early socialization vs. puppy safety?

[Bethysue]

i think your advice was my favorite so far! that is exactly the approach that i have been trying to take with kaiya, and she could not be better. i even brought her to work with me last week and nobody could believe how good she was. she didn't have any accidents, and she stayed at my desk the whole afternoon. i think it takes a little of the "hyper" out of them when they are always around people and new stuff because they've seen it all before.

a friend of mine has a boxer who has only been around other dogs for small periods of time here and there, and hardly any other people. he is a MESS- always bouncing around and getting so worked up that he can hardly breathe....anyway- that is exactly what we are trying to avoid with our baby.

[Scrapper's Mom]

I'm a big fan of taking your baby with you as much as possible. Boxers are very sociable and thrive on human contact. The more they get to see, the better. Of course, with a little puppy, I would be prudent and try to avoid areas where other dogs have been before they are finished with all of their shots. Your vet usually knows if those diseases are prevalent in your area. It doesn't take very long before they are fully immunized and you can take them out more. You just have to weigh the risks and decide for yourself what you feel comfortable with. If you talk to someone who has had a bad experience, they will be more adamant about not taking the puppy out before it's vaccinated. BTW, parvo can be picked up on the bottom of your shoe and brought into your home by that means. It's a virus, not a bacteria and like all viruses, not that easily killed.

[jennyp130]

I got my puppy at nearly 8 weeks. I lived in a an apartment complex at the time where MANY other dogs lived. I had him outside meeting other dogs that same week. He got to know nearly EVERY dog that lived there and I would let him play until he was pooped. I did that nearly every day and everytime we saw another dog, we went to visit (after checking to make sure the other dog was ok...) and play. He is 1 yr 4 mo now and STILL loves meeting other dogs and will play for HOURS. There are a couple dogs (ownders) I still keep in touch with from that apartment plan and we get together every once in a while to play ALL DAY. He has been around other aggessive dogs and ALWAYS BACKS down to them. He is gentle with the little ones and CRAZY with the feisty ones. He did get a bad bite from a German Shepherd once, but it didn't even phase him. I think it is better to get them socialized early and not to tease them with other dogs. My brother has 2 boxers, 1 male, 1 female, and they don't get along with other dogs, especially the female (unless they are other boxers). Boxers are a breed known to protect and if they are ever feared or know you are feared of something they will protect. And this is just my advice from my own experiences and other boxer owners, but the more they are provoked, the more aggressive they become. For instance, "Who is that? Go get him..." and then making your dog get all wired up and barking is just an example. I DO make it a POINT to make sure he is not around other aggressive dogs. Again, I'm not a professional, this is just my experience...