Hello, I’m soon going to collect my Labrador puppy and will be bringing it home to our house with our 13 year old mixed breed dog, and I’m not sure if i should let them mix. The puppy will only just have had its first vaccination, and everyone says not to let the dogs mix, but it will be very difficult to do so and no one has really explained the risks involved. I want the two dogs to meet when I bring the puppy home, but how long can I allow them to be together? Do I really have to keep them separated until 1 week after the puppies second vaccination or will it be ok for them to mix? The older dog hasn’t been vaccinated but due to her age she goes for a short walk maybe once a month so never comes into contact with other dogs. My thought is that because the older dog rarely goes out and never comes into contact with other dogs she is less likely to have diseases that she can pass on to the puppy. I don’t quite understand how diseases are transferred from one dog to the next, is it airborne, is it when they are near each other’s poo, is it by licking? Any help would be much appreciated and any advice on how long the dogs can be together and when would help, given I live in a small house and keeping them separated will be difficult. Thanks
Hi there, and welcome to the forum. It is important that your puppy mixes with other dogs for socialisation purposes. It's also important that those dogs are vaccinated. Some diseases are passed via droplets in the air, others are passed by contact with infected body fluids. Some very nasty diseases (parvovirus for example) can be walked in on footwear etc so a dog doesn't necessarily have to be actively playing with other dogs to become infected. For that reason, it is usually advisable to vaccinate all the dogs in the household before bringing a new puppy home. Check with your vet that the older dog's vaccine will have taken effect before your new puppy arrives. And do tell us all about your puppy!
