How long after birth should I wait to walk my dog?

[savedthroughgrace]

Hello! I just joined because I have a husky who recently gave birth to six beautiful shepskies. It was an accident. My girl became receptive in heat when a huge wildfire was burning our city and I was so stressed I mismanaged my two dogs. My GSD mated with her. I was going to do a spay abort but by the time I could get her to the vet after the fires were dealt with he said it was too late. Both dogs will be neutered. I was waiting until after my husky's second heat and it took her nearly a year for it to come (I didn't want to schedule her spay then have her go into heat and have to reschedule). My GSD is too young yet to be neutered; I am waiting until he is 2 yrs old. So it is an irresponsible breeding but I am trying to do everything right now that I am here.

I wanted to know when I might be able to start taking my husky for short walks. I am stressed about the possibility of her bringing Parvo back to the puppies. When I was a kid (way back in the old days) we had a dog whose entire litter died of parvo at 3 months. It was super sad and I never want to see that again. I would take them all to my vet but it would be expensive too. Would it be better to wait until I take the puppies for their first vaccinations at 7-8 weeks? She was a very active dog and I know she'll start missing her hikes when the puppies start becoming more independent. She and my GSD are both up to date on their vaccinations if that makes a difference.

I have Googled the question but the answers are all over the place. I would rather ask actual people who breed dogs and might be more knowledgeable.

 

[imagebeastmarkbeast]

@savedthroughgrace I'm just going to say that out of all the reasons for an oops litter, wildfires is one of the few acceptable ones.

I'm glad you realize your mistake and will be righting it as much as possible. I wish you the best of luck with your litter.

 

[home4good]

@savedthroughgrace If parvo is spreading in your area I would wait taking her off your property until the puppies are vaccinated. Bringing parvo home is a real threat.

Talk with your vet about how safe it would be in your area. It really depends on what it is like where you are and your vet should have an idea if they have seen parvo there.

 

[savedthroughgrace]

@home4good Thank you for the suggestion. I'll send them an email tomorrow and see what they say and recommend.

 

[hiding110268]

@savedthroughgrace My shelter is on the tail end of dealing with a parvo outbreak and it’s absolutely no joke to try to stave it off. You have to clean EVERYTHING -/l hard surfaces, soil/grass/plants, fabric, etc. and can virtually come out of nowhere (all dogs involved were perfectly fine Sunday, but Monday morning two were at the vets in critical care)

And all the dogs involved had been vaccinated upon intake.

So if your area is having a parvo issue, take precautions and at least throughly wipe down your adult dogs (especially their paws but also their mouths and fur) when you bring them inside.

 

[hferry22]

@savedthroughgrace Your girl likely won't want to be away from the puppies for too long until they're much older. I would keep walks for now just in your yard, but second the suggestion to talk to your vet about the parvo situation in your area. Don't bring her to a dog park or anything like that until puppies are weaned and have been vaccinated.

If you have any other questions specific to breeding, feel free to pm me. I've been breeding for close to 10 years and would be happy to answer any questions you may have.

 

[dmel2016]

@savedthroughgrace Only acceptable reason for an oopsie litter lol. Glad everyone is safe!

 

[melody523_]

@savedthroughgrace Your vet could have you start shots earlier than 8 weeks with the pups. Mom shouldn't be away from them much, if at all and not for very long as she provides puppies with heat and food.

 

[liammansfield20]

@savedthroughgrace Do you have a yard that she can use for now? When I raised pups, the mom I had only went out to potty and ran right back into the house to be with the babies. I also kept doggy bath wipes on hand so I could wipe her feet and tail when she came back in, before she went to the babies. I'd avoid the nipples so the babies aren't ingesting chemicals.

 

[savedthroughgrace]

@liammansfield20 We do have a decent sized yard. It took her almost a day before she wanted to leave the puppies to go outside. She isn't out there for too long. Like you said about your dog, she is outside for a few minutes to do her business and wants back in. I will probably wait to take her our on walks for a while. I also have the other dog (the dad) I keep separate from her and the puppies. I also worry about him bringing things home on walks. I'm cleaning his feet before he comes in the house.

 

[liammansfield20]

@savedthroughgrace I might even advise doing dads exercise in your yard until the babies get their vaccinations and wormer but I'd definitely work with your vet and see what they recommend! Otherwise I'd say you and mama are doing your best

 

[wlc777]

@savedthroughgrace If you have to take her out. Mix up a tub of 10% bleach solution. Before she comes back in the property make her stand in the tub up to her ankles for at least 30 seconds (don’t let her drink it). Then take her through a similar tub of fresh water to rinse off. Bleach volatilizes rapidly, so change it out every couple of days for maximum effect. Stay away from parks, anywhere homeless or stray animals may frequent.

 

[savedthroughgrace]

@wlc777 Thank you! This is very helpful. I haven't taken her anywhere yet. She is just starting to be okay leaving her puppies to go outside more often and walk around the house a bit. The pups are a week old now. I am also going to email my vet to see what he thinks, just to be sure. I would only walk her around the block in our neighborhood if I did take her out.