Click below to view a case study of a dog which due to a vet’s advice the owner did not condition & socialise during its critical period. A sad ending which could’ve been avoided.
	A Plea To All Puppy Owners By Basil Theofanides Posted 4/9/07 I am compelled to write this and convey my despair, frustration and anger at the continuous misadvise that many puppy owners receive from so-called professionals in the pet industry. This includes some vets and many breeders who for some reason think that puppies should be isolated until their final vaccinations and never be allowed to venture out from their owner’s home until then. I'll site a recent case-in point. A puppy owner booked her 8 week pup to start one of our Kindergarten Puppy Training programs. I outlined the benefits of starting as early as possible due to the critical periods of development (between 8 - 16 weeks of age ) to which she replied that although she was “very keen to start ASAP” the vet told her not to until after its final vaccination (anywhere between 12 - 16 weeks). I advised her that even though her pup was not fully immunised she needed to consider the detrimental impact isolation would have on it I.e. more than likely develop aggression, nervousness, fear, lack of ability to adapt to unfamiliar environments and so forth. Do we isolate our children from society until they've had all their vaccinations and then send them out into the big wide world? I think not. Which is why we should acknowledge the absurdity of isolating pups. Anyway, the puppy owner seemed satisfied with my advice and confirmed her attendance. However, the next day she rang an hour before class commenced. Again voicing concern about the vaccination issue and that now her breeder advised strongly against taking pup to class. I reiterated my advice and also stated that more dogs die each year from euthanasia due to aggression than die from catching parvovirus. To my despair, unfortunately she decided to pull out of the puppy course. I see this situation repeating itself year in year out due to the many vets, breeders et al. who do not consider the importance of the mental development of puppies and strike fear into the hearts of puppy owners with their collective chorus of “do not take the puppy out until after all its vaccinations”! As far as I’m concerned they are partly culpable for the rise in dog attacks within our community, all of which, could have been avoided by using some basic common sense. Hence, if you know anyone with a baby puppy urge them to enrol in puppy school by 10 weeks of age for the pup’s and community’s sake. Info on CDTS’s KPT program can found @ http://www.dogtraining.com.au/kinder.htm Basil Theofanides has been a professional dog trainer for 25 years and has worked with guide dog & police dog trainers.
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