Post by Admin on Jul 3, 2007 9:08:38 GMT -5
Puppy tips
Early Handling - Puppies that are stimulated and handled from birth to five weeks of age are more confident, social, exploratory, faster maturing and better able to handle stress as they develop. Puppies obtained from a reputable breeder or foster home where they have had frequent contact and interaction with people are likely to be more social and less fearful as they develop.
Primary Socialization - There is a sensitive period in the development of most species when they develop social attachments with their own and other species, independent of punishment and rewards. In fact, both positive and negative events seem to accelerate socialization. The events that occur during this socialization period determines the puppy’s future social partners, as well as to what species he feels he belongs. By recognizing the critical time frame in which canine socialization develops, you can help to ensure a healthy social attachment to people and other animals, including other dogs.
The primary socialization period for dogs begins at 3 weeks of age and is diminishing by 12 weeks. Peak sensitivity is at 6 to 8 weeks. Beyond 12 weeks there is a tendency to act fearfully towards new people, animals and situations. Many young dogs will regress or become fearful again if they do not receive continued social interaction as they grow and develop. The 6-8 month period is another important time for socialization.
To help a healthy social relationship with other dogs throughout life, dogs should maintain their social contacts with their mother and littermates until 6 to 8 weeks of age. They should continue to have regular social interaction and play sessions with other dogs after he is taken into a new home. The puppy would likely do best if there was another dog in the new home, or if he had playmates in the neighborhood that he could interact with on a daily basis.
What is the best age to obtain my new puppy? Since it is so important for the puppy to develop and maintain social attachments to their own kind, puppies ideally will remain with their mother and littermates until about 7 weeks of age. Then when placed in the new home they can expand their social contacts to new people and species while still in their primary socialization period. By this time puppies will begin to develop preferences for elimination sites, so that this timing can also be helpful for housetraining.
What can I do to assist my puppy in its social development?
There should be little problem with a puppy that is less than 12 weeks of age developing healthy and lasting attachments to the people, sights and sounds in his new home. Your puppy is most likely to become fearful of stimuli that are not found in his day-to-day routine. Make a conscious effort to identify those people and situations that the puppy is not regularly exposed to. For example, if there are no children in the home, you might arrange regular play sessions with children. If you live in the country, make a few trips into the city, so that the puppy can be taken for walks on city streets, or through neighborhood plazas. Conversely, a puppy that grows up in the city might become fearful or aggressive toward farm animals that he was not exposed to during his early development.
Introduce your puppy to as many new people and situations as possible, beginning in its first three months of development. People in uniforms, babies, toddlers, the elderly, the physically challenged are just a few examples that might lead to fear and anxiety, unless there is sufficient early exposure. Similarly, car rides, elevators, stairs, or the noises of cars, trains, airplanes, or hot air balloons are some examples of events and experiences to which the puppy might be usefully exposed.
If your puppy seems to panic, back off a little and try again later, rather than aggravating the fear. Never reassure the fearful dog as this might serve to reward the fearful behavior.
Is it healthy to take my puppy out in public at such a young age?
Vaccinations
There is always a concern about the risks of taking the puppy out of his home before he is fully vaccinated because he may be exposed to infection before the vaccines have had time to become protective. If you take precautions, taking your new puppy out in public will be fine - just use caution when going to places that frequent other dogs as their imune system is not yet ready to combat possible viruses.
One solution is to have people and healthy vaccinated animals visit the puppy in his own home, until he is sufficiently vaccinated to be taken out. Having people take their shoes off at the door and wiping other dogs’ paws off before allowing them into the inner sanctum of your (and, more importantly, the pup’s) home is always a good idea. A compromise is to take the puppy out to meet people and other pets in low risk environments. As long as vaccines are up-to-date, taking the puppy for walks along the sidewalk and avoiding neighborhood parks where stools and urine might accumulate is generally safe and effective.
Another valuable aid is to enroll the puppy in puppy socialization classes. If these classes are held indoors in a room that can be cleaned and disinfected, and all puppies are screened for vaccination and health prior to each class, these classes provide varied and plentiful exposure to people and other dogs, in a low risk environment.
Why Vaccinate?
The purpose of vaccinations is to prevent disease. At this time, the majority of vaccines are made to combat viruses.
Prior to vaccines, people and pets frequently died from viral infections. Through scientific advancement and understanding of viruses and the immune system, vaccines have been developed. Since the advent of vaccines, death due to viruses that have a vaccine available has significantly declined.
When a normal, healthy puppy is born, her immune system is considered naïve. It has not been exposed to foreign substances or viruses. Through her mother’s milk, the puppy will gain some immunity from those viruses her mother is protected against. Unfortunately, this maternal immunity is temporary. In the first 5 to 6 weeks of life, the mother’s antibodies are sufficient to keep the puppy immune from most common viruses. At about 5 to 6 weeks, this immunity begins to wane. By age 20 weeks, the maternal antibodies are gone and the puppy must now rely on her own immune system to fight off viruses. Without prior exposure to a specific virus, her immune system can rapidly become overwhelmed as the live, active virus takes over.
The purpose of vaccination is to prepare and arm her immune system for the time when it will be exposed to certain viruses. Vaccination prepares her immune system for an invasion and results in rapid destruction of virus and maintains the health of the dog.
Without vaccination, the dog must be exposed to and survive the viral attack in order to develop immunity from future invasions. Vaccination bypasses this by exposing the dog to disabled or killed virus. This results in stimulation of the immune system as though a live virus has invaded but the dog does not get ill. Now, the immune system is prepared for future viral attacks.
During the first few months of life, a series of vaccinations is required. The reason is related to maternal antibodies. After a vaccination is given, the maternal antibodies attack the virus particles and destroy it. As the puppy ages, these maternal antibodies become weaker and are unable to destroy the vaccine. At this point, the vaccine is allowed to stimulate the puppy’s immune system and result in immunity. Unfortunately, it is not known for each puppy when the maternal antibodies are no longer effective. At some point between age 6 weeks to 20 weeks, the maternal antibodies are no longer protective. Since there is uncertainty, vaccination every 3 weeks is considered the safest way to ensure at least some protection to the puppy. After 20 weeks of age, maternal antibodies are gone and the puppy can now be vaccinated less frequently.
While young pups acquire some initial immunity from their dam toward certain dog-specific bacteria and viruses, this immunity wanes as the pup gets older and is replaced by that derived from vaccination. But the transition from one form of immunity (passive) to the other (active) is not always seamless or complete, often leaving holes in the pup’s defensive armor. It’s safer to assume nothing and do everything to keep the pup free from disease, even if this entails having people take their shoes off at the door and wiping other dogs’ paws off before allowing them into the inner sanctum of your (and, more importantly, the pup’s) home.
www.sniksnak.com/doghealth/socialization.html
Early Handling - Puppies that are stimulated and handled from birth to five weeks of age are more confident, social, exploratory, faster maturing and better able to handle stress as they develop. Puppies obtained from a reputable breeder or foster home where they have had frequent contact and interaction with people are likely to be more social and less fearful as they develop.
Primary Socialization - There is a sensitive period in the development of most species when they develop social attachments with their own and other species, independent of punishment and rewards. In fact, both positive and negative events seem to accelerate socialization. The events that occur during this socialization period determines the puppy’s future social partners, as well as to what species he feels he belongs. By recognizing the critical time frame in which canine socialization develops, you can help to ensure a healthy social attachment to people and other animals, including other dogs.
The primary socialization period for dogs begins at 3 weeks of age and is diminishing by 12 weeks. Peak sensitivity is at 6 to 8 weeks. Beyond 12 weeks there is a tendency to act fearfully towards new people, animals and situations. Many young dogs will regress or become fearful again if they do not receive continued social interaction as they grow and develop. The 6-8 month period is another important time for socialization.
To help a healthy social relationship with other dogs throughout life, dogs should maintain their social contacts with their mother and littermates until 6 to 8 weeks of age. They should continue to have regular social interaction and play sessions with other dogs after he is taken into a new home. The puppy would likely do best if there was another dog in the new home, or if he had playmates in the neighborhood that he could interact with on a daily basis.
What is the best age to obtain my new puppy? Since it is so important for the puppy to develop and maintain social attachments to their own kind, puppies ideally will remain with their mother and littermates until about 7 weeks of age. Then when placed in the new home they can expand their social contacts to new people and species while still in their primary socialization period. By this time puppies will begin to develop preferences for elimination sites, so that this timing can also be helpful for housetraining.
What can I do to assist my puppy in its social development?
There should be little problem with a puppy that is less than 12 weeks of age developing healthy and lasting attachments to the people, sights and sounds in his new home. Your puppy is most likely to become fearful of stimuli that are not found in his day-to-day routine. Make a conscious effort to identify those people and situations that the puppy is not regularly exposed to. For example, if there are no children in the home, you might arrange regular play sessions with children. If you live in the country, make a few trips into the city, so that the puppy can be taken for walks on city streets, or through neighborhood plazas. Conversely, a puppy that grows up in the city might become fearful or aggressive toward farm animals that he was not exposed to during his early development.
Introduce your puppy to as many new people and situations as possible, beginning in its first three months of development. People in uniforms, babies, toddlers, the elderly, the physically challenged are just a few examples that might lead to fear and anxiety, unless there is sufficient early exposure. Similarly, car rides, elevators, stairs, or the noises of cars, trains, airplanes, or hot air balloons are some examples of events and experiences to which the puppy might be usefully exposed.
If your puppy seems to panic, back off a little and try again later, rather than aggravating the fear. Never reassure the fearful dog as this might serve to reward the fearful behavior.
Is it healthy to take my puppy out in public at such a young age?
Vaccinations
There is always a concern about the risks of taking the puppy out of his home before he is fully vaccinated because he may be exposed to infection before the vaccines have had time to become protective. If you take precautions, taking your new puppy out in public will be fine - just use caution when going to places that frequent other dogs as their imune system is not yet ready to combat possible viruses.
One solution is to have people and healthy vaccinated animals visit the puppy in his own home, until he is sufficiently vaccinated to be taken out. Having people take their shoes off at the door and wiping other dogs’ paws off before allowing them into the inner sanctum of your (and, more importantly, the pup’s) home is always a good idea. A compromise is to take the puppy out to meet people and other pets in low risk environments. As long as vaccines are up-to-date, taking the puppy for walks along the sidewalk and avoiding neighborhood parks where stools and urine might accumulate is generally safe and effective.
Another valuable aid is to enroll the puppy in puppy socialization classes. If these classes are held indoors in a room that can be cleaned and disinfected, and all puppies are screened for vaccination and health prior to each class, these classes provide varied and plentiful exposure to people and other dogs, in a low risk environment.
Why Vaccinate?
The purpose of vaccinations is to prevent disease. At this time, the majority of vaccines are made to combat viruses.
Prior to vaccines, people and pets frequently died from viral infections. Through scientific advancement and understanding of viruses and the immune system, vaccines have been developed. Since the advent of vaccines, death due to viruses that have a vaccine available has significantly declined.
When a normal, healthy puppy is born, her immune system is considered naïve. It has not been exposed to foreign substances or viruses. Through her mother’s milk, the puppy will gain some immunity from those viruses her mother is protected against. Unfortunately, this maternal immunity is temporary. In the first 5 to 6 weeks of life, the mother’s antibodies are sufficient to keep the puppy immune from most common viruses. At about 5 to 6 weeks, this immunity begins to wane. By age 20 weeks, the maternal antibodies are gone and the puppy must now rely on her own immune system to fight off viruses. Without prior exposure to a specific virus, her immune system can rapidly become overwhelmed as the live, active virus takes over.
The purpose of vaccination is to prepare and arm her immune system for the time when it will be exposed to certain viruses. Vaccination prepares her immune system for an invasion and results in rapid destruction of virus and maintains the health of the dog.
Without vaccination, the dog must be exposed to and survive the viral attack in order to develop immunity from future invasions. Vaccination bypasses this by exposing the dog to disabled or killed virus. This results in stimulation of the immune system as though a live virus has invaded but the dog does not get ill. Now, the immune system is prepared for future viral attacks.
During the first few months of life, a series of vaccinations is required. The reason is related to maternal antibodies. After a vaccination is given, the maternal antibodies attack the virus particles and destroy it. As the puppy ages, these maternal antibodies become weaker and are unable to destroy the vaccine. At this point, the vaccine is allowed to stimulate the puppy’s immune system and result in immunity. Unfortunately, it is not known for each puppy when the maternal antibodies are no longer effective. At some point between age 6 weeks to 20 weeks, the maternal antibodies are no longer protective. Since there is uncertainty, vaccination every 3 weeks is considered the safest way to ensure at least some protection to the puppy. After 20 weeks of age, maternal antibodies are gone and the puppy can now be vaccinated less frequently.
While young pups acquire some initial immunity from their dam toward certain dog-specific bacteria and viruses, this immunity wanes as the pup gets older and is replaced by that derived from vaccination. But the transition from one form of immunity (passive) to the other (active) is not always seamless or complete, often leaving holes in the pup’s defensive armor. It’s safer to assume nothing and do everything to keep the pup free from disease, even if this entails having people take their shoes off at the door and wiping other dogs’ paws off before allowing them into the inner sanctum of your (and, more importantly, the pup’s) home.
www.sniksnak.com/doghealth/socialization.html