Well the kids are 7 weeks today and it was vet day for the pups. They all did very well and had a clean bill of health. Jet's family came to give him support, and we were all pleased to hear he had both his boy bits and pieces as and where they should be! As required by law, the microchips have been done, but no vaccinations for a few weeks. I firmly believe that early vaccinations can have a derogatory effect on the puppies' immunity. An 8-week-old puppy should be well covered, they should have high immunity from their mother's milk. Vaccinating before 10 weeks is simply pointless. When referring to early vaccination, it clearly states on the leaflet given with the vaccination to vets "maternally derived passive antibodies interfere with the response to vaccination and a later vaccine should be given at 10 weeks or older, one vaccine give at 10+ weeks is sufficient to cover."
So no rush to vaccinate here, but careful socialising will of course continue for the family on their last week together, and then in their new homes. Sensible socialising without flooding them over those early weeks is paramount, the socialising period may well be over by12 weeks, but it's all a balance and there are plenty of things we can do to give them the best future.
