1 reply to this topic

[~musical912]

​Hi!  

 

My 13 week old miniature whoodle puppy got her 2nd shots last Thursday and I’m wondering when it would be safe to take her for a walk. I understand that it takes a few days for her to become fully immune to the diseases but I’ve seen many different periods of time. How long should I wait? 

Thank you, 

 

~musical 

[nebit]

There are a variety of opinions about this. Some folks go nowhere until the shot series are complete. The reason puppies get several sets is because until maternal immunity wears off, shots are useless, but we don't know exactly when it wears off for an individual puppy, so give multiple at intervals to protect the largest array of puppies possible. So she may already be immune, or she may have an immunity gap until the next shot- we don't know.

 

That said, the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behaviorists counters that this particularly time in puppyhood is critical to proper acclimation to environmental variety, and that owners SHOULD take their puppies out, but with some guidelines. These include going only to low-risk areas- I wouldn't bring a young puppy to a dog park, let them on the floor of a vet clinic, go to a petstore etc. If there are many dogs in your neighborhood, maybe you need to walk them elsewhere. If you have a quiet, mostly dogless neighborhood, your block may be reasonably safe etc. https://avsab.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Puppy-Socialization-Position-Statement-FINAL.pdf