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Hi all. I figured I’d ask this here since there are plenty of knowledgeable people here.
Tomorrow I’m getting a new puppy. He’ll also be getting his second set of shots tomorrow as well. I wanted to ask when it is considered “safe” for a new puppy to mingle with other animals/go outside for walks etc. Why? I’m scared of dog distemper. I don’t want the dog to be able to have that percentage of being possible to get distemper, so I want to get information.
I heard that until 12 weeks (the third set of shots) all puppies are still susceptible to illnesses, including distemper. Is this correct?I’m honestly not even sure what the possibility of a dog getting distemper is. But my german shepherd DID have distemper (he beat it), but he came from the pound (this new puppy is coming from a breeder).
It may seem weird that I’m so obsessed with this, because I’m positive it’s not something the average dog owner thinks about… but for me, it could mean life or death.
Ferrets are 100% fatal to dog distemper. So needless to say I’m worried/paranoid about this. I’ll be keeping them separated anyway. At least until I know for sure what the deal is.Any information would be helpful. Thanks 🙂
Your dog is far less likely to get distemper than it is parvo.
Genuine distemper cases are quite rare nowadays (and they’re also almost 100% fatal in dogs too, not just ferrets) and it’s not something I would worry a whole lot about.
Your 12 week information is correct, and that’s always the hard part, because your socialization window is from 8 – 11 weeks. So you’ll have to get puppy out around other dogs and people that you know are kept up to date with their vaccines and minimize contact with dogs you don’t know, if you’re extremely concerned.
This is also a great discussion to have with the vet when you take him in for his first puppy visit.
I think you also need to wait at least a year after you have a dog with parvo/distemper to get another dog. Both diseases can live a long time in the grass/dirt so 12 months is safe for making sure the new dog doesn’t pick it up.
As for socialization – what type of dog is it? I have a Shiba Inu and they are VERY bad for dog aggression and we couldn’t start him socializing until after 12 weeks/shots.
However, we put him in a puppy class and doggy day care immediately after that and he has terrific social skills and zero dog aggression
So, I don’t think if you wait that all hope is lost. If my monster could learn to play nice after 12 weeks old, I think any dog can. 🙂
Your dog is far less likely to get distemper than it is parvo.
Genuine distemper cases are quite rare nowadays (and they’re also almost 100% fatal in dogs too, not just ferrets) and it’s not something I would worry a whole lot about.
Your 12 week information is correct, and that’s always the hard part, because your socialization window is from 8 – 11 weeks. So you’ll have to get puppy out around other dogs and people that you know are kept up to date with their vaccines and minimize contact with dogs you don’t know, if you’re extremely concerned.
This is also a great discussion to have with the vet when you take him in for his first puppy visit.
I heard distemper was still a huge killer for dogs. I don’t know anything about parvo though.
I actually don’t know anyone that has dogs (except clients), so really the only way he could be socialized with other dogs would be if I walked him around the park or something… but those are “stranger” dogs.
I might be very paranoid lol. When I think of all these dog adoption set up events that take place around here, where huge numbers of dogs are around each other, and owners even take their dogs just because. And the art fair just this past weekend that people had their dogs around as well. I must be making a bigger deal out of it. Still, I can’t help it. :X
I think you also need to wait at least a year after you have a dog with parvo/distemper to get another dog. Both diseases can live a long time in the grass/dirt so 12 months is safe for making sure the new dog doesn’t pick it up.
As for socialization – what type of dog is it? I have a Shiba Inu and they are VERY bad for dog aggression and we couldn’t start him socializing until after 12 weeks/shots.
However, we put him in a puppy class and doggy day care immediately after that and he has terrific social skills and zero dog aggression
So, I don’t think if you wait that all hope is lost. If my monster could learn to play nice after 12 weeks old, I think any dog can. 🙂
My german shepherd was put down in May. He was 12 years old. He had distemper when he was about 7 months old. He also lived hand in hand with my ferrets, so I feel that if there was a problem, it would have showed itself.
I also heard that distemper “dies” very quickly in hot weather. And I live where it gets to be 120 degrees at times.I did research on dogs before buying one. So many dog breeds are not suitable to houses with other animals. I believe everyone should do breed research before buying a dog… but people don’t, they just rush out and buy a dog.
We are getting a pembroke corgi. Apparently they are like germans shepherds in their intelligence, training and are good with other animals. I’ve spoke with other corgi owners and they agree.Shiba Inus are apparently pretty hard to train and are known for aggression (claims internet). I’m not a dog person (Ferrets over cats, cats over dogs), so if a dog isn’t going to follow my orders/training, I don’t want that breed. Which means I’ll probably only have german shepherds and (according to research) corgis in my life lol. There are a few dog breeds I like, but would never have due to the breed not being good at listening, or being a breed meant to hunt small animals.
As for “playing nice” after 12 weeks, I know it can be done. My german shepherd was around 5 years old when I brought home my first ferret. I trained him well from the very first day, so I didn’t even have to bother training him how to act around ferrets. He acted like they were “above him” without any interference or extra training from me. The ferrets would crawl all over him and even steal his food right from under his (literal) nose. He would just look away from the food bowl until the ferret left. I never once feared he might harm my ferrets, and he never did.
But I would just prefer to socialize as early as possible, especially with other animals, not necessarily dogs. I also think it’s a mighty long time to have the animals completely separated in the same house. Plus, it wouldn’t be fair to the puppy since he would be in the back room while the ferrets have the rest of the house.I ramble!
Corgis are herd dogs, just keep that in mind. They’re more like border collies in training than German Shepherds. You have to keep them from getting bored or they can be quite destructive. 🙂 Corgis, because they like to herd, are also prone to nipping at children or other non-pack-leader humans.
Shibas are a pain in the butt. 🙂 But, we did a TON of breed research so it’s fine. We started people socialization immediately and dog socialization as soon as we could. For a Shiba, we have a very mellow, non-aggressive dog. He warns unfamiliar people when they come in the house (barks/guard stance), but won’t bite/attack. He won’t listen AT ALL unless there is a treat involved though.
Shibas would definitely see ferrets as a snack and not a friend. Ours gets along with cats okay, but not birds or rodents. Also, they can’t be “off leash” as they have a ridiculously high prey drive (and see the “doesn’t listen” bit too).
My Shiba and my toddler are pretty much identical in terms of intelligence, trouble-making, and listening skills…. LOL
You might ask drag0n about corgis. I know she has one and is familiar with all the ins and outs. 🙂
Shibas are a pain in the butt. 🙂 But, we did a TON of breed research so it’s fine. We started people socialization immediately and dog socialization as soon as we could. For a Shiba, we have a very mellow, non-aggressive dog. He warns unfamiliar people when they come in the house (barks/guard stance), but won’t bite/attack. He won’t listen AT ALL unless there is a treat involved though.
Shibas would definitely see ferrets as a snack and not a friend. Ours gets along with cats okay, but not birds or rodents. Also, they can’t be “off leash” as they have a ridiculously high prey drive (and see the “doesn’t listen” bit too).
My Shiba and my toddler are pretty much identical in terms of intelligence, trouble-making, and listening skills…. LOL
LOL kiya, I love hearing about the Shiba. My sister has one, and she’s a spoiled little cutie pie/fox-demon monster. I didn’t know Shibas could be trained to be okay around cats, that’s awesome to hear. I always thought the wild boar hunting days instinct would kick in and make them hunt anything. My sister’s little shiba monster hunts lizards and snakes in the backyard constantly. She tries for birds too, but has only gotten one so far I think.
Oh, well, the cats were bigger than he was when he came home and taught him what was what. If they run, he chases them, but he just likes to lick them when he catches them. 🙂
I’m pretty sure he has us trained much better than we have him trained!
German shepherds are also herder dogs.
I know each dog is different, but of all the corgi owners I spoke to, they agreed in the likeness of a german. So I’m confident he’ll be alright with the ferrets. Not to mention I refuse to have an untrained dog, so I’ll be all over him with training 🙂You can work with Siberians too to be okay with cats depending on their temperament. Sibes are notorious for not paying attention and high prey drive. However, Shion, Jere, and Lel are all cat okay, but I wouldn’t trust Nane or Mishka…well, I’d trust them to kill the kitty but that’s not what we want at my house, so they aren’t allowed where the kitties are and vice versa.
I’d be more worried about Parvo than distemper with a puppy. I’d check w/ your local shelter and vets to make sure there isn’t an outbreak in your area. If there is keep the puppy home. A puppy training class would be a good way to get socialization, and you can ask if they require all the pups to be vaccinated w/ proof. That would improve your chances of not exposing the puppy to anything.
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Sun Dragon Koi #3I am with the rest of the folk here, parvo is a bigger worry than distemper. Corgi’s are great dogs, & since you have this one as a pup, I wouldn’t worry that he won’t be great with the ferrets, cats or any children…corgi’s are usually very loving dogs.
I miss my ferrets, sadly they all died of old age & I just couldn’t bear to get any more, too hard to keep up with their care when you work 10 hour days on average & have kids & such to deal with too. Wouldn’t be fair to them to leave them cooped up all the time.
Kyrin
I have a corgi too :bigsmile: She is as friendly as can be, BUT she is hard headed in the extreme! She likes to chase things (the neighbors chickens in particular) but in general corgi’s are cowards when confronted. Had a stray terrier puppy (that stayed with us a few days) that kicked her butt when she tried to be dominate dog over him lol. She did fine with my ferret before he died of old age, and fine with my mom’s cat. They can have a touch of food aggression because they are piggys, so deal with this early! They seem to like to run around the house like maniacs too…
Congrats on getting a new pup! You can’t get a whole lot cuter than a baby corgi 😉 And as long as you keep up to date on shots I wouldn’t fret too awful much. HUGS
Oh and kiya, I wasn’t implying that you didn’t do research. I apologize if it sounded that way.
What I meant was I know a lot of people that don’t do research. I know some people that just saw an ad and got a dog or dogs. Or my friend said, if he ever gets out of an apartment, that he would just go to the pound and “whichever one grabs me”.
Or my brother, that paid tons in vet bills, paid for large separate chain fences, paid for extensive training and got a serious wrist injury. All because they brought home a third dog. The two dogs were fantastic before, and they brought home a third and now no one gets along.
Things like that.I’m glad to hear that apparently distemper isn’t too common. He’ll go to the vet before we let him roam the rest of the house. As long as I get the a-o-k. Like I said, I can’t help but worry, even if I don’t need to.
His name is Gunji.
(His name isn’t “Gun”-ji. It’s a deep U. Almost more like “Goonji” but more U than O). Japanese word.
10 weeks old.Oh and kiya, I wasn’t implying that you didn’t do research. I apologize if it sounded that way.
Oh, no, I was trying to agree with you! My dog would have been a MONSTER if I hadn’t know what I was getting into! As it was, we were prepared for all of his MANY tricks (and the fact he is about as obedient as a cat). We looked at Corgies too – but the herd dog thing turned me off – we’d just had a bad experience with a border collie. 🙂 I LURV Corgies though… just not a great fit for our life style. (Shibas are lazy-ish and don’t mind that we’re not super awesome about daily walks…)
His name is Gunji.
(His name isn’t “Gun”-ji. It’s a deep U. Almost more like “Goonji” but more U than O). Japanese word.
10 weeks old.Oh, oh, oh, he is the CUTEST THING EVER!!!!! *grabby hands*
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