So I have been waiting to have a puppy for a LONG time and have posted some questions on here before. I have now found a breeder who has puppies due and I went to visit a couple of weeks ago. The visit went well, he seems a good owner ( his 3 dogs are gun dogs) who occasionally breeds. It's the mums first litter (she is 4) and the pups are due this week! I will go and visit again when the pups are 4 weeks old. I'm really excited and counting down the weeks! But have a few questions which, despite lots of reading, I can't work out and I thought people here might be able to help with. 1. Starting my puppy shopping and I am looking at getting a harness and collar, but I've no idea what size or weight the pup will be when she comes home?? 2. I asked the breeder if she will come home with a blanket or something smelling of the mother, but he said he doesn't usually. He said I could take something at 4 weeks to leave with her for her to get used to my smell. Have others done this? 3. For personal reasons, I won't be using a metal crate. But I do think crating or confining to a small space helps with toilet training, and having somewhere safe I can keep her when I'm out of the room. So I do have a metal play pen which I was going to use with either a fabric crate or a plastic bed in. Has anyone had any luck with fabric crates, or is she likely to just chew it to pieces and so I shouldn't bother and just go for a plastic bed? 4. Vaccinations (I'm in the UK) - the breeder said his vet prefers to do 10 and 12 weeks, but that would mean she hasn't had either before she comes home. I've read they can be done at 8 and 12 or 8 and 10. Any thoughts? 5. Either way, in terms of vaccinations, I'm a little concerned about how to socialise her if I can't take her out for walks/ put her down. I have a very large garden and kitchen/dining area which is where I will keep her at first. I know there are lots of games and training things I can do with her. But with 2 weeks off work (she will come to work with me after that), I'm worried we will both go mad stuck at home! I've read about carrying them places, but I would imagine she will be reasonably large/heavy to do that - especially by 12 weeks! 6. She will be coming home just before the holidays, so is it ok if she doesn't get her first vet visit for a week? 7. In the car I'm planning to put her in the boot (it's a hatchback) with a metal guard. But when she is little I wonder if I need to put her in something first? Thanks for your help!
Hi and a warm welcome to the forum from our pack of three labs I will make a start.. 1. Don't worry too much about a collar and harness at this stage. We bought a cheap, soft mesh £10 harness from pets at home a couple of days after our last pup Bramble landed. It was fine, she grew out of it quite quickly but useful to get her used to having a harness on. We used a light lead on to her harness for house and garden. We then moved to a puppia harness which a lot of forum members have used for their pups. 2. We brought a small towel back from the breeders, I don't honestly think it really matters though. (just my opinion) 3.Our pup was crate trained from day one...I agree the best way to help train a pups bladder to hold on, they really don't like messing their sleeping area. Of course, they do need to be taken for a wee sometimes every 30 mins depending on the activity...eg: sleeping, eating..playing..the more exciting, the less bladder control! 4. Lots of variation of this one..I don't think there is a wrong or right answer. Good idea to check with your vet however as they may suggest a schedule dependant on locality, for example high incidence of parvo. 5. Lots way to socialise puppy without needing to touch the ground..taking to shops, parks, just sitting in car watching lots of activity. Advice though...some dogs need more, some less socialisation depending on temperament. Allow the pup to experience a new environment slowly and gently, with lots of positive reinforcement. The first signs of anxiety or stress, stop. Let the pup go to new things and people, not the other way round. 6. Don't think so as long as pup is healthy. Personally though I would get the pup checked within a few days. 7. transport...how far are you travelling?
First tip - get the Happy Puppy handbook advertised on the right here -----> It's brilliant and I read it cover to cover every time a new pup is due here ...
You might find this article interesting: http://www.wsava.org/sites/default/files/WSAVA Vaccination Guidelines 2015 Full Version.pdf It says: Most puppies are protected by MDA in the first weeks of life. In most puppies, passive immunity will have waned by 8–12 weeks of age to a level that allows active immunization. Puppies with poor MDA may be vulnerable (and capable of responding to vaccination) at an earlier age, while others may possess MDA at such high titres that they are incapable of responding to vaccination until ≥12 weeks of age (Friedrich & Truyen 2000) [EB1]. No single primary vaccination policy will therefore cover all possible situations. The recommendation of the VGG is for initial core vaccination at 6–8 weeks of age, then every 2–4 weeks until 16 weeks of age or older. Therefore the number of puppy primary core vaccinations will be determined by the age at which vaccination is started and the selected interval between vaccinations. Possible schedules are outlined in Table 5. By this recommendation, when vaccination is started at 6 or 7 weeks of age, a course of four primary core vaccines would be administered with a 4-week interval, but only three would be required with an 8- or 9-week start and a similar 4-week interval. In contrast, many vaccine datasheets continue to recommend an initial course of two injections of core vaccine. Some products are also licensed with a ‘10 week finish’ designed such that the second of two core vaccinations is given at 10 weeks of age. The rationale behind this protocol is to permit ‘early socialization’ of puppies while diminishing the risk of infectious diseases. The VGG recognizes that early socialization is essential to the behavioural development of dogs (Korbelik et al. 2011, AVSAB 2008) [EB1]. Where such protocols (i.e. ‘puppy classes’) are adopted, vigilance should still be maintained by the owner – allowing restricted exposure of their puppy to controlled areas and only to other puppies and adults that appear healthy and are fully vaccinated. In particular ‘puppy classes’ should be held in venues away from the veterinary practice. Alternatively, if it is decided that veterinary premises must be used, the floors should be cleaned and disinfected before each class and the classes held in an area not highly trafficked by dogs of unknown vaccination or disease status. A recent US study has shown the minimal risk for CPV-2 amongst vaccinated puppies attending social- ization classes (Stepita et al. 2013). The VGG recommends that whenever possible the last of the puppy primary series of core vaccines be given at 16 weeks of age or older
This is really interesting thank you! I think i'll calls my local vets which I'm going to use and see what they say.
Did you just carry yours about then? Travel initially just short 10 minute journeys. But I do have one trip a week which takes me 45-60 mins.
Stock up on skinny jeans and tight-sleeved tops! It's so much easier walking about without a puppy hanging off your trousers/skirt!
Hi...we've recently got our first puppy. A black lab with working lines too! With regards to vacinations our puppy was done at 7.5 weeks (whilst still with breeder) then again at 10 weeks and the final one at 12 weeks....he's been able to have walks outside since 11 weeks but not near water or farm land...but as he's had all 3 now can go anywhere from next weekend! I think it depends what make of vacine the vets use.
We had nearly a week until Scully's first vet check and it didn't seem to be a problem. Because she had her first vaccination then, they were at at 9, 11 and 13 weeks but she was OK to go out on the ground at 12 weeks. We weren't told to stay away from farmland though. We did carry her about before 12 weeks but she's a littler one and so not much carrying had to be done above 6kg. First week was really just standing at the end of our road and looking at cars, bikes, cats and other dogs from a distance.
I do not think it depends on the vaccine that the vet uses. If you read the article linked above, it explains that the earlier the vaccines are done, the higher risk that maternal anti-bodies will stop the vaccine from being effective. So it depends on what the balance of risk the vet thinks is appropriate between the benefits of early vaccination, and being sure they are effective. Or even whether the vet is following the latest guidelines. My older boy was vaccinated early, first at 8 weeks. I later found out the vaccine against distemper had not been effective (he had a titre test done). My new puppy was vaccinated a bit later, but still not at the recommended 16 weeks for last vaccination. She is having a titre test done now to make sure her vaccine coverage is effective.
I don't have anything to add other than congratulations! I've been waiting some time for my puppy (put a deposit down just subsequent to the pregnancy being confirmed)....and I only have two weeks to go! I'm so excited - oh, but I must say, don't go to overboard buying things. I have, and I think a lot of it will be useless (too small) upon his arrival.
Congratulations on your new puppy! I carried all mine in a puppy sling. It made me look like an idiot but the puppies loved it and so did I. At the time I found one that actually was sold as a puppy item, but the same things are made for human babies. A big table cloth would likely work just as well if you could figure out how to fasten in at the shoulder. Anyway, works great for 8 weeks up to how many pounds you can carry!
We carried Bailey until after his second vaccination plus one week - well to be honest, by we I do of course mean the OH . Although I did carry him when necessary, but not far. It wasn't necessarily the weight I found difficult, it was the complete wriggle monster I was trying to carry!
I think this is more what I had in mind But hey, Fiona, if stretchy fleece is more your thing........
