# When is puppy old enough to go to the beach?



## ashleygrimaldi

We got our puppy! We took him home on Friday and his name is Finnegan.  it's only been three days but he's made us so happy already and we've laughed a million times, he's the cutest thing ever and incredibly well behaved.

Anyway, I have a question. I am going to check with his vet when we bring him in also, but Finn's breeder told us not to bring him on common ground for a while, I guess because he hasn't had all his shots yet. I've had puppies before so I knew this, but Finn is the first puppy I've actually wanted to bring anywhere (didn't have as many opportunities to bring my dogs out before living here) so I'm not really sure when it is safe to bring him anywhere. Is it just when he finishes with his puppy shots? And when exactly is he done with those? He's 9 weeks old now and he's had one so far, were scheduling his second one later on today.


----------



## Elisabeth Kazup

Congratulations on your new puppy. We can't help you until you post pictures. We are puppy fanatics! 

Just kidding about the help. I think it depends on which beach you take him to. A very popular dog beach is out of the question until he completes his shots. A very short amount of time at a remote beach where you carry him from the car MIGHT be okay.

Be careful with him drinking saltwater, it can make full-grown dogs pretty sick.

I think waiting a couple of months might be the best advice.

Pictures??


----------



## Oaklys Dad

I just avoided places where unvaccinated dogs may have been. I would avoid areas where lots of dogs go. Also don't let your puppy get on the floor at your vets office or in a pet store.


----------



## Rainheart

Only after 2 weeks after the pups final shots is he considered fully immunized, so roughly around 18 weeks of age (last shots are given at 16 weeks). Before that, be very careful of where you take him and only socialize around vaccinated dogs.


----------



## Discoverer

8-12 weeks is a critical time to puppy development, when they build very important social skills to be used for the rest of their life. The risk of not getting properly socialized by keeping puppy withing the home bounds is much higher than possibility to get infected from walking around. 
Most of the dogs nowdays are vaccinated and if you are following the simple safety rules, you'll reduce the risk to a minimum. Of course there is still a risk, so every owner make their own decision. . 
We start exploring neighborhood from the day one and went to the beach when Oscar was 8.5 weeks old. By 18 weeks he met probably over 200 dogs and 500+ people. But I would totally agree with* Rainheart* :
_



...be very careful of where you take him and only socialize around vaccinated dogs.

Click to expand...

_


----------



## Yamanjazz

I know how you feel. We would love to take Goldie to the beach or out somewhere but we are too scared. We dont think its worth the risk, even though our house is starting to smell a bit funky  hehehe


----------



## MPHW

I found the 8 to 16 week period fairly angst ridden because we kept hearing that we must socialize our puppy between 8-12 weeks, or else! And then hearing that we couldn't bring him around other dogs until he was fully vaccinated at 16 weeks. It felt a bit crazy making. We ended up waiting until he was fully vaccinated before taking him out in the neighbourhood, but in hindsight, every person in our neighbourhood that we've since run into has said that their dogs are fully vaccinated. People generally take care of their dogs. I agree with Discoverer that the risk of having an unsocialized dog is greater than him contracting a disease from an unvaccinated dog. Just my two cents. Having said that, Rudi ended up pretty well socialized (so far) despite having minimal contact with other dogs until he was fully vaccinated. Our biggest problem has been taking him to dog parks in the past month which we have now stopped. But that's another thread all together  Best of luck! Post some pictures!


----------



## Jige

I started taken BaWaaJige raround right away. I took to dog events that all the dogs had their shots. My boy had his first set at 6wks and second set at almost 8wks 2 days shy of the 8th wk. He wouldnt have went if the dogs had not had their shots but it is a requirement for or fair grounds.


----------



## jackie_hubert

Go and let puppy explore! Puppies need to go and do stuff to develop properly. Just avoid dog parks and places that typically have a lot of dogs. Puppy should do everything he will do as an adult before week 14 or so that includes walking in busy traffic areas, different textures, swimming, etc. Seeing strange dogs from a safe distance, strange people, signs, smells etc. Just make sure it's all positive!

Here's a great checklist to use:Puppy Socialization: Stop Fear Before it Starts | Animal Behavior and Medicine Blog | Dr. Sophia Yin, DVM, MS

Have fun!


----------



## nolefan

Penny's Mom said:


> Be careful with him drinking saltwater, it can make full-grown dogs pretty sick.
> 
> 
> Pictures??


Everybody's given great input, just wanted to emphasize this one.... And we do need photos!


----------



## MicheleKC87

I took Lily to the beach and to the park, brought her around dogs I was dogsitting, took her to the pet store, and everywhere else I went, at eight-ten weeks old. She went to the beach and the park at 9 weeks. She was not fully vaccinated yet, but I wanted her to get use to other dogs and going places with me. She never got sick, and is now fully vaccinated and pretty well socialized. Not to mention, she had a blast at the beach! I'm not an expert, but I'm just giving my experience.


----------



## Yamanjazz

I hope this isnt classed as high jacking this tread, but i thought it better to share stuff here. Our Goldie will be getting he 2nd vacs tomorrow, our vet is a bit worried of us taking him out because here is Cyprus got too many stray dogs and cats which are probably carrying all kinds off stuff. So we decided not to risk it. But now reading this thread im getting worried about not getting out in time to save him from fear and anti socialism. Id be very happy to hear your views and opinions on what i should do.


----------



## Brandiann

Sometimes you just have to be a little creative in socializing.. Do you have any friends, co workers or neighbors with friendly healthy vaccinated dogs/puppies? Is there anyone on the forum who lives close enough to arrange a play date? Or maybe ask your vet if they know of anyone or anywhere that would be okay for now. Sometimes they have other patients or a vet tech that would like to socialize their animals too. If there are a lot of strays and such in your area I would say that your pets health and safety should come first. Although it is great to socialize as young as possible, I don't believe that waiting til the last set of shots will not completely ruin socializing as they will still be young. Just get the pup out when you safely can. Once the pup has all its shots, puppy classes and social hours are usually easy to come by.


----------



## Yamanjazz

Cheers  Its always nice to get a some reassurance when in doubt


----------



## leonidas7

Just wanted to say thanks for everyone's replies, it has been very helpful! We've been taking our 7 week old puppy out when we go places and have been careful of where we put him down so he can roam around.


----------



## Ljilly28

The tides help make the beach a pretty good bet. All our pups go right from the get go at 8 weeks, especially when it is low tide.


----------



## mrmooseman

we took moose on his first beach day when he was 8 weeks. we were all shocked how much he loved the water! but didn't let him around strange dogs. he was around other dogs tho, but they had all their needles. we wanted him to be socialized so he wouldn't he so shy around people and wouldn't always bark at other dogs. he got along fine! he has all his needles now, so we take him more around other places. but we wanted to get him use to water asap! 

and also, he likes to swim with his mouth opened.. we learned this the hard way.. and cleaning sand and salt water vomit isn't fun. but hopefully that will stop.


----------



## aznkorboi

sorry to revive an old thread.. but what's the consensus on this? 

I'm hoping that we have our golden earlier but if we don't he may be a puppy with not all of his shots and I really want him to come along to a Pismo Beach camping trip with the family! Dogs are allowed at the campsite/beach on leash. 

What say you experts? Should I buy a baby stroller and stroll him everywhere  

hahah JK. Us men don't stroll. :


----------



## Sweet Girl

aznkorboi said:


> sorry to revive an old thread.. but what's the consensus on this?
> 
> I'm hoping that we have our golden earlier but if we don't he may be a puppy with not all of his shots and I really want him to come along to a Pismo Beach camping trip with the family! Dogs are allowed at the campsite/beach on leash.
> 
> What say you experts? Should I buy a baby stroller and stroll him everywhere
> 
> hahah JK. Us men don't stroll. :


I would talk to your vet. It really depends on what diseases are around your area. (I don't know how far Pismo Beach is from you). In some places, parvo is a huge danger and you have to be really careful about bringing your unvaccinated dog around common dog places. For me, it wasn't a big risk - there is like no parvo in my neighbourhood, and all the dogs are well-cared for and leashed. No strays at all. My vet said my pup could be out in front of my house, walk up the street, just ask any dogs that come along if they have all their shots (every single one did), and she would be fine. I'd ask your vet if she or he knows Pismo Beach - if they don't, maybe they can find out what the area is like and whether it'd be safe for a pup still waiting on shots.


----------



## Willow52

jackie_hubert said:


> Go and let puppy explore! Puppies need to go and do stuff to develop properly. Just avoid dog parks and places that typically have a lot of dogs. Puppy should do everything he will do as an adult before week 14 or so that includes walking in busy traffic areas, different textures, swimming, etc. Seeing strange dogs from a safe distance, strange people, signs, smells etc. Just make sure it's all positive!
> 
> Here's a great checklist to use:Puppy Socialization: Stop Fear Before it Starts | Animal Behavior and Medicine Blog | Dr. Sophia Yin, DVM, MS
> 
> Have fun!


I agree. I'd just stay away from a dog beach/parks, the area outside vet's offices or other areas where unknown dogs toilet.


----------

