# Get To Them Classes



## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

Here is an article on the importance of early puppy classes. 
http://digital.dvm360.com/nxtbooks/advanstar/vm_200912/#/36


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## SuzyClaire (Dec 1, 2009)

Thank you for posting this article. 

We'll have had our Smitty for four weeks this upcoming Saturday. For three of those weeks we kept him in our apartment. We didn't even bring him out into the hall. Our vet had me so terrified of him meeting other dogs and catching some terrible, life-threatening disease, that I was convinced he couldn't leave the confines of our sterile little apartment until he had all his shots. 

We had a trainer come in last weekend and the first thing she said to us was that we need to take him outside and that we need to have him meet as many people and dogs as possible. When she walked through the door, he hid behind me. He does that with everyone who comes over. Never having had a puppy before, we thought that was normal behavior. It's not. 

I expressed to her my fear in Smitty getting sick and she told me that the likelihood of that happening is slim to none. She pointed out that we live in a fairly affluent area and the dogs in our neighborhood are more likely to be over-vaccinated than under. She made it clear that we're not to let him lick anything on the ground and we're not to think that we can take him down to the subway or to romp in a dog park. Basically, just use our common sense. 

We're bringing him to a puppy class when it starts (in two weeks) and in the meantime, we're walking him up and down our block and sitting with him in our lobby so he can meet everyone coming in and out. He's getting better but I can't help but feel so guilty for making him so fearful in the first place. 

I really wish we would have read more articles like this before we got him.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

yeah Suzy ,you've got some catching up to do. Don't worry ,just make any encounters, low key. Tell people to sit down and let your dog come to them . Give them some treats to lure him in. But yeah vets are slow to learn the importance of getting out to meet people dogs and the environment .


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