Time alone

[Will I Am]

What is an appropriate time period in which a new puppy (10 weeks) can be left alone? My wife works from home so the week days are not a problem. I was speaking more along the lines of visiting friends or, in this case, Holiday family visits (local). This was one of the many variables i did not think of when i chose a Christmas surprise puppy. Also, at what age can you introduce your pups to other dogs? After final vaccinations?

Thanks All

[Sandy]

My breeder advised that I not subject my dog to other dogs until after the final vaccinations. She even said if out on a walk, pick up my puppy when passing another dog. The main reason is that you don't know about the other dog's vaccinations.

As far as leaving him alone, I'm sure opinions will be mixed. I don't leave Toby for more than 2 1/2 hours even now, and he's 17 1/2 weeks old. I will lengthen that over time, but that's what I'm comfortable with now. I crate him when I'm out to prevent him getting into trouble, and me getting angry that he did naughty things. :)

[Kate]

Macey is 13 weeks old and stays in the crate for four hours at a time. During the day while we are working, she is in there for 8 hours total, with a walk in the middle of the day. She's fine in there--actually she really likes it in there!

Also, we introduced her to other dogs that we know are safe and healthy really early on. Otherwise, the vet said she can be around most any dogs after the 12 week shots. She's been great!

[Scott Chalkley]

As a breeder, I recommend that it depends on the personality of the puppy to determine the amount of time left alone. If they are very skiddish and stress a lot when left alone I would start with 1 minute and reward the pup every time you come back in the room. They need to get used to the fact that you will return. Other pups have more self confidence and can skip the small amounts of time. I still wouldn't recommend leaving them alone for extended amounts of time and always reward when you get back so they reconize that they are doing something you approve of. Leaving a toy or blanket that has their litters smell on it or your smell on it will calm them down. It's familiar to them. Also a tv or radio station left on, if already socialized to those sounds, should help as well. I would take it in stages and build up their comfort levels.

As for being around other dogs, I am pretty paranoid as a breeder. I don't allow anyone to touch our pups without washing their hands and taking off their shoes before entering our puppy suite. I tell our adoptive parents to check with their vets and do their own research on Parvo. Even if other dogs have had their vaccines does not mean they can't still pick up Parvo on their paws and carry it wherever they go. So I keep my pups away from all dogs that I have no idea where they have been (i.e. Dog parks, petsmart, etc.) until they have had all their shots and my vet says they are ok to play with others. Exceptions do apply when I know that the floors and shoes have been cleaned with a bleach solution ahead of time.

I always say it's better to be safe than sorry.

Great topics!

[Sine]

HI! We have a almost 16 week old goldendoodle, Joey, who we started puppy classes after his second set of vaccinations. Before that, we carried him around in malls and department stores and let him visit family and friends. There are lots of opinions about this. Hopefully, you have a vet who you really trust who can give you more educated facts on the topic. I agree with Scott in that it really depends on the puppy. Joey was obviously very well-rounded and social so it wasn't too much of an issue. Our previous dog really hated people he didn't know and other dogs so we were very very paranoid about the whole early-socialization thing and thought to take the risk. We do, however, stay away from parks and random dogs who we know nothing about still.

We leave Joey in a large pen with a potty pad for "just-in-case" with his smaller crate inside So far, the longest we have left him was 6 hrs but we try not to leave him for more than 4 hrs unless we absolutely have to. And, of course, we worked our way up with this, starting with just minutes! He hasn't had an accident with this set-up and hasn't really shown any separation anxiety yet! In the beginning, we rarely left him alone and took him everywhere we went. Your puppy is adorable! Good luck!

[Adina P]

I agree with the time rule written above. 2 months = 2 hours (max...some might only handle 1 hour...try it out and see); 3 months = 3 hours; 4 months = 4 hours.... this doesn't continue to 12 hours unfortunately ;-)

Puppy MIGHT be fine at this age up to 4 hours, but it really depends and I wouldn't push it in case she ends up soiling her crate. If you have friends/family you will visit with a fenced yard and either NO dogs or healthy, well behaved dogs...you COULD take puppy with you and bring a crate or exercise pen so that when you can NOT supervise puppy can be near and experience the sights and sounds of various locations (good socialization).

As far as contracting disease before all vaccinations. Breeders MUST be extra vigilant and I understand their point of view...they could lose WHOLE litters if they were not vigilant. But individual puppy owners while they have a duty to protect their pup also have a duty to socialize their pup. So it's a FINE line of safety vs. socialization. Both can be accomplished. If I were you I would talk to local vets. Find out what the parvo story is locally. Have there been recent outbreaks? What do they recommend? I would NOT let puppy out in parks or allow puppy to walk on the vet clinic floor...but I would allow healthy, nice dogs (whose owners i knew) to meet puppy -- provided that these dogs haven't recently visited the vet or dog park (where disease can be picked up and transferred).

There are a lot of varying opinions on this. Parvo is a HORRIBLE disease that can kill a dog FAST. But socialization is also important for good development. So talk with your vet (or several local vets) and get a feel for the parvo situation in your area...then make a decision you feel comfortable with.