[Hudson's Dad]

Hi, everyone. I'm going to be getting my doodle puppy (Hudson) the first week in June. He'll be between 8 and 9 weeks with his first set of shots. We live in an apartment building that has a private outdoor dog park on the 8th floor where I planned to take him for potty breaks. However, my concern now is that he might be too young to go to the park for potty time because the other residents' dogs also use the park and I know my puppy's immune system will not be strong at 9 weeks.

I've been reading around online and it sounds like if all I take him down there for is potty breaks and he doesn't interact with other dogs, the chances of him getting a disease are really small, especially if I keep him up on all his required immunizations at the appropriate ages per my vet's recommendations. Does that sound right?

I contemplated paper training him indoors until he was about 12-13 weeks old to cut down on his exposure. My concern is that initially paper training him inside will make it more difficult later to train him to go outside.

Anyone have thoughts on taking him outside to potty in an area where other dogs are guaranteed to have been?

Your advice is much appreciated!

Jason
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Hudson's life is chronicled at:
http://hudsondoodle.wordpress.com/

[annabelles mom]

Hi Jason

Sorry I can't help on that one, but Welcome and look forward to Hudson puppy pictures
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Mary & Annabelle
Zippity Doodle, Zippyity ay, My O My what a WonderDoodle Day !

http://www.picturetrail.com/luvlabs

[Hudson's Dad]

Hi, Mary. Thanks for the welcome. I'll do a more official announcement and post pictures once I actually have him in hand the first week in June. But since the first thing I am going to do when I get him out of the car is take him somewhere to potty, I thought I had better ask this question now. My avatar is a picture of Hudson that the breeder sent to me a couple of days ago, though. He's so cute! But everyone says that of their "children", I suppose....
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Hudson's life is chronicled at:
http://hudsondoodle.wordpress.com/

[deepnite10]

Hudson is going to grow up to be quite a handsome young man..

when you get him to the vet..they ll examine his medical history..and if
they feel Hudson needs to add anything he ll advise you..talk to the vet. and let them know what your plans are..

im sure he ll be able to give you the advise your seeking..

[Hudson's Dad]

Thanks! Of course, I have continued to read posts in the forum and came across one describing Parvo, which I had never heard of before. Now I'm completely freaked out.

I plan to bring Hudson in to the vet the day after I get him (the vet will be closed by the time I get back from the 8 hour round trip drive to the breeder). I guess I can do the paper thing for a day until I talk to the vet. A longer housebreaking cycle is preferable to a sick puppy (or worse!!!).

Maybe I'll take him out into the hall to poop. I'm sure my neighbors would love that!
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Hudson's life is chronicled at:
http://hudsondoodle.wordpress.com/

[KingstonTodd]

We lived in an Apt. with Heshey when we first got her. I used to take her on walks to find a unique area for her to do her buisness because the fire hydrant inour side yard was a public toilet for the entire neighbourhood. You cant isolate your puppy completely. I read an article about how poor puppy socalization ends up killing more dogs than parvo and other diseases combined. if i can find the link i'll post it later.

[Napathedoodle]

I potty trained Napa in a very dog friendly apartment complex. He did end up with worms, but who knows why he got them, stress (cuz pups have them naturally), or if it was in the grass. I'm not sure about the indoor/outdoor training. I was advised against it when I asked a similar question. But, I didn't have a 9 week old pup.... he was 13 weeks when we got him. Good luck!
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Kristen and Napa-doodle, the chocolate doodle!

[Hudson's Dad]

Maybe I should avoid the private park because, like the fire hydrant mentioned by KingstonTodd, it is the public toilet for the complex's four-legged residents. I can take him outside the complex initially if indoor paper training is indeed a bad idea.
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Hudson's life is chronicled at:
http://hudsondoodle.wordpress.com/

[blueteal]

Hi Jason
Welcome to Doodleland..........
Hudson is adorable.
I would avoid all dog parks until Hudson has had
all his shots. Maybe you can find a more secluded area
around your apartment where not too many know about?
You are already a great Dad for having such concerns for Hudson!!!!
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Sue & Denver & Ryder


Denver Meets Ryder Today!!!!!!!!!!!

[emilee]

we live in a dog-friendly condo complex, and there are a LOT of dogs that live here. with our puppy this winter, we took him to an out of the way spot to the left of our building when he needed to go out -- definitely not completely dog-free, but far enough away from the beaten path that he probably wouldn't be exposed to too much until he was fully vaccinated. the thing is, noplace is going to be completely virus-free -- the virus that causes parvo can live in the environment for up to 5 months! but i think that keeping a puppy away from high-traffic areas can limit exposure. if your pup is healthy to start with, he'll be ok.

your puppy is probably MORE protected at 9 weeks than he will be at 14 -- the antibodies he has received from his mother in the womb and through breast milk are likely still in his system. these antibodies wear off at different rates for different puppies, and the vaccines don't take effect completely until the mother's antibodies are gone -- this is why puppies get a series of vaccinations until 16 weeks old when the antibodies are sure to be out of their system.

i'm not a fan of using puppy pads for indoor housetraining -- the key to housetraining is consistency, and teaching the pup that *sometimes* it is ok to go in the house is a hard thing to un-teach later. and it is a real pain in the butt to have a dog you can't trust not to soil the house.

-em

[Hudson's Dad]

It sounds like I should definitely train him to go outside, but just avoid the high-traffic areas until he's had all his shots.

Would it be better to carry him to the spot initially? Does it matter? Is it just the fact of being outside only when eliminating that is important, or is it important for him to go through the motions of walking out the door with me and walking to the place where he'll eliminate?

Thanks, blueteal! Taking on a puppy is such a huge responsibility, it is a bit daunting! I'm actually using the next four months before I start a new job to do the puppy thing. I've been calling it "paternity leave."
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Hudson's life is chronicled at:
http://hudsondoodle.wordpress.com/

[MaxandMe]

HI and welcome ...HUDSON is really cute and congrats too.

i wish i could offer advice but no apt living here...i'd ask the vet
and like others take him to an area not usually frequented by dogs
as isn't it 16wks old when they're all up-to-date on shots.
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Annmarie, Max,& Peanut
Forum BLOG ARTICLE LINK http://blog.labradoodle-dogs.net/

"Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened." Anatole France

[Shaia]

hi and welcome! what a cute little guy. we live in a house with no yard but a small dog park a half block away. although i kept shaia away from other dogs as a pup, i did take her to that park to poop. she did end up with parasites. i ended up finding a designated spot in front of the house where she got used to peeing and i would just leash walk her to poop. it took a little extra time but was worth it. can you pick a close but out of the way spot? trust me, you can ever be too careful in those first few months. dealing with the parasites was a HUGE pain in the butt (pun intended). good luck.
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Mary & Shaia

[emilee]

most puppies are born with roundworms, and the breeder should provide you with documentation of when the pups were given worming medication -- it should have been done several times before you pick up the pup, but because of the way the lifecycle of roundworms works, they sometimes can still have them when they go home with you. it is a good idea to take a poop sample with you to your first few vet visits, they can inspect it for evidence of worms so you know if you'll have to de-worm again.

about the roundworm lifecycle:
http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_roundworms_in_dogs___puppies.html

we carried ursus to his designated spot for the first couple of weeks. we wanted him to learn use that spot, and really young puppies don't have a lot of bladder control -- i didn't want him peeing in the hallway or on the sidewalk or in someone's flower bed before he got to 'the spot'. when he was old enough to a) know where the spot was, and b) hold it until he got there, we started letting him walk out the door himself.

-em

[Hudson's Dad]

Thanks, everyone. I think my solution is to take Hudson out of the building, avoid the park, and try to find someplace secluded for him to eliminate. I'll talk to my vet about use of the dog park. But in theory he'll be okay to use it after his fourth round of shots.

Can't wait!
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Hudson's life is chronicled at:
http://hudsondoodle.wordpress.com/