whats the general feeling on these, are they a good thing? obviously the pup gets a lot of socialistation at once,but just a bit worried it would be a free for all!!  am thinking of taking my pup to one , held at my local vets, aswell as ringcraft , if any one has experienced one i would like to hear from them, thanks x

Depends on who is running them & how they are organized why not have a look first(I tell people to do this with obedience classes)& then you will see what they are like

Would agree to check out exaclty what happens.

Some allow controlled interaction of shy dogs with shy dogs and more outgoing with similar. Others are a free for all.

I have had two puppies at my training classes who were at free for all classes and both were terrifed and hid under the chairs.

Puppy parties at vets are not always very well supervised and pups allowed to run all over - the shy ones get scared, the full on ones learn to bully, and so on.  The best ones will allow some free play but not necessarily all pups all the time... and even at this early stage, some interaction with owners is good (ie pratice recall and release back to play) so that the pups don't learn that owners are boring and other pups/dogs much more fun!

Lindsay
X

PS the one very positive thing that occurred when i took my pup to vet parties was that it created a great attitude to the vet surgery and she adores going in there !!!

the puppy parties that we've been to or held, have been when litters are just ready to leave for their new homes.
Friends and fellow breeders are invited over to have good look at the litter and handle them ( as well as having a drink and something to eat). They are geat fun and each puppy is assessed for it's conformation by  experienced folk in the breed - hopefully the breeders 'choice' is confirmed but there can be some very interesting diferences of opinion ;) - we are off to a puppy party next weekend :D

thanks for replies, i will go and see how i feel.

Hi I'd go and see what you think. But bare in mind its your pup and whatever else happens do what you feel is the "right" thing.
In Sals puppy class (at the vets who she now adores) the pups had been before so knew what was going to happen Sal didn't. I spent the classes sitting on the floor cross legged so she had somewhere to come back to and feel safe if/when the play got little to much for her. I didn't care a hoot what people thought - not that they said anything. She's my dog and I won't leave her scared/unsure ever.
Tess's class was a little different 2 years on as they were Cavaliers and lab and beagle pups as well as a leonberg and they all started on the same day, where as Sal's had other Staffs and dobes, airdales, jack russells etc who play is a lot rougher.  
But with Tess's too I sat on the floor as her safety net.
Take care and go with your instinct. Although the people who run the classes are very helpful/nice you will live with your dog for a lifetime - it's your responsibility to make sure they feel safe.
Karen

We've only had positive experiences at our vets puppy parties.  Puppies are kept on lead for the most part for the first half while the vet nurse talks and gets a view on the different personalities and then she lets the shy ones off together 2 at a time, and the more boistrous ones off together two at a time.  Sometimes she'll add a third or sometimes just keep it to the two.

But if you're unsure definitely worth checking out first.

Wendy

Is it advisable to give your pup kennel cough prior to attending these parties in vets?? My vet says yes but the vets where the party is held says no!! What should i do???

Our vets run puppy parties and when our lad was young we took him. There was only about 6 dogs,per session, and they stagger the parties with ages,  of your dog, different days etc, he loved it,only dogs up to the 12 weeks go then, after that it was in the "big wide world".!