My husband and I are bringing home a lab puppy in a few months, and we are starting to make preparations! One thing I’m fairly concerned about is balancing parvo risk and socialization.
I saw my vet today for our cat and asked him about parvo. He said for labs, he recommends no high risk areas until 20 weeks, and best practice would be complete quarantine until 20 weeks as well. He said this is likely unrealistic, and we have to decide what risk level we’re comfortable with because not going anywhere until 20 weeks runs the risk of behavioral concerns later down the line.
He also told us that parvo is most fatal before 12 weeks, so we will definitely be “four off the floor” anywhere but home until then. He also said a puppy class that requires two rounds of vaccinations is safe to go to in our area. Having a properly socialized puppy is very important to us, but how do we decide when to start doing activities that may be risky, like walking in our suburban neighborhood or going to Home Depot? Are there ways that we can reduce the risk while waiting for her fourth round of vaccines?
submitted by /u/Rough-Jury
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