16/06/2025
It is said that the risk of puppy catching parvovirus, especially if you take the right precautions, are much less than the harm poor to no socialisation (which is about the dog developing coping skills and resilience in face of novelty, building their confidence in a structured manner) can do to a dog's wellbeing, emotional wellness and mental resilience.
What are your thoughts ?
HOW MANY PEOPLE SHOULD YOUNG PUPPIES MEET? When I first mentioned (28th May) the Open Paw 'MINIMAL Mental Health Requirements for Puppies'* a surprising number of people commented that it was 'insane', 'unnecessary' and 'unhealthy'. So, let's go about it another way — Why don't you all decide for yourselves? Let's have a survey...
1. HOW MANY PEOPLE do YOU think a puppy should meet and be handled by in the kennel prior to 8-weeks of age, and
2. HOW MANY PEOPLE do YOU think a puppy should meet and be handled by Parvo-SAFELY at home between 8–12-weeks.
PLEASE REPLY TO EACH QUESTION WITH A NUMBER and then make any comments you feel necessary. But, please consider What ages of people? Babies, toddlers, children, teenagers, young adults, middle-aged, elderly? What s*x? Boys/men, girls/women? What ethnicity? What body-type? Short, tall, underweight, overweight, short hair, long hair, beards? What accoutrements? Umbrellas, walking sticks, skateboards, sunglasses, masks, hoodies, perfumes, floppy hats, baseball hats, baseball hats on backwards? What personalities? Extroverted, introverted, quiet, noisy, active, passive? And what about body position and movement? Standing still, walking, jogging, skipping, bending over, looming, lying down, falling down, acting weird, silly walks, and extreme gaits. I could easily add another 10,000 words.
*OP MMHR: Puppies should meet and be handled by 100 unfamiliar people prior to 8-weeks of age in the kennel and another 100 unfamiliar people between 8 and 12 weeks.