Advice for carrying puppy to socialise before fully vacc'd?

[Dulcie]

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We're trying to carry our new border terrier puppy (9 and a half weeks old) out and about to get him socialised, without putting him on the floor until he's fully vaccinated, but we're struggling to take him further than just popping to local shops for fear of him needing the toilet when we're out. He's great in the car, so we'd love to take him a bit further afield for an afternoon, but what should we do about going to the toilet out and about whilst he still can't be put on the floor outside of our garden? Any advice would be much appreciated! We want a happy, healthy, well-socialised pooch! Thanks!

 

[brackenben]

I used an old towel and placed that on floor when we took Ben out for day trips.

 

[Parly]

Personally I'd suggest not taking him outside until he's had his jabs and is 100% good to go and explore / meet new people and pets. When ours were housebound as young puppies it drove me nuts trying to find things to do but that time was spent essentially "bomb-proofing" inside the house and getting them used to different sounds, smells, sights and experiences that all add up and go a long way to when they venture out.

We blew up balloons, played with bubble wrap, RC cars, tanks, Daleks and anything we found that made a noise or gave off a shiny reflection. Surprising how much fun you end up having to be honest.

 

[Katalyst]

I was advised by my vet amd collegues to taken my puppy out in arms as much as possible and that after 1st jabs have taken, being put on concrete paths etc where there are no sign of faeces was pretty safe for toileting. We were told to avoid areas heavy with dog traffic and to keep him off the grass. Logan met several fully vaccinated dogs after his first jabs and being able to take him out and about a few weeks earlier than sometimes advised was helpful as my garden is simply not large enough to wear out an excitable 12 week old lurcher.

Most of the vets at my practice seem to strongly believe that the risk of parvo etc being picked up from a concrete floor was minor and far outweigh by the risks of an under socialised dog.

He is now able to go anywhere and pushing things just a little bit and using common sense to avoid issues (not letting him eat anything on the floor, avoiding unknown dogs/grassy areas/places dogs may have poo'd recently) seems to have paid off.