Confused about puppy

[Christine + Ellie]

Hi everyone! My new mini doodle puppy was born on Monday and I'm doing a bit of research before she's able to come home. I'm a bit confused about how I go about housetraining. I understand that a puppy should not go outside until she's 12 to 14 weeks old to prevent getting parvo. My question is, do I train my puppy to go on wee wee pads until she can go outside? Will it be difficult to train her to go outside? Just a quick side note - I live in an apartment in New York City so there is no backyard.

Thanks!

[Missi]

Talk to Jane (mom to sherlock and Noah). She has trained both of her dogs in NYC and been great about preventing Parvo! They can go outside to potty, but just not around other dogs or dog parks. It definitely a balance between risk of Parvo and a well-socialized puppy. If you keep your puppy locked up for 16 weeks you will go crazy as well as have a very shy/scared dog for the rest of her life. On the other hand, Parvo is a very scary and real danger. A lot of it is just being knowledgeable about the risks and coming up with a plan that works for you and your puppy. Enjoy the next 8 week wait!!

[Yvonne, Riley, Murphy and Luca]

Jane will get to answer you. She has 2 dogs that she trained. They can go outside you just have to be careful of where. You will need to find places to socialize your puppy. Sometimes trainers have puppy play time, but most Petco's have puppy play days where you can take your puppy to meet other puppies and learn to play. Do some research because you don't want to keep your puppy locked up until it is 14 weeks old. You will go nuts. They have A LOT of evergy that needs to be burned off somehow.

[Tamara & Giada]

OMG..............these pups are so cute........they look like stuffed animals!!

[Tamara & Giada]

Also another great resource that I love is:

http://www.thehousebreakingbible.com/

[HANNAH 8/2/07 & HONEY 7/2/08]

No pup should be released from a breeder till it has had a parvo shot, and should be at least 8wks of age...Vets do give Parvo at 8wks of age some at 6wks. Your pup can contact Parvo if its in the air for a few blocks of the carrier, so leaving out dog parks and around other dogs is a great option, however if its in the air your pup will contact it if it has not had the shots, and up to date. You can contact a Vet before you buy your pup and set up a talk with them so you know what to expect, kinda like expecting a baby and planning ahead. Best Wishes...

[Ellen aka BeauBeau's Mom]

I found that a great resource when I first got Beau was the yellow and black paperback book from Petco (or Petsmart) called "Puppies for Dummies". Great advice re potty training, bathing, etc. Because I followed their advice, my dog is the ONLY dog I know of at the dog park that actually enjoys his bath.

[Christine + Ellie]

Thanks everyone for all your advice. I'll check out the sites and books you guys mention below. I can't wait!

[Noble Vestal Labradoodles]

As a breeder I always suggest setting up your potty routine from day one. Don't start on paper or wee wee pads unless you want to forever have a dog who potties in the house and is hard to house train.

Socialization far out weights the risk of disease. If you socialize your dog with other dogs who are known to be healthy and vaccinated you should be ok. Just dont hang out at the pet store and dog parks. Also call your vet + another 5 vets in the area and see when they last treated a dog with Parvo. They keep statistics of this stuff.

Your puppy if healthy will hold its mothers immunity for 16 weeks and some have reported never giving a vaccine and only checking titers and having sufficient cell memory. The rabies vaccine is the only vaccine required vaccine in the 48 continental states.

I would not over tax a puppies system by over vaccinating and vaccinating it too early.