BendyBoxers
Boxer Booster
vets and socialization
We had the same issue with vets scaring us about the 'vaccinations' and about how our dogs were going to contract deadly diseases if we even walked them outside our front yard.. it was so ridiculous.
I was so scared when I first got Elliot that he would contract Parvo, distemper, etc.. Before he even came home, I had bleached his kennel, the bottoms of our shoes, and our kitchen floor.. (to rid it of possible 'parvo')
He wasn't taken anywhere until he had all shots at 15 weeks. I remember when the vet finally gave me the Okay to take him out on a walk. Before that age, he hadn't even left the house except for vet visits. Looking back, that was so developmentally crippling to him! He now is dealing with possibly a vaccine related auto immune disorder (we don't know what is wrong with him).. he was vaccinated to the hilt, and is sicker than anything.
Dexter has been taken out as we please. He has been minimally vaccinated as a puppy, and I will not vaccinate him again besides what is required by law. I am not proposing that new puppy owners take their 8 week old pups to a dog park.. but, we took Dexter to Petco and stuck him in the shopping cart. He rode in the cart and looked at everyone as he was riding by. People stopped to pet him and 'Ooo' and 'Aaaah' over him. I took him on daily trips to the mailbox to retrieve mail, on trips to the vet with Elliot (Elliot requires lots of vet visits), and car rides to pick up kids from school. He got walked around our neighborhood, and met other dogs. I first allowed him to walk around petco/petsmart when he was around 3-4 months old. He went to the dog park for the first time when he was 7 months old. I now take him everywhere that dogs are allowed to go.
Somehow.. even though Dexter hasn't received all of those '7 in 1' 'Booster' shots.. he is healthy!
It makes me so mad that vets try to scare you out of socializing your dog during the most critical time window in their lives..
We had the same issue with vets scaring us about the 'vaccinations' and about how our dogs were going to contract deadly diseases if we even walked them outside our front yard.. it was so ridiculous.
I was so scared when I first got Elliot that he would contract Parvo, distemper, etc.. Before he even came home, I had bleached his kennel, the bottoms of our shoes, and our kitchen floor.. (to rid it of possible 'parvo')
He wasn't taken anywhere until he had all shots at 15 weeks. I remember when the vet finally gave me the Okay to take him out on a walk. Before that age, he hadn't even left the house except for vet visits. Looking back, that was so developmentally crippling to him! He now is dealing with possibly a vaccine related auto immune disorder (we don't know what is wrong with him).. he was vaccinated to the hilt, and is sicker than anything.
Dexter has been taken out as we please. He has been minimally vaccinated as a puppy, and I will not vaccinate him again besides what is required by law. I am not proposing that new puppy owners take their 8 week old pups to a dog park.. but, we took Dexter to Petco and stuck him in the shopping cart. He rode in the cart and looked at everyone as he was riding by. People stopped to pet him and 'Ooo' and 'Aaaah' over him. I took him on daily trips to the mailbox to retrieve mail, on trips to the vet with Elliot (Elliot requires lots of vet visits), and car rides to pick up kids from school. He got walked around our neighborhood, and met other dogs. I first allowed him to walk around petco/petsmart when he was around 3-4 months old. He went to the dog park for the first time when he was 7 months old. I now take him everywhere that dogs are allowed to go.
Somehow.. even though Dexter hasn't received all of those '7 in 1' 'Booster' shots.. he is healthy!
It makes me so mad that vets try to scare you out of socializing your dog during the most critical time window in their lives..
good luck