Just a simple question but prob been covered before so sorry for asking. 11 weeks old tomorrow and having her 2nd jab and have been advised to wait another week before taking her out . Dyeing to take her out for some fun but would you? She will not be mixing with other dogs. I've already taken her down the street and back a few times to get her friendly with the dog lead (no dogs are about). I'm tempted to wait 3/4 days but c'mon 7 days. I've had a Lab before but that was 14 years ago and can't remember.
The issue isn't just other dogs being around, it's the risk of them picking something up from the floor. Parvo can live on the ground for a year and only takes a tiny amount to be transmitted to your pup. Different vets give different advice depending on the levels of risk in that particular area. Personally, I wouldn't risk it (and I wouldn't go down the street, either). I know how excited you are to take her out but another week is nothing in the grand scheme of things.
I'm quite strict with quarantine. Parvo can be very dangerous. You can teach your dog to walk on the lead at home or in your secure garden, it doesn't have to be street. To socialize with sounds, scents etc I recommend taking a pup in a bag / backpack or whatever you find easier for you as long as the dog doesn't have contact with surface. Here's my youngest: Ellie few days before second jab:
Having had two pups that contracted parvo, the first one almost dying and the second one very sick, I would add my voice to the chorus to keep her away from contact with places the virus might be until it is safe.
your choice .... if your gut tells you that's too much precautions then world is open for you and your puppy to explore. Just don't cry after if anything happens...
I used to carry harley to pets at home and we would often hang around the local shopping centre. This way she got used to lots of different noises and got to meet different people and some dogs. Our friend also brought her fully vaccinated dog to ours to play with her. Could you do something similar?
I think it's really tricky. If Parvo is in your local area then it is pretty easily transmitted - by foxes in the garden, into the house on shoes, and so on. So whatever you do there are risks. I wasn't prepared to wait until after vaccinations to have Charlie meet other dogs, and he went to puppy school at 8 weeks old with other puppies who had all had their first vaccinations and had a note from the local vet saying they appeared healthy. Charlie was out in the garden (used as a short cut to the park by a few local foxes), we had a shoes off at the door policy, and he was carried everywhere else. Not entirely logical, but it's what I settled on after discussing matters with my vet.
I won't be able to take Twiglet out, paws down, into areas other dogs have been until she is 17 weeks. Guide Dogs are very, very careful now since they lost four to parvo. It simply isn't worth it. Four more days is nothing compared to the risk, in my view.
