# Camping w/puppy @ 12weeks or 15weeks - Parvo?



## stepkau (Jan 4, 2016)

Parvo? Camping w/puppy @ 12weeks or 15weeks

Puppy born a few days ago and just counted out the weeks until a couple of camping weekends with the family. 12 weeks and 15 weeks.. 

I've been reading about parvo and am guessing the trip in 12 weeks flat out needs to be canceled.. Assuming the final parvo shot is at 13 weeks, is 15 weeks going to work or do we need to cancel that one too? 

Any suggestions or thoughts, please let me know. thanks in advance.


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## Dracovich (Feb 24, 2017)

Parvo? The most important thing is to keep the puppy away from dogs who you're unsure if they are UTD on shots. That and keep the puppy away from other animal's feces.


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## Nurse Bishop (Nov 20, 2016)

If you camp dispersed camp in US National Forests dispersed camp you will have zero chance of diseases , google this for your state.


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## GypsyGhost (Dec 29, 2014)

Most puppies receive their last puppy shots right around 16 weeks. I personally would not risk camping with a puppy that young. Distemper would be my concern.


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## GypsyGhost (Dec 29, 2014)

Nurse Bishop said:


> If you camp dispersed camp in US National Forests dispersed camp you will have zero chance of diseases , google this for your state.


Dispersed camping does not mitigate all risk for infectious diseases. The risk of distemper is still there, as is leptospirosis, parvo, rabies and a host of other diseases that can be transmitted by wild animals. It's a risk no matter where you camp, if you bring a puppy that young with you.


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## stepkau (Jan 4, 2016)

New and learning. Will push the camping weekends back a few more weeks.. Thanks for the feedback.. My puppy thanks you too!


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## Nurse Bishop (Nov 20, 2016)

Dog Owner's guide; Dog Diseases


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## GypsyGhost (Dec 29, 2014)

stepkau said:


> New and learning. Will push the camping weekends back a few more weeks.. Thanks for the feedback.. My puppy thanks you too!


No problem! A silver lining... waiting a few more weeks may mean a little more control over the bladder for your puppy.


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## WateryTart (Sep 25, 2013)

Nurse Bishop said:


> If you camp dispersed camp in US National Forests dispersed camp you will have zero chance of diseases , google this for your state.


How is this possibly accurate?

Wild animals still live in those places, and they can spread disease. If someone else used the campsite the week prior and their dog had a disease, some of those pathogens can live in the soil.

Concluding that your dog has _p_=0 of contracting a communicable disease in a US National Forest is conceptually bankrupt at best.


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## Nurse Bishop (Nov 20, 2016)

Dispersed camping is camping in huge areas of natl. forests and BLM land where there have been no other camps and the attendant dogs.>https://www.fs.usda.gov/detailfull/fishlake/recreation/?cid=stelprdb5121831 

Congratulations on the puppy. How good for your kids to have a wonderful dog to grow up with. Are you in Illinois? I guess there are not too many natl. forests for dispersed camping in your state. But if you look on Google Earth you can find some natl. forest or BLM land nearest you. My land is it is up against a national forest that adjoins four other natl. forests in Oregon and down into northern California totaling 11,780 square miles. I dispersed camped with Inga when she had had three sets of shots and taking the precautions I mentioned. I kept her on leash at all times, didn't go where other dogs are and didn't go where raccoons had been as they can be a reservoir of distemper. The danger where I live is predators. Just in my area a little Schipperky was snatched off someone's porch by an eagle and a dog was taken from someone's front yard by a mountain lion. It ran in, grabbed the labrador by the neck and kept going.


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## GypsyGhost (Dec 29, 2014)

@Nurse Bishop I don't really understand how you are saying dispersed camping mitigates all risk of canine disease... there are still wild canids who can spread diseases. You yourself just mentioned that you waited until after Inga had had her three sets of shots to take her, so I don't really understand why you are suggesting someone with a yonger puppy needn't take the same precautions in areas where disease could still be spread. There is no way to absolutely be certain that the area you chose to set up camp has never ever been visited by a raccoon or a coyote. 

After the puppy reaches 16 weeks and has had all their shots, I wouldn't be so hesitant to take them camping. But before then? I absolutely would not do it.


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## Dracovich (Feb 24, 2017)

Not to mention that even while the puppy may not come in contact with other animals, animals poop anywhere and everywhere and it's pretty darn difficult keep a puppy/dog away from any and all feces. I still try my best even when my dogs have all their shots, but poop is a magnet to their sniffers.


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## WateryTart (Sep 25, 2013)

Nurse Bishop said:


> Dispersed camping is camping in huge areas of natl. forests and BLM land where there have been no other camps and the attendant dogs.>https://www.fs.usda.gov/detailfull/fishlake/recreation/?cid=stelprdb5121831
> 
> Congratulations on the puppy. How good for your kids to have a wonderful dog to grow up with. Are you in Illinois? I guess there are not too many natl. forests for dispersed camping in your state. But if you look on Google Earth you can find some natl. forest or BLM land nearest you. My land is it is up against a national forest that adjoins four other natl. forests in Oregon and down into northern California totaling 11,780 square miles. I dispersed camped with Inga when she had had three sets of shots and taking the precautions I mentioned. I kept her on leash at all times, didn't go where other dogs are and didn't go where raccoons had been as they can be a reservoir of distemper. The danger where I live is predators. Just in my area a little Schipperky was snatched off someone's porch by an eagle and a dog was taken from someone's front yard by a mountain lion. It ran in, grabbed the labrador by the neck and kept going.


So explain this to me like I'm a five year old:

When you are out in the wilderness where presumably wild animals live, how are there not diseases endemic to the area? And how is one of these diseases NEVER rabies? And how would a newbie know where wild animals of any type had not been? Or where other dogs had been dispersed camping because that's the safest camping?


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## WateryTart (Sep 25, 2013)

Dracovich said:


> Not to mention that even while the puppy may not come in contact with other animals, animals poop anywhere and everywhere and it's pretty darn difficult keep a puppy/dog away from any and all feces. I still try my best even when my dogs have all their shots, but poop is a magnet to their sniffers.


In dispersed camping, there is no poop.


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## Dracovich (Feb 24, 2017)

WateryTart said:


> In dispersed camping, there is no poop.


This is impossible unless there are no wild animals in the area.


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## WateryTart (Sep 25, 2013)

Dracovich said:


> This is impossible unless there are no wild animals in the area.


I didn't know this was an irony-free zone.

That was exactly my point: You are bound to run into some wild animals or their excrement, which may spread disease.


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## Nurse Bishop (Nov 20, 2016)

This is what the leash at all times is for in dispersed camping , to prevent wild animal attcks, rabies and poop eating. You pick a spot way out off the road in the middle of no where, rake the whole area of the camp so the campfire does not catch the woods on fire, and walk off trails and away from creeks, carrying the puppy if needed. On the way there, it is very important to avoid highway rest stops to avoid where other dogs have been. Because it is dogs that are the vectors of most of these diseases if you will read my link.
http://www.canismajor.com/dog/disease1.html


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## WateryTart (Sep 25, 2013)

Nurse Bishop said:


> This is what the leash at all times is for in dispersed camping , to prevent wild animal attcks, rabies and poop eating. You pick a spot way out off the road in the middle of no where, rake the whole area of the camp so the campfire does not catch the woods on fire, and walk off trails and away from creeks, carrying the puppy if needed. On the way there, it is very important to avoid highway rest stops to avoid where other dogs have been. Because it is dogs that are the vectors of most of these diseases if you will read my link.


No thank you on the link. It's the claim that the probability is zero that has me tilting my head so far to the side that my ear is dragging on the ground. That just makes zero sense. It's like saying if you have sex with someone who hasn't had sex in a really really long time, except maybe with woodland creatures, you can't possibly contract HIV.

And what you describe sounds neither feasible nor fun. I'm sure the OP just wanted to know if he could have fun pitching a tent in the woods and hanging out with his family and bringing the dog. I don't think dispersed camping with a rake was his ideal.


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## GypsyGhost (Dec 29, 2014)

Canine parvovirus found in wild carnivores in U.S. | Cornell Chronicle

Parvo death is a first for a wolf in Oregon;

Dog Virus May Be Killing Yellowstone Wolves


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## GypsyGhost (Dec 29, 2014)

Bottom line is that everyone needs to do what they feel comfortable with. I understand disease transmission, so I would not feel comfortable taking a young puppy camping anywhere until they were fully vaccinated. Other people will do different things, and that's their choice.


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## Dracovich (Feb 24, 2017)

There's two options, risk illness for a sooner camping trip, or go a few weeks later and be *much* less at risk. Of those two options I'd choose wait, it's pretty simple.

But yes, to GUARANTEE there is no risk is not cogent, there's still risks even after shots, just much smaller risks. Avoiding dogs who are not UTD on shots and stopping dogs from sniffing/eating poo is always a good idea.

Picking up poop is also not a solid solution, the ground beneath the feces can still contain diseases.


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## WateryTart (Sep 25, 2013)

Dracovich said:


> There's two options, risk illness for a sooner camping trip, or go a few weeks later and be *much* less at risk. Of those two options I'd choose wait, it's pretty simple.
> 
> But yes, to GUARANTEE there is no risk is not cogent, there's still risks even after shots, just much smaller risks. Avoiding dogs who are not UTD on shots and stopping dogs from sniffing/eating poo is always a good idea.
> 
> Picking up poop is also not a solid solution, the ground beneath the feces can still contain diseases.


Or raking the forest floor. Is one also supposed to whistle or sing a happy working song and hope that the woodland creatures come to help? Minus their poop, of course.


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## stepkau (Jan 4, 2016)

Thanks again for the helpful comments. It comes down to acceptable risk levels. I have a young family and will be car camping with 100-200 other families in a well used campground. Risk levels are too high with a young puppy not fully vaccinated. It hurts no one to reschedule our camping weekends later in the summer so that's what we'll do. Also as *GypsyGhost* suggested, bladder control will be better at 16+ weeks and it'll probably be a more enjoyable experience for everyone.


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## WIBackpacker (Jan 9, 2014)

stepkau said:


> Thanks again for the helpful comments. It comes down to acceptable risk levels. I have a young family and will be car camping with 100-200 other families in a well used campground. Risk levels are too high with a young puppy not fully vaccinated. It hurts no one to reschedule our camping weekends later in the summer so that's what we'll do. Also as *GypsyGhost* suggested, bladder control will be better at 16+ weeks and it'll probably be a more enjoyable experience for everyone.


Sounds like a great plan. Have fun, take pictures!


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