When you have a new puppy, it has to be socialized. Period. Once the puppy hits 16 weeks, the primary socialization window is closed. Before that time, you really have to get that puppy out and exposed to everything it will see in the real world: all kinds of people (men, women, children, old people, people in wheelchairs, people in uniforms, people in hats, drunk people), all kinds of different surfaces (grass, dirt, rocks, asphalt, sidewalk, tile, linoleum, carpet, wood, concrete), all different kinds of noises (heavy traffic, applause, drive-through tellers, live music), all different kinds of animals, et cetera, if you want to have a confident dog later. Not that they CAN'T be socialized to those things when they're older -- socialization is a lifelong process -- but it's so much easier if they see it all when they're young. This need for socialization butts heads with the need to keep the puppy safe from parvovirus. Puppy shots provide only partial protection until the final one is given at the age of 16 weeks, which is also when the primary socialization window closes. What to do?
Parvo is an exceedingly nasty, often-lethal dog virus that is, unfortunately, very common in Tucson. It's spread by any type of contact with feces from an infected dog. It can travel on people's hands, and it can live in dirt for years. It's on my mind for two reasons: 1) we have an 11-week-old puppy of a breed (German shepherd) that is very prone to suspicion, fear, and even aggression if not properly socialized, and 2) there is currently an outbreak of parvo at the San Rafael campus of Guide Dogs for the Blind, Inc., which has killed five puppies about the same age as Zsiga and sickened about thirty other pups. Guide Dogs for the Blind's puppy kennel is a fortress of sorts. Everyone wears protective clothing when interacting with the puppies; no unvaccinated dogs are anywhere near the campus; puppy health is monitored round the clock. Yet, somehow, parvo got into the fortress and killed puppies the same age as Zsiga.
There is an oft-stated opinion floating around dog training circles that, despite the risk, puppies under 16 weeks still need to get out and be socialized. It is true that behavior problems due to lack of socialization kill more dogs each year than parvo ever could. I have always agreed with this opinion, and have always socialized my under-16-weeks-old pups as much as possible, aside from actually taking them to the dog park or Petsmart or any other place where lots of dogs with unknown vaccination history go. (When I first got Citrus at the age of 9 weeks, I carried her into BevMo with me to buy a bottle of wine. Even though I never let her feet touch the ground, a woman came up to me and started berating me for having her out in public. "She could get parvo from licking someone's fingers!" this woman yelled at me. Another woman, passing by my house while I was watering the plants in my front yard with Citrus on leash, told me the same thing. Interfering busybodies.) I've been lucky and none of my puppies have ever gotten sick.
But now it's time to socialize Zsiga, and he needs it, and I am afraid. I am pretty sure Tim thinks I'm being paranoid. But everywhere Zsiga puts his feet, except for in our house and our backyard, makes me worry. The other night we brought him in the car to WOG. It was a great socialization experience. He got to meet all kinds of new people, and thought it was great. We didn't walk him hardly anywhere, just from the car to the grass where everyone was hanging out, but at one point he started digging in the dirt. It got all over his paws and mouth before we stopped him, and I couldn't help but wonder, what if parvo was living in that dirt? What if it's even now incubating in his body? Okay, I know I can't think that way, but I sort of do anyway.
We're lucky that Zsiga really seems to have a rock-solid temperament. He's not afraid of anything, and he loves people. But he still needs to get out and see the world. Tomorrow he's going to the Humane Society for shots (don't let his feet touch the ground there, for sure!), and then I think I will take him to the V.A. hospital for some real socializing. There we will get old men, white canes, wheelchairs, electric scooters, stairs, elevators, oxygen tanks, slippery floors, and, best of all, NO other dogs. I guess there are some safe places.
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