[demonbrat711]

Hi, my morkie puppy just turned 3 months on December 27th. I was wondering if it was to early to take him outside for walks in this weather.

Thanks

[dogpoundbrenda]

If it's really cold where you live I would'nt.And if he's not up to date on all his shots I definitely would not...

[labman]

Yes, get him outside now if you ever expect him to accept meeting strangers and other things. While there are physical risks doing so, if you don't get him out, you can count on a poorly socialized dog if you don't. Puppies accept new things much better before the 12 weeks you have already let go by, than afterwards.
I have not actually read the noted behavioralists Fuller and Scott or Pfaffenburger, but have read quotes from their work in dozens books including the Art of Raising a Puppy by the Monks of new Skete. ''... pups raised without human contact would show fearful reactions to humans at five weeks of age but could readjust over 2 weeks time if handled often, Puppies first exposed to human contact at twelve weeks of age, however immediately reacted very fearfully and fled from the experimenters. They acted essentially like wild animals and were socially irretrievable. They had missed the vital contact during the critical period.'' p 43, First Edition.

Keep the trips short, retreating if the dog shows sign of being cold. Perhaps use a sweater. I do when I have my puppies out longer times while they are smaller. Try to avoid areas where there are dogs running loose. One sniff where a sick dog eliminated in the last 6 months can bring on a life threatening case of parvo or something.

[demonbrat711]

Okay, but he is not up to date on his shots...

[labman]

Disease is a risk you have to take. You have already past the time when puppies best accept new experiences. For an example of the problems poor early socialization can cause, see https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/dogs/d...gs-168770.html

There is a good reason why I am allowed to take 7 WEEK old puppies in most public places including restaurants and food stores. While Wal-Mart isn't a likely place to pick up parvo, we also must expose the puppies to traffic. I make a point of getting out and walking along busy streets the first week I have a puppy. One isolated example doesn't prove much, but 3 years ago, we had such terrible weather I wasn't able to take our puppy out much at first. You can't drag a puppy through a foot of unshoveled snow. By the time we had any weather I could take her out in at all, she was 3 months old and shying away from traffic. I worked and worked with her until she was a year old, but she was never as comfortable around traffic as our other puppies. She failed as a dog guide because of it. We were able to find another program and she is now working assisting a mobility impaired man. Traffic sensitivity isn't near the problem there. I have seen other problems with other dogs that for one reason or another didn't get out like they should have. The dog guide school is very strict about it. If something comes up and you can't pick up your 7 week old, they find somebody that can. You then wait for a puppy out of a later litter.

Last spring a family received word of a problem the day they picked up their 7 week old Golden. We took her. The next day, we had her out in front of Wal-Mart all day at a fundraiser. The next week included church, shopping, a meeting, etc. The next weekend we took her with us to a convention. We ended up doing a lot of walking around downtown. Of course, she had to go out for potty breaks, it would never do to wet the carpet at the Westin.

So get your puppy out now. As I said in my first post, pick where carefully. Avoid public parks and other places there are many unknown dogs. Puppies need time with other dogs too, but they must be ones known to be healthy and well taken care of.