11/08/2025
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🐶 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗼𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝘂𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝘂𝗽𝗽𝘆’𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲…
😅 It’s probably one of the more contentious topics out there; do you, or don’t you take your puppy out before their final vaccinations at around 16 weeks.
☝🏽 Here’s what the science says. Puppies go through a critical socialisation period between three and sixteen weeks of age. During this time, their brains are highly sensitive to learning. Everything they are exposed to, or not exposed to, shapes their behaviour for life.
👉🏽 If a puppy misses safe, positive exposure during this window, they are far more likely to develop fear based behaviours, anxiety, or reactivity. This is well documented in veterinary behavioural science.
💉 The challenge is that infectious disease is real and a possible risk, the most concerning is Parvovirus which can be potentially fatal. But isolating your puppy completely during this period increases the risk of long term behavioural issues that can be just as life altering.
⚖️ Now how do you juggle the risk with the long term detrimental effects of ‘no exposure’?
✅ The answer is, well thought of and common sense exposure work. Some suggestions may include:
👉🏽 Taking your puppy to areas that are low traffic dog areas, eg. Bunnings, shop fronts.
👉🏽 Visit areas that you are unlikely to come across dogs. Eg. Skate parks, children’s play grounds, shopping centers.
👉🏽 Hold your puppy.
👉🏽 Use a mat at cafes if required.
👉🏽 Sit on the outskirts of areas where dogs are at a distance.
👉🏽 Visit areas that have hard surfaces, eg. A car park.
🐾 The sky is really the limit. It simply requires you to forward think and be a bit creative on where you go.
🐕 I am a HUGE believer in well adjusted adult dogs, and this comes from ensuring early exposure work is achieved.
💬 Tell us, where did your puppy venture out to and how did you do it safely?
