Do you let your puppies out to play in your yard before they go to their new homes, and if you do, at what age? DO you take any precautions in addition to putting up an x-pen or other enclosure?

I've always let my litters out to play, but I recently learned some breeders prefer to keep them inside until they leave. It seems like that would cause more stress on the pups when it's time to go, but maybe protecting them from germs is more important. What do you think?

I take my pups outside from the time they are 4 weeks old, even in the winter months for a few minutes at a time. I think the outdoors is a valuable learning experience form them. I have never had sick pups due to the outdoors. Just imagine how terrified they would be, new family, new home and made to go outside for the first time all at once.

JMO

Always take them outside, all seasons. Sometimes just on the porch but think it's important for their development. Never had sick pups.

Protect them from birds of prey....

OF COURSE!!!!!

Pups go out into a large puppy pen with multiple types of toys. all seasons. this area is disinfected prior to and intermittently during use.

What do you use to disinfect the area?

I used to take them out at 5 weeks, building up the length of time until they are 8-9 weeks.

Now I try to put them on the protected deck so that they are not eating leaves and dirt and pine needles. All those things can cause stomach upset and I find they do just as well on the deck.

Absolutely - I believe they need to go out on grass and the like - I don't particularly disinfect the area, just pick up poops, as I don't constantly have litters, just one or two a year at most. I put up an ez-up over my puppy yard to protect from hawks and give them more shade if it's warm. They aren't left out for very long if it's hot or cold, but the puppies are usually easy to potty train when they go home as they get used to pottying outside more than inside in their potty area by that time.

they do not go out until 7 weeks, and then only a few pups at a time for walks around the yard.

many red tail hawks in our area, they will pick one up with you standing there!

we have a very large kitchen, 20 x 30 that they pups have a 20 x 20 area to grow up in.

last but not least, by 7 weeks they have had 2 Neopar parvo vaccines.....

after 20 years of saying "never been sick", be very careful of your words.

we have giardia and coccidia on our property, so I do not take mine out, until they've gone home, and then just my keeper(s) can go out daily. inevitably they come down with something as soon as I start taking them out, and the treatment for these is expensive....esp. for an entire litter! last tiny bottle of ponazuril I bought was close to $140, and a large bottle of febendazole was $130.
also, we have eagles and hawks,( and many other predators...we live in the mtns ) so they are never left outside, just go on walks with me and a couple of old grandma dogs.

http://www.nvh.no/en/Home/News/News-stories/A-number-of-environmental-factors-can-affect-the-incidence-of-hip-dysplasia-in-dogs/


Yes from 3 weeks on. We just deal with any worms, etc that happen. We stay away from mud puddles if it's that rainy time of year, but we are out every day.

When I lived in the suburbs, I took my pups out every day from 4 weeks on. Never had a problem or a reason to worry.

Now that I live in farm country, no way. The hawks are fierce. They don't care if the mother is right there with the pups. I have had to go out and chase them away. The farmer next door, according to my vet, has Heartworm Positive dogs and does NOT treat them. Therefore, mosquitoes are a real threat to the pups. There is Lepto in the area and we have standing water.

We currently have a bear living on our property, plus fox, squirrels, deer, field mice who bring the deer ticks, huge barn rats, etc. etc. Some of my dogs have gotten Lyme in the past two year via ticks from the grass.

A friend who also lives on a similar property, has twice had her pups get scabies (Sarcoptic Mange) from letting them play in the grass. When they went to their new homes the pups had it and the owners had a devil of a time treating it. It caused real problems for the new families and the breeder.

Sometimes I miss my safe old backyard, but I love living here on my Farm with all the land, the horses and the pond. So, I won't chance my pups getting sick before they go home. Plus, they have NEVER had a problem adjusting to the outside in their new homes. They are Labs!

I've told this story a million times, 6 yrs ago I had a litter of 10 , one of my nicest litters ever. As you can imagine w/that many they needed to go out and get some "air" . So I set up several xpens attached together and put them out in the grass just off of my back porch. As I was outside taking the broom to the porch , a Hawk swooped down to grab one of my 6 week old babies, and of course he was after the biggest black boy , he nearly got him , I ran out of the porch swinging my broom , and deflected him as he was grabbing that puppy ! That puppy's name is Ch. Shalane Fly By Knight , we call him Hawk ! No more puppies go out in my yard without a top on the pen , and under constant supervision !

Pups are never out alone.

I treat with Ponazuril to prevent coccidia as soon as pups start going outside. Pups run with us and our children. We no longer put them in an xpen due to hawks, we just run them aroung 10-20 minutes while we are right with them.

I now set up 2 attached pens for them to play in our garage with the garage door open. I have a baby monitor on them and peek out the door often. I have their potty box in the xpens in the garage. After 4 weeks old, they get daily little outings with several of us along with them and playtime in the garage xpens.

OH my gosh! That's a great story because it has a happy ending. I'm so glad it turned out that way

Yes , read my post above. Trust me , had I not been running after that Hawk with my broom , my boy would be gone ! Don't for a minute think your puppies are safe outside, they certainly are not.

oh yes they will!
I have seen them pick up a large chicken and leave with it. My neighbor lost her 9 week old catahola pup to one as well.

It is a very serious problem around here.

A story about a hawk that picked up a Boxer puppy made the news here a few years back. Puppy was owned by a breeder friend of mine; the puppy was 20 lbs. and I think about 12 weeks old.

The hawk grabbed the pup and took off; it was flying about 20 feet in the air with Deb chasing it and yelling. It did drop the puppy who was basically unharmed; a couple of scratches, if I remember right.

I once placed a pup with a family who lost previous pup to a hawk picking up a 10 week old pup and puncturing a lung. Sadly, even though the hawk dropped the pup as owner ran waving a shovel, their pup did not make it.

I personally feel it is very important for puppies to experience different things as part of their socialization so yes, absolutely they go outside and play in the grass. They also get shallow water tubs to splash/play in.

We have turkey vultures among other types of birds of prey in our area so my x-pens all have a cover...I use the kennel shades to drape over them and they are supervised while they are out.

Right now the extreme temps are more worrisome to me.

My puppies always go outside to play...but then again we don't have to worry about Hawks in Iceland
They love to go outside to play and in the summer time they spend most of their time outside beside of peeking inside for short period of times and at night when they sleep inside. Our temps aren't as high as in USA so they are very comfortable playing outside. They get to go out to the grass and also to concrete and porch (wood'n floor)
At winters they stay most of the time indoors of course but do get to go outside for short period of times when the weather is nice enough for them. I have had no issues and no sickness in them.

You are afraid of a Turkey Vulture? Well unless one of your puppies dies, they are not a threat. They are not a bird of prey. They do not possess the ability to grab a hold of a puppy and take it away. Their feet are not designed for this.

We have hawks, owls and vultures too. I've never had a problem with any of these birds. The hawks have nested on or near my property for many many generations. I've lived here for more than 30 years. My puppies are kept in covered kennels outdoors and we go for daily nature walks. They grow up happy, confident and well-socialized.

I believe that the gravity of the situation was what Shalane was trying to convey- not necessarily the species of the bird!

Wow.."Hello?" lose the 'tude. Life must really be frustrating for someone so perfect that they have to call others out on silly slips. So thankful not to live in your household.

We also have hawks and bald eagles occassionally and all will circle when we have them out. It was less about species and more about how we handle puppy outside time.

Tude? No tude unless what you read into it. Was just educating about vultures. Bald Eagles are fishers and mainly just hunt and eat fish, not puppies.

With all this false information being spread on here, I'm afraid people will not allow their puppies to go out, supervised and thus will miss great social and exercise experiences for their puppies.

But you want tude, I can give it to you if you really want, but you seem to have enough for both of us and read into it what you will.

Not in our area sweetheart...I have seem them pick up small rabbits.

All the time, under supervision and with Mom.

Love this story!! I had never heard it before, and I'm so happy you were able to foil that hawk, Deb! Hawk is a beautiful boy and I've always wondered where his name came from...

Thanks for sharing!

shalane

I've told this story a million times, 6 yrs ago I had a litter of 10 , one of my nicest litters ever. As you can imagine w/that many they needed to go out and get some "air" . So I set up several xpens attached together and put them out in the grass just off of my back porch. As I was outside taking the broom to the porch , a Hawk swooped down to grab one of my 6 week old babies, and of course he was after the biggest black boy , he nearly got him , I ran out of the porch swinging my broom , and deflected him as he was grabbing that puppy ! That puppy's name is Ch. Shalane Fly By Knight , we call him Hawk ! No more puppies go out in my yard without a top on the pen , and under constant supervision !

So I figured hawks are a problem in the wide open spaces, so I have nothing to worry about. Well, let me tell you. I was outside hosing down the deck and the puppies were playing in the shady backyard. I saw a shadow, looked up, and saw a hawk circling above the trees. Do you want to know how fast I got all the puppies into my house.?

I have a 15x45 foot chain link puppy yard. I top it with a bird net, the same that are used at the game farms around here to keep their birds in. With a couple of poles in the center to hold the net up, the entire pen is protected. Depending on the weather my puppies can spend several hours a day outside. I think they are stronger and healthier for it. Total cost for the net was $50.

Since you are so keen on "educating" people... your comment about bald eagles being fishers who mainly just hunt and eat fish is entirely wrong! We lost a calf two years ago to a bald eagle. The eagle was up in a tree when the calf was born and kept swooping down at the calf. We chased it off for hours but once we were too far away to reach it, it came down and pecked out the eyes. We couldn't get back fast enough and the calf died. Maybe it was just a really aggressive eagle but we have heard from other ranchers that it is not all that uncommon and we are not the first in our area that this has happened to. That's hardly fishing. :(

I said "mainly" not "exclusively" so NO I do not have it "entirely WRONG". They are opportunists like most birds of prey. Mainly does not mean "always"~re-read my post before you open your mouth~OR~you could have rephrased your example without being so nasty and condescending.

Like with any thing, it's always best to keep an eye on your puppies if they are in a situation where they could become part of the food chain. However, certain birds of prey, like a Bald Eagle are not known for killing and eating puppies. Nor are Turkey Vultures. I suppose anything could happen and therefore puppies should always be supervised.

I had my puppies running around the backyard the other day and I spotted a hawk flying overhead. He never even looked at the pups and just kept circling further and further away from us.

Birds living in different areas have developed different ways of surviving. I read a great book on Ravens and it really surprised me how different the birds I am use to act and survive vs. the ones in different parts of the country and world. Each places, despite any similarities, is unquiue and the creatures have to adapt.

So, know what goes on in your neck of the woods and act accordingly, taking proper procautions.