Housetraining a puppy and worries about parvovirus outdoors

[ganesh]

I know that you're not supposed to take your puppy out until after all the jabs,but as I have an open garden this time I cannot be certain that it is dog 'free',in fact I have often seen dogs wander in (including all the hunt dogs the other day!!!)
So I'm worried that if I housetrain her in the normal way she will catch something or if I use pads or newspaper indoors it makes it very hard to housetrain after.
Does this also mean that I cannot go near other dogs in my family in case they are carrying something even though I know they've had their injections?.And surely you can't be certain about what you're bringing into the house on your shoes etc.!
Help! It's been a long time since I had a puppy!

[kita1]

Your pup will have a certain amount of antibodies from the mother. Your pup also was around the mother in the later weeks when she would have gone out (for walks etc.) so she would have been exposed to some diseases, if the people had more dogs than the mother then all those dogs would have been coming and going as normal.

Best to use common sense, your garden should be OK (within reason - don't put her outside for an hour!). It is just best not to take the pup to the local park where tons of dogs go! (and don't let her sniff to much or lick where other dogs have been). Also leptro is spread by rats urine so don't let her drink out of any puddles of rainwater in the garden. Also make sure the hunt dogs are not around when you have her out (don't want them to mistake her for prey!).

Basically, just use common sense. Of course you will bring stuff into the house on your shoes etc. but your pup should have enough natural defences to combat this, especially if she is happy and healthy.

It is important to socialise her, I would rather take the very slim chance of infection than have a nervous, unsocialised dog that was scared of everything! If she is small enough for you to carry around I would also get her out and about that way.

[ganesh]

Yes ,I do sound a bit neurotic don't I? I think I'll try and find a small patch of land and have her on a lead and look out for dogs coming near. I wonder how long the viruses would last on the grass if an infected dog had done anything on it.
Thanks.

[lankeela]

Thoroughly endorse what kita says. Far more puppies end up being put down through temperament problems due to not being socialised properly than die through infection caught from other dogs.

Use common sense, keep her away from highly used 'dog' areas, and if you can carry her to a safe place, then do so.
Your own garden should be ok, even if the occasional visitors uses it. Get her out and about to meet lots of people and see many different sounds and sights.
Other family dogs should be ok, unless of course you know of any illness or infections.

If I have ever had to bring a new puppy in, they have to mix straight away with my other dogs.

[winny]

I have an older dog and got a puppy and asked the vet a similar question about the older dog infecting the puppy. I was told that I could take him out for a walk and bring him in and that was ok as he is fully injected. She also said that Dogs could visit or I could visit them so long as they are all vaccinated up. It wont be long before the injections are done anyway.

We also paper trained our lab puppy inside in a large cat litter tray as I had a small baby and did not always notice her asking to go out. When she got the hang of doing it in the right place we put the tray outside and taught her to bark to go outside so I definatley heard her and it worked a treat. All done and now the yard is easy to clear up as all the stuff is in the same place where the tray was so we all happy. It all took anly a few weeks the bonus is if we need a wee sample we get the tray out and she wees in it. Sorted. good luck.

[winny]

I have an older dog and got a puppy and asked the vet a similar question about the older dog infecting the puppy. I was told that I could take him out for a walk and bring him in and that was ok as he is fully injected. She also said that Dogs could visit or I could visit them so long as they are all vaccinated up. The important thing was not to put puppy down where non vaccinated dogs may have been so we carried her to my sisters closed in garden as she has a fully vaccinated dog and all was fine.It wont be long before the injections are done anyway. You do not want to take chances my friends dog got parvo and it was very nasty.

We also paper trained our lab puppy inside in a large cat litter tray as I had a small baby and did not always notice her asking to go out. When she got the hang of doing it in the right place we put the tray outside and taught her to bark to go outside so I definatley heard her and it worked a treat. All done and now the yard is easy to clear up as all the stuff is in the same place where the tray was so we all happy. It all took anly a few weeks the bonus is if we need a wee sample we get the tray out and she wees in it. Sorted. good luck.

[ganesh]

Thanks all. You've put my mind at rest!

[Noweia]

To answer one of your other questions, how long a virus persists in the environment depends on the virus - some viruses die within a week, others - including parvovirus - have been shown to survive up to 9 months outside!

[ganesh]

aaaargghhh!!!!!! now you've made me worry again!

[kita1]

Don't worry!

A normal healthy, happy dog/pup will have a strong immune system that will probably deal with any minute traces of the virus that they come across.

My dog had the first set of vaccinations as a pup, he had the first booster and has not been vaccinated since. He is now 11. I live in the middle of a small town, and he is walked on dockland where everyone else walks their dogs. Last year the vet said in the local paper he had seen an 'outbreak' of parvo in the area (his surgery was full for the following month!). My dog is still here.

Another thing the vaccination covers is leptro which is spread by rats urine in water. People are not vaccinated against this, yet we can catch it through the skin (eg paddling in rivers etc.) If it is so prevalent then we would be vaccinated too!

I am not advocating not vaccinating your dog at all, I have my own reasons for not doing it.

But please don't panic, housetrain your dog and get her out and about sensibly and within reason.

PS I don't think you sound neurotic! My first pup I actually paid for the vet come out to the house to vaccinate as I did not want to take her to the surgery which in my inexperienced eyes was full of disease!! They are so dependent on us - it is like having a newborn baby.