When can I take the puppy outside?

On too many occasions, the rush to enjoy our new friend in open territories can lead to his body, still not sufficiently prepared, having to face pathogens for which he has no protection.

Maternal protection, through colostrum, disappears in an average period of about 40 days, and if the vaccination schedule has not been carried out after the loss of said protection, her body will face, “empty”, any contact of risk.

Puppies, when they arrive in the world, have clear lines of defense:

• Innate Immunity : this could be considered the first line of defense, a group of systems and structures that the animal possesses from birth and that aims to avoid as much as possible any type of aggression that comes from outside.

• • The skin : this extensive structure, the largest in the animal’s body, is the physical border between the outside world and the inside world; the skin is responsible for stopping most external agents by acting as a precise filter, hence the importance of this structure, accompanied by the animal’s hair, ALWAYS being in the ideal condition to carry out its function.

• • Digestive secretions and enzymes : puppies not only know the world through their incomparable and enviable sense of smell, puppies, in their incessant interest in knowing everything that surrounds them, will take many of the things that appear in front of their nose inside from his mouth, later reaching his digestive system.
    It is evident that what they find on the ground, outside the home, may be in poor condition, contaminated… and therefore the great importance of gastric juices, acidic components capable of ending most of the possible problems that reach this territory. organic.

• • Phagocytes : very voracious cells whose function is to ingest any microorganism that comes within range; they are very effective and are distributed throughout the organic territory of the animal.

• Acquired Immunity : in this section are the forms of defense related to very important “protective” cells: lymphocytes .
  Lymphocytes become active when they detect the entry of microorganisms or the substances they produce (toxins).
  Once the aggressors are detected, the lymphocytes come into contact, detect the specific components of the aggressor (antigens) and generate the recognition and defense system for subsequent aggressions (antibodies).
  This acquired immunity can be produced naturally, by contact of lymphocytes with aggressive agents that reach the individual randomly, or induced by vaccination.

Vaccination consists of the inoculation of a substance that contains weakened or dead viruses or bacteria, parts thereof, or their toxins. The body reacts to the inoculated substance and creates specific defenses (antibodies).

We must bear in mind that for a vaccine to reach its maximum effectiveness it must be inoculated into a healthy animal.

For the vaccine to fulfill its expected function, the animal must first be correctly dewormed, ensuring that its immune system can focus on recognizing the inoculated vaccine with full capacity.

The moment of vaccination of the puppy is very important, since the maternal antibodies that have crossed the placental barrier gradually decrease after birth. If we vaccinate prematurely we can interfere with maternal immunity, if we vaccinate too late the animal will be unprotected for a period of time.

The type of vaccines to be used in the immunization of the puppy will depend exclusively on veterinary health criteria, taking into account the following points:

• State of the immune system : if the puppy fed on maternal colostrum we can start vaccinating from seven to eight weeks. As we have already mentioned, we must avoid that the antibodies of the vaccine overlap with those that the puppy has (transplacental route and colostrum)
  It is also important for the vaccination of the new animal to take into account whether the mother was correctly vaccinated and dewormed, that is, with a good immune status.

• Geographical area of residence : certain geographic areas have a higher incidence of some diseases. In environments where not all animals are adequately vaccinated, the risk of transmissible viral diseases is higher. The veterinarian will recommend the appropriate vaccination plan for each situation.

• Dog habits : if the puppy will live with other dogs, if it will be a user of residences or will attend concentrations with many animals, it is logical to think that there will be a greater risk of contracting diseases, so vaccination should take this reality into account.

Given all of the above, let us bear in mind that the moment our new companion goes abroad should only occur when the veterinary professional, after applying the correct preventive guideline for the characteristics of our dog, tells us that we can do it.