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Before you can understand
the risk versus the benefits
of getting your
9- to 12-week-old
puppy out in the world
to be socialized,
it helps to understand
how vaccines work.
As you'll recall from
our neonatal section,
the puppies are
protected from disease
by drinking their
mother's colostrum.
If the dam has
immunity to a disease,
the puppies will have
that same immunity.
So if the dam has been
successfully vaccinated
for parvovirus, her puppies
will have immunity to parvovirus
as well.
But that maternal immunity
doesn't last forever.
No one can say for sure when
the maternal antibodies will
wear off on any
particular puppy,
but they can wear off any
time between 6 and 14 weeks.
And in some cases, it might even
be earlier or later than that.
So now, we need to
vaccinate our puppies.
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Vaccines work by taking the
virus that causes the disease--
[LAUGHING]
And modifying it slightly--
Huh?
So it can no longer
make the puppy sick,
but yet will still trick
the puppy's immune system
into thinking it's
caught the disease.
The puppy's immune system
then kicks into high gear
and starts
manufacturing antibodies
to fight the disease.
Once the puppy's body has
manufactured those antibodies
one time, if he gets
the virus again--
[LAUGHING]
His body remembers how
to fight off the disease.
Uh oh.
He'll be able to manufacture
an army of antibodies,
kill the virus, and
he won't get sick.
It sounds simple.
Vaccinate the puppy once
when he's very young
before you expose him
to the outside world,
and he'll be protected, right?
Unfortunately,
it's not that easy.
We spoke with Dr.
Leele about the science
behind vaccinations.
If you vaccinate the
puppy when he still
has maternal antibodies,
the mother's antibodies
will mask that vaccine.
Cover it.
Put a blanket over it.
And so it's not going
to establish an immunity
because the mother's antibodies
are grabbing onto the vaccine's
virus before the puppy's
immune system can respond.
So now, you
understand why puppies
need three vaccinations.
It's not that they need to
receive the vaccine three
times for it to work.
It's that we never know for
sure when the puppy will
be able to be vaccinated.
We don't know when the
mother's antibodies
are going to stop
interfering with the vaccine.
So we've established
8, 12, and 16 weeks
as a guideline of when to
vaccinate these puppies,
looking for that specific
window when that is a new system
is going to be geared up to be
able to respond to the vaccines
without interference of
the mother's antibodies.
OK then.
If we're looking for the
earliest possible time, when
the maternally-derived
antibodies wear off,
why not just start
vaccinating every week as soon
as the puppies are born?
Wouldn't that give a 100%
guarantee of protection?
Again, unfortunately,
it's not that easy.
The reason we don't vaccinate
puppies younger than 8 weeks
or recommended is because the
immune system is simply not
well-established in
that young of a puppy.
So it really will be
ineffective to vaccinate them.
They won't have the
ability to respond
to that vaccine in most cases.
This all sounds
confusing, and you
may be wondering, bottom
line, at what age can I
vaccinate my puppy and
be virtually assured
that he's protected
from disease?
You want to make sure the
last vaccine they get,
that that puppy is at
least 16 weeks old.
Because based on
what we know now,
that's when maternal
antibodies are gone
and the puppy's mature
enough to establish
a good immune response
to that vaccine.
This presents a dilemma
because it's not
until the third
vaccine at 16 weeks
that we can be virtually
100% sure of vaccination.
And 16 weeks is after the close
of the critical socialization
period.
So what is a puppy owner to do?
I can tell you that,
for me in my practice,
and I've been practicing for a
long time, for almost 30 years.
And I've literally vaccinated
thousands of puppies
for distemper and parvo.
And I can tell you, I
really don't remember of any
that I've vaccinated
that ever came down
with either one
of those diseases.
I can also tell
you that what I now
know, for me in my
practice, behavioral issues
are a huge part that
can be prevented
by early socialization.
And so when we start
comparing exposing puppies
to socialization
classes, for example,
with only one vaccine
under their belt,
I think the risk is
minuscule that they
come down with one
of those diseases
compared to the high
risk of developing
behavioral issues I'm
not being socialized
during that critical
period of the puppy.
Every day, in her practice
as a veterinary behaviorist,
Dr. Herron sees the results
of not getting a puppy out
for early socialization.
We spoke with her about
her recommendations.
If you're bringing
in people, not dogs,
and socializing them to objects,
sights, sounds, and activities
in the safety of your own home,
that can start right away,
from day one.
Really need to get them started
with socialization at home
in a safe, controlled
environment right away.
But, Dr. Herron
adds, socialization
that takes place outside
the safety of your own home
requires different precautions.
Getting them to
the outdoor world
and introducing them to lots of
different novel things, people,
and other dogs.
Really need to make sure they
have the immune system that's
going to protect them
from infectious diseases.
And my position is that puppies
should have their first set
of vaccines about
seven days prior
to that outdoor socialization
where we're actually taking
them to novel environments.
So one really great way to
have controlled opportunity
in a safe, effective means
of socializing these puppies
is to get them
into a puppy class,
or what we might call
puppy kindergarten.
A lot of people have concerns
about taking their puppy out
into the world or to a
puppy class with only one
set of vaccines on board.
We're exposing
them to other dogs.
They haven't had all
their vaccines yet.
I'll hear a lot of
veterinarians actually recommend
to their clients,
we can't take them
to puppy class because they
don't have all vaccines yet.
We really need to look
at the risk-benefit ratio
here when you're
socializing your puppies.
Recently, there
was a study where
they looked at over
1,000 puppies who
attended a puppy
socialization class,
and the minimum
requirement being they
started class seven days after
their first set of vaccines.
And wouldn't you know,
not single one of them
had a case of parvo
over 1,000 puppies.
So really, the risk
of infectious disease
if you're following that minimum
requirement of vaccinating
that puppy seven days before
the start of class is minuscule.
Yet, the risk of their
developing a behavior problem
from a lack of socialization
during that very critical time
is substantial.
My personal experience in seeing
thousands of canine aggression
cases, that those
puppies that are not
socialized before
12 weeks of age
are going to develop
serious problems.
So it's actually quite
devastating to me
when I am presented
with a puppy, say 6 or 7
months of age, that really has
not been socialized at all.
Because the problem is
we can't turn back time.
I can't go get that sensitive
socialization period back.
I can't go back
to 3 to 12 weeks,
make that brain sponge again,
and give them that experience.
Unfortunately, now
all we're left with
is a dog who sees
life as novelty
and potentially sees
life as dangerous.
And the risk is that that
dogs potentially going
to show aggression problems.
Going to break that
human-animal bond,
going to end up potentially
losing its home.
And very tragically,
some of these guys
end up losing their lives.
So when you compare the risk
of a puppy losing its life
to an infectious disease
versus a puppy losing
a life to a later behavior
problem that may develop
due to a lack of
socialization during that 3
to 12 weeks of age period,
there's no comparison.
It's minuscule.
The risk of that puppy, if
they're vaccinated seven days
before you're really
exposing them to anything,
is minuscule of getting
that infectious disease.
Whereas the risk
is huge for them
to develop a
behavior problem that
may lead to a serious issue of
them either losing their home
or losing their life.
The importance of puppy
class and socialization
for puppies under 12 weeks
old is well-accepted.
Numerous universities
and veterinary societies
have come out in agreement
with this position.
There are, however, some safety
guidelines you should follow.
Along with most experts,
Doctors Leele and Herron
agree, that the two essential
vaccinations puppies
need to receive
before heading out
to the world for socialization
are parvovirus, or parvo,
and distemper.
Once your puppy has received
one round of vaccinations
when he's at least
7 or 8 weeks old,
you can feel safe socializing
him in the outside world.
But until he's received
his last vaccine
after he's at least
14 to 16 weeks old,
you should take some
additional precautions.
Don't expose him
to other puppies
that are not vaccinated for
things like distemper or parvo.
Stay away from the dog parks,
pet stores, and even roadside
rest areas because these places
have animals that may or may
not be vaccinated.
Finally, back to our
original question,
did we take a big risk
by bringing our puppies
on that road trip?
As far as infectious diseases
such as parvo and distemper,
I don't think that's a big risk
that you are taking it all.
Essentially, you are very
responsible for cautions
to prevent them from being
exposed to something like that.
And if anything, it is a
very big added benefit.
For us, when we weigh
the risk of disease
versus the huge benefits that
can be gained by socializing
and getting your
puppy out in the world
during this critical period,
we feel the benefits much
outweigh the risks.
There are no
guarantees ever in life
that nothing's going to
happen to your puppy.
And what it all
comes down to is you
weighing the risks
and the benefits
and coming up with a formula
that makes sense for you.
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