Puppy and classes

Hi Tails,
I'm confused... my vet says my pup can't be around other dogs and puppies until she is fully vaccinated, which is when she is about 16 weeks old. But you have classes starting at 9 weeks of age. What gives?

Vicky and Scooter-Pie, Bellingham

Dear Vicky and Scooter-Pie,
First let me say your veterinarian is absolutely, 100% correct. You cannot subject your puppy to other pups and dogs in which you do not know their health history, it’s just not safe! Too many canine diseases can live outside the body and your pup can be exposed to them simply by going for a walk in which a sick dog walked there the week before... However... your question needs more of an explanation.

Puppies are constantly going thru developmental stages; their brains are capable or learning and absorbing information at certain times that they cannot learn later in life. So we are faced with a dilemma. How do we socialize a puppy when that puppy can't be around other pups? The answer lies in socialization classes.
Our puppy pre school and kindergarten classes are open to all pups over 9 weeks of age. Those pups have to have been seen by a veterinarian and have started on their vaccines (DHPP and Bordetella). Its true you cannot take your pup on a walk or to the park, or anywhere that a dog you don't know their health history could of been before you. But our classes are healthy pups, in which we know their health history. We are faced with two risks:

1) risk of disease. Certainly these pups in classes are not finished with their vaccines so there is still a level of risk of exposure to other pups.

2) Risk of lack of socialization. This risk, in our opinion, is a far greater one.

Waiting until your pup is completely finished with vaccines until they begin to learn socialization is a huge missed opportunity. At the very least plan on a TON of catch up on your part. And know that some pups never fully recover the missed opportunities for socialization. I have been teaching classes for over 22 years and not once have we ever had an issue of disease contamination in one of our puppy classes. But I cannot count the number of calls we get about a 6 months old under socialized pup who is having major issues with not only socialization, but manners and bite inhibition.

So, in short... get puppy into an off leash socialization class- with a training center recommended by your vet, one who knows the health risks, one who is trained properly in animal husbandry and has a safe clean facility in which only vaccinated pups can come! You need to trust the training center that they are making sure everyone is up to date on vaccines, and not simply taking people word for it. Make sure the training center is clean and sanitized after classes.

Drop in on those classes, see how the class is run. Trust your gut!

Remember what we alwasy say: "Good Puppies don't happen by accident"

When should puppies start training?

Dear TAW, My puppy needs you! I have a 10 week old poodle mix that we got from a local rescue group. He is a doll, but we have issues with lots of puppy biting and potty training! He does not have all of his vaccines yet... do we wait on classes? Our vet says he can't be around other dogs yet...what to do? HELP!
Sue and Barkley in Bellingham

Dear Sue,
Thanks for the great question. We get this one a lot. Puppies can start learning basic cues as early as 4 weeks of age. But for group classes, with other puppies, we can start as early as 9 weeks of age. Your pups needs to of started their vaccine series of DHPP and Bordetella in order to start class. He won't be done with his vaccines yet, and that's OK. He will get a series of vaccines every 3 to 4 weeks until your pup is 14 to 16 weeks of age. Your veterinarian is absolutely right that your puppy cannot be exposed to dogs in which you don't know their health history. So you can't go on walks in the neighborhood, you can't go to the park and even when going to the vet hospital- be sure to carry him in and don't put him on the floor.(remember...sick dogs go to the vet!) The only real exception to this is Puppy Kindergarten Class where all the other pups are healthy and as up to date on vaccines as they can be. Your puppy is going through a developmental stage right now and there are things that he can learn now that he is not capable of learning later, so the longer you wait to start puppy classes the more you risk he is falling behind in his development. Our classes are for pups between the ages of 9 weeks to 18 weeks- older puppies cannot attend. Its crucial that puppy learns how to play properly and have good bite inhibition by 18 weeks of age, or you will be playing catch up forever. Some vets want to wait to do certain vaccines until the pup is older. This is something you need to discuss with your veterinarian. We feel that the risk of a dog not developing proper behaviors out ways the risk of disease since kindergarten is a controlled setting- but you need to have that conversation with your veterinarian.
Its also crucial that your pup be in a class with only other puppies (sorry dogs, we have other classes for you) and that there is off leash play time in each class. This is a controlled play time, not a free for all! Pups need to learn how to play with different sizes of puppies and follow other puppy cues.
For more information on this, go to our web site and download BEFORE YOU GET YOUR PUPPY book, for free.
Hope to see you soon at Kindergarten!