Congratulations! You’ve just brought your new puppy home and can’t wait to start taking them on big adventures outside and introducing your new puppy to your friends and their dogs. But do you know when it is safe for your new puppy to explore the great outdoors?
As a new puppy owner, you have lots of choices to make and you may have lots of questions! When to bring a new puppy outside for the first time is a very common question that we hear from new puppy owners, and a very good one! The first few weeks in a new home are very important to set a puppy up for success.
When determining when a puppy can go outdoors, you need to take into consideration the consequences for their health, their routine, and their socialization, and we are here to talk you through it!
The First Few Weeks
What an exciting time! You’ve just brought home your new family member. You are awed by their peaceful puppy naps, and can’t get enough puppy snuggles. You may also find yourself a bit tired as you get into a rhythm with a night-time routine, potty training, and crate training.
You want to show off your little cutie to everyone, but want to know what’s safe for your puppy first. Maybe it’s your first time with a puppy at home, or maybe it has just been a while, but you know there are many important things to consider when developing a routine with a new puppy.
Important Medical Considerations
Exposure to the outdoors or unvaccinated or unwell dogs (or other animals) can also result in them contracting parasites, distemper, kennel cough (bordatella), rabies, or upper respiratory infections.
When Can My Puppy Go In The Backyard?
No Paws on the Ground!
Carrying your puppy helps in several ways: they are not able to run up and sniff or lick another unknown animal, they cannot find and eat unknown objects, and they do not risk picking up viruses or parasites in the environment. If you want to expose your puppy to new people for socialization purposes, one way to do this is to carry them in a public place (such as a dog-friendly hardware store) and make sure not to set them down.
When Can My Puppy Go On a Walk In The Neighborhood?
When Can I Introduce My Puppy to Other Dogs?
You may have heard that you need to socialize your puppy with lots of dogs and people starting on day one. This is important for their development as a happy, social, well-adjusted dog. How do you do this if your puppy should not be adventuring around the neighborhood?One option for introducing your puppy to other dogs is intentional play dates with dogs that you know the health and vaccination status of. You may have friends with dogs, or can find others in a similar situation with local dog lover Facebook groups or the website/app NextDoor.
When introducing your puppy to any new dog, you want to make sure that they have good experiences and limit play with dogs who may be overbearing or aggressive. Until your puppy is fully vaccinated, you should make sure that play dates happen in a home or backyard where no unvaccinated dogs have been.
Happy Puppies
As a new puppy owner, you may be overwhelmed with choices and responsibilities, and want to make sure you do what is best for your pup. With these tips, you are well on your way to a happy, safe, well-socialized puppyhood for your new family member!
If you are looking for experienced puppy care, fill out our form to us to schedule your free new client meeting. We love working with new puppies and new puppy owners!
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