Puppy party? Angel has been invited to vet run one

lipsthefish

Hi all, our little Angel has been invited to a puppy party at the vets on Tuesday night. She is 13 weeks old. Basic info about vets: They have three practices, A is the main one, really big, full surgery, lab etc. B is a very small practice in another town, we don't use it as they seem obsessed with blood tests :cool:, C is a new surgery in another town and this is the one we have been taking Angel to for jabs etc. We really hate going to A as we have had 4 dogs pts there in 5 years, the latest being just before Christmas. The puppy parties are only held at A. I've rang the vets this morning to see what it entails and she said all it is, is a socialisation evening for the puppies. Now my sis has 8 dogs, we have 2, nephew 2 and Mam 2, Angel is used to all these dogs and has no fear or issues, both our dogs are happy to meet new ones when out walking. They have no problems with strange sounds, busy places or traffic as we try to take them with us whenever we can. The only thing they are not so good at is recall. Do any of you think Angel will benefit from this night? Obviously we will take her if so but I'm not sure she has any problems with socialisation. Many thanks for any advise and I am sorry for the essay :eek:

duchy

Why not try it and see-it's not like it's a course you need to commit to.
I think it's a great idea for vets to make surgerys less intimidating to both pets and their owners. Some animals only associate vets with pain or with their owners been stressed -this helps this.

lipsthefish

duchy wrote: »

Why not try it and see-it's not like it's a course you need to commit to.
I think it's a great idea for vets to make surgerys less intimidating to both pets and their owners. Some animals only associate vets with pain or with their owners been stressed -this helps this.

Thanks Duchy, I hadn't considered the idea of it making the vets seem more friendly I think we will be going then, off to find Angel a party frock :rotfl:

krlyr

Be wary of puppy parties. They are often a free-for-all with puppies running amok. Most vets aren't experts on behaviour so don't spot the signs of stressed puppies, bully puppies, etc. plus it's often combined with a tour of the premises so staff are distracted, and so are you.
Puppies will not learn manners from other puppies - they don't know themselves so they can't really teach others! Best case scenario, they'll have worn themselves out for the night, but worst case is that a bully puppy could cause weeks, months or even years of problems in your dog because it becomes fearful of other dogs. I unfortunately made the mistake of going to a vet-run puppy party with a puppy I had and two Malamute pups were being very rough with all the other puppies (mine was the only other large breed pup). The situation was chaotic, my puppy was nervous from the start because of the new environment, the amount of puppies and people, etc. (wish I'd just headed home with her then) and not helped by these two pups ganging up on all the other puppies with their very rough play style and no one intervening because they were "just being puppies". My dog went on to have lots of issues with other dogs, a lot of it caused by bad health issues but I feel it wasn't helped by the bad experience at that puppy party.
The best way to socialise a puppy with other dogs is to use calm dogs that have good communication skills. You seem to have it covered with the multitude of friendly dogs you mix her with already and you're introducing her on walks so personally I don't think you need to go to a puppy party. If you do want to work on her issue of recall around other dogs, approach a local trainer and see if they do training walks - mine hold them in the local country park where you walk as a group (max. 2 puppies to a group, to prevent the whole puppy mayhem thing) and practice things like recall out in real life situations. You'll get there with recall, a longline will help keep her under control in the meantime, but I don't think a puppy party will provide you with any benefits personally.
If you want to make the vet surgery a more welcoming place then arrange to desensitize your pup to it slowly, a decent vet should be happy to accomodate you. This could start with you just driving to the vet, parking in their carpark, walking pup around it then heading home. Stop the drive to the vet becoming a fearful one (many dogs learn the route to the vet and get anxious before they're even there). Then going into the reception area at quiet times of the day and getting the receptionists to give pup treats, so the waiting room is a positive experience. Graduate to an empty consultation room, to vet nurses coming in giving the dog treats or playing a game, then to standing on the table with you examining them (you can practice basic exams at home too so the dog is used to having its ears, teeth, etc looked at) and then finally up to the vet nurse/vet examining them. A puppyparty won't create the relaxed atmosphere at the vets that you want pup to associate with it.

Bromley86

A second vote for the vets=happy memories thing. We didn't go to parties with our first girl and, although fine, she doesn't actually wag her tail when we arrive. The other one does .

Given what you've said, you personally might be giving off bad vibes when you go to a vets. So creating good memories for your puppy will negate that.

lipsthefish

Krlyr - you have just said more or less exactly what my sister has said! She also doesn't think a dozen or so puppies running round like mad things is going to be good for Angel. She is so small too, only 2 pounds and I would be terrified of her getting hurt. She doesn't have any problems with going to the vets, she went once before we got her for a health check and has been twice since for jabs, she runs out of her carrying bag with her tail wagging and jumps into the vets arms :rotfl: I just didn't want to be selfish because I didn't fancy it so wanted other opinions but with your experience I have made my mind up. Thanks for the tips on recall too, we do have a trainer locally, have never used her but will ask around, many thanks

Waterfalls

The puppy parties we hold, the puppies are all kept on leads. which enable the socialisation to be controlled. we have a great success in getting the pups used to the surgery and making it pleasant experience for them, so i wuld highly recommend them. but as someone else has said, its not something you have paid or commited to, so go and if you dont like atleast you gave it a go

krlyr

I'm sure some vets do good puppy parties but I just don't see the need, making the vets a positive place for a dog to be can be done without the presence of lots of other nervous or excitable puppies, just my opinion

mountainofdebt

The one I went to only had 4 pups there including Spot.

If the pup didn't want to socialise then no one forced the owner and there were plenty of staff on hand to make sure that nothing got out of hand.

It was also useful as a newbie to dogs for me to ask any questions I had about Spot's care

jenhug

My first dog I took to one at a vets I no longer use.

They ran 3 puppy sessions 1 per week, we were asked not to return after the second week because my boy was growing too big (Giant breed) I felt sad, because he was so soft, but people with little dogs didn't like him near there handbag puppies.

They also planned on having a sales rep from purina in to sell us (sorry a canine nutritionist, lol) their food but I wasn't interested and told them so, so I wasn't invited back.

If you want the vets to be a good place, just pop in to say hi occasionally and get him weighed. (our vets don't charge for things like this)

UKTigerlily

I agree about getting her used to going in other ways, but from what you say she's pretty happy to be going anyway. I think it's best for the Pups to mix with dogs of all sizes, ages, breeds & types & not just other Pups. I think parties are good for getting advice & asking questions but if it were me i'd be looking for a good training class, the APDT website should have details of classes run by APDT Trainers in your area. The Kennel Club Good Citizen Awards can be good to do also although they aren't necessary. Can we have photos now please?