Guest pax Posted March 30, 2007 Report Share Posted March 30, 2007 My dogs travel with me constantly, and go to horse shows, where they meet other dogs. The rule of thumb I've worked on is...I have to rely on my dogs' general good health, good nutrition, and knowing they've been innoculated appropriately. Unless another dog is obviously ill, I don't fash too much over some sniffing and playing. I occasionally do some fostering for corgi rescue. My rule of thumb there is to isolate for as long as necessary to get to the vet, and then go from there. Please tell me what your comfort level is with your dogs and others, from a health perspective. (I know there is also the behaviour component, but I'm not worried about that for the purposes of what I hope will be a discussion here.) I'd like to hear it all, from the most obsessive compulsive to the que sera sera. Do you bleach your feet between kennels or let them lick you right on the kisser? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
painted_ponies Posted March 30, 2007 Report Share Posted March 30, 2007 I'd like to hear it all, from the most obsessive compulsive to the que sera sera. Do you bleach your feet between kennels or let them lick you right on the kisser? Well, both. When I'm at shelters, evaluating dogs, I let them do whatever they please including lick me in the face, but I take off all my clothes at the door of my house, put them straight into the wash, and have a bath and shampoo before I let any of my own dogs near me. If I'm out somewhere with the collies, both of whom have been inoculated recently, I don't worry about them sucking face with another dog - but I don't let my elderly Lhasa or middle-aged feist do it, because of their age and because they haven't had shots in years. And because the Lhasa can be such a troll. Neither of the little dogs really go anywhere, though. They're sooo tiny that I'd worry about them getting stepped on in crowds - and I ain't carrying no dog purse! Oh, and if I have a rescue in, they're completely isolated from the rest for two weeks, no matter what the vet says. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted March 30, 2007 Report Share Posted March 30, 2007 Celia, I pretty much follow your policy. I generally don't worry about dogs at stockdog trials. I don't usually take my dogs to other high-dg-traffic areas (i.e., like dog parks), but if I do I will usually let them interact as long as the other animals look healthy. My level of care and concern is higher for strays, dogs with unknown backgrounds, etc. Although even then, I would expect the general health of my own dogs would offer them sufficient protection. Still I'm more careful with the "unknown" dogs or those that appear to be in poor health. J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaisingRiver Posted March 30, 2007 Report Share Posted March 30, 2007 wow.. I'm definitely que sera sera. I do rely on the fact that my dogs are innoculated to the hilt. We go to dog parks, I've brought strays home that have stayed overnight and interacted with my dogs, a rescue, and I've visited shelters (even brought one dog for a meet/greet a few times) without a second thought. Plus we'll be going to agility trials shortly, but I imagine 99% of those dogs are cared for properly. This topic has definitely got me thinking. The one thing I would like to keep doing safely is the dog park. The rest I can get all fussy about if that's what I should be doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClickMeBC Posted March 30, 2007 Report Share Posted March 30, 2007 Dog parks have always made me nervous and I've stayed away from them most of my dog's lives, for what reason I've never really vocalized. My dogs are up-to-date on all their innoculations and we worm on a reasonable basis, but one can't be sure what a dog can pick up while running amidst so many others...I contradict myself, though. I feel far more at ease at agility trials and I'm quite comfortable letting my dogs sniff and play with others, despite there being more than twice as many dogs surrounding us than there would be at a park. Perhaps it's that unspoken feeling that people who put so much time into their dogs would be consistent with vaccinating them and keeping them in perfect health? It's probably very foolish of me and something I should watch. We do keep any foster dogs seperate from my own for up to two weeks, as painted_ponies states, no matter what the vet says. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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