppy and again this stopped me taking her out.  Its hell when we have visitors although she is a lovely soul she terrifies them with her jumping and barking.  Everyone has to be formally introduced and supervised during their visit.  You could say I am paying for my mistake.  Take your vets advise and try not to get over obsessed with disease like I did because now I am paying the price.

An excellent demonstration of why you must weigh the pros and cons of your decisions.  I am afraid that isolation is, IMHO, the cause of far more long term problems than exposure to the odd germ!

Our last dog was never at ease when out walking, and would bark the house down if anyone so much as looked at the front door. We realize now that most of her "failings" were entirely OUR failings for not properly socializing and habitualizing her when she was a pup. She came to us through a series of unfortunate circumstances at about 5 weeks old and at the time I new very little about how to raise a pup. She was with us for nearly 17 years though! Sadly missed.

I'm not sure things can always be put down to socialisation problems I'm sure nature plays a part as well as nuture. Our first puppy bought over 20 years ago was a cocker bred by someone whose main interest was working springers the show type cockers were a side line to help with the finances.  I guess we would throw our hands up in horror at that now but it was a lot more common then and I believe the pups were bred with care from healthy stock (although not the testing you would find today) and certainly temperament was important to someone used to working their dogs.  Because we were waiting to move into our first house, coming from a flat, the puppy stayed at the breeders until she was 12 weeks old.  When we went to collect her she was alone in a run outside, seperate from the other dogs although able to see them and all the human activity, that was where she had been since the others left at 8 weeks and had never been in a house.  Of course that seemed all very normal to us then and although I am not sure I would be happy with those circumstances again she grew into a extremely well adjusted dog, very confident, friendly but gentle with people and other dogs without any great effort on our part.

That's funny! You almost make rabbit poos sound delicious. I think I'll resist the temptation to try them myself though..Our pup should be with us just after Christmas (not deliberate timing - it's just worked out that way). Due to be born any time now, so fingers crossed!