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What is the earliest age that you should bring your puppy to the dog park2007-11-25 2:52:41

Try to find some other people with puppies and with older dogs who do well with puppies and set up play dates with them. You can call around to vets and groomers or ask around at the dog park to see if there are any "puppy kindergarten" classes...classes specifically for young puppies in your area. Not only will these classes be a good place to introduce him to other dogs for socialization purposes but they will also be a great opportunity for you to learn about puppy basics. Don't just try to socialize him with other dogs either. Introduce him to lots of different kinds of people too...different genders, different ages, disabled people, people in uniforms. And lots of different surfaces...grass, concrete, hard wood floors, tile floors, metal grates (with holes/spacing that aren't large enough his feet can get caught or slip through), mulch, plastic. Local playgrounds can be a great place for socialization if they don't specifically ban dogs. There are usually people of many age groups there (young children, older children, teens babysitting younger children, adults and seniors watching their kids and grandkids) and many different surfaces (slides, forts, etc) and there is less of a risk of coming into contact with dog diseases than at the dog park (as long as you keep up with the vaccination schedule then you should be ok). Public places (walks around the block, public parks) do carry a risk of diseases but I feel that the risk of an undersocialized dog is greater than the risk of your dog catching a disease at one of these places as long as you stick to your vaccination schedule. Dog parks and pet stores on the other hand are known to be frequented by many dogs and by owners with all levels of experience and responsibility. To me, these public places have too great a risk of disease. Plus it's usually against most dog park rules to bring a dog who hasn't had all of their vaccines.

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You should wait at VERY least til he has had 2 vaccinations, 3 would be much better.. You can socialize him around people at home, and take him places where people don't take their dogs generally, you want to keep him from coming in contact w/ other dogs and places other dogs frequent. I take puppies w/ me to the bank, the girls make a huge fuss over puppies. Sorry about the other people in line behind me, but who can resist a puppy, and hey, it's great socialization :)

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Hi,