Keeping puppy safe from Parvo in WESTERN Washington

[Kendyl & Will]

Friday we will be bring our puppy home. We live south of Seattle, in Tacoma.  Are there any doodle owners in this part of the state; how worried were you about Parvo when you brought your puppy home? I am reading many conflicting opinions and go from feeling okay to being absolutely terrified to take puppy on a walk. The breeder we are getting her from says that we should not worry too much about taking her on walks around the neighborhood, that she is coming to us already with two sets of shots and that it should be okay. I suppose I am just looking to be reassured. We have had a traumatic past few months in terms of pets and neither of us can handle a puppy dying right now..

 

We also have a 9 y.o. toy poodle who takes many walks everyday. Should I worry about cleaning his feet? We are renting and we have a small yard, but new neighbors moved in next to us with two little dogs that we now share the yard with. Maybe I am just overly worried and nervous..?

 

Any offered advice is appreciated, thank you

 

kendyl

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

Congrats on your new puppy! I understand your concern. I live in western Oregon and what I did when Tara came home was talk with my vet and also called the local shelters and asked  how prevalent parvo was at that time. It seems to come in waves and sometimes there is very little and other times it is a real problem.   At that time there really wasn't much in this area but I still took precautions. I only walked her in the street (quiet neighborhood) and not along the sides. Plus she came home at the end of January so we got rained out quite a bit of the time!  I never let her feet touch the ground at the vets office and they were very good about bringing the vaccinations out to the car for me and the vet (who is a neighbor) gave her one at home.  Some people wear shoe covers at the vets. I didn't but I did remove my shoes and wash the bottoms once I got home.  Anytime I took her to public places (aside from our walks) I carried her until all vaccinations were in place. May have been overkill but it's what I had to do for my peace of mind. :) I would probably wipe your poodles feet after a walk and also ask the neighbors if their dogs have been vaccinated too. So now you know you're not the only paranoid doodle mom! LOL

[Sally S Miles]

Congratulations!  I'm over on the other side of the TN bridge.  Well, last year my vet told me that it depends on the vaccine used - we brought our girl home at 12 weeks, but still had to get another vaccine prior to her being 'ground ready' = so I would double check to be safe. Our pup had had two vaccines, but my vet was not satisfied with the vaccine used and we waited on taking her out for a while.    It depends on vaccine used as well as spacing.

 I'd rather be safe than sorry -  how old is your pup?   Can you set up an 'x-pen' to separate her from the other dogs? Are you neighbors dogs current on all vaccines and dewormed?  Bordatella was around last year also.  

I completely agree with caution and those things that 'Ricki and Tara(doodle)' suggests.  The stuff comes in waves, this year weather is very different and as you know the better the weather the more folks head outside, taking dogs and stuff along.    You can wipe off your shoes, your poodles feet, keep a bottle by the door and either dampen toweling or spray the mat to wipe feet on.  I would not take the chance on setting my pup down, not even in a 'shared' yard until I knew all were on the same page. Is your neighbor going to do same?     It might mean a few weeks of extra work, but I would keep puppy separated until a full ok from vet - you need some sleep, too. :)

 

Meanwhile, my son got his family a mutt that was dragged all over the place prior to being up to date (despite my rant) and he's a hardy fellow.

 

[a.k.a. Rodney]

Ricki/Tara..had some good ideas...I did the street walk too...not to often during the day, but at nite..less people, dogs etc.
I also used baby wipes for paws after coming in...served 2 purposes..cleaning them & getting the pup adjusted to the handling of her paws. shared back yard can be a challenge..I never took my dog out to front yard b/c I had lots of neighbors with dogs and we know how that goes....do you have a side yard that only you can use?
The vet & breeder really stressed how important this was & I generally a.m. Not annal about things but this I was very complient about. Good luck..before you know it..it will all be a faded memory

[Christine & Shelby]

I asked our Vet and she told me parvovirus was very bad in our area and told me not to take her out where other dogs had been until fully vaccinated... 1 week past her last parvo shot! It was tough, but we had play dates in our yard visited other friends homes with dogs that were fully vaccinated. We went the conservative route to be absolutely sure. I'd consult with you vet!

[Julie and Charlie]

I'm in Portland, Charlie came to me at the end of July last year. After he received a second round of vaccinations, we went for neighborhood walks- it was warm and sunny and no rain for weeks, so I figured that not too much could grow on the sidewalk and the paved path at the park. Anywhere else, he was carried unless it was in the backyard of a private home with owners with vaccinated dogs.