[BillM]

I can only tell you what I would do. I would imagine you are concerned with exposing your pup while it still doesn’t have all of its shots. That is a concern, but for me, it needs a balance as the pup needs to get trained properly while being cautious/concerned about exposure.

First, I would crate train the pup. This is the easiest way, for me, to potty train. I would find an area outside that doesn’t have a lot of other dogs peeing or pooing in the same area. That would be the spot I would take the pup to. I am not a fan of pee pads. Robert has excellent vids on crate/potty training.

My crate training and potty training went text book…literally, no bad nights in the crate (he whined the first night when I had the crate in the living room, but I brought it into the bedroom and he was fine) and he’s never soiled his crate. I would say we had potty training at a high level of confidence week 1. He’s only soiled in the house twice (within the first 2 weeks home), both times, failure on my part to catch the signal he was giving that he had to go out…but he was giving signals early on. I just had to learn them.

Make sure, that during the next 8 weeks, you take advantage of this once in a pup’s lifetime opportunity to expose him/socialize him. I took my pup everywhere I could…to Sams Club, Lowes, Home Depot (I did not take him to pet stores). I’d put him in a shopping cart and ride him around. Also, I would take the pup to a busy park bench…where lots of people and cars pass by. Just let him observe. I didn’t allow people to pet my dog during this time. I just told them he is in training and this part of his training I want him to learn indifference to other people…AND OTHER DOGS (so no doggie greets either). Also, when a lawn service was going on nearby, I’d walk him down the sidewalk and let him watch the equipment work. The noise, the motion…all is good for the dog to learn to ignore. When the garbage trucks were in the neighborhood, I’d take him out to the curb as the drove around and stopped to pick up the trash. Same with the mail truck and the UPS/FedEx/Amazon trucks. To this day (17 weeks), the only two things that he gets amped over is the handheld, cordless vac and my cordless drill. For some reason, both of these get him barking. He hates the cordless vac!

You have a window of 8-16 weeks that I would recommend taking advantage of. If you don’t, you might look back and say you wish you had done differently during this time. Yes, it is also the time during which the pup is more exposed to environmental concerns, so you have to keep that in mind and just balance the two. But, exposure/socialization is so important at this stage.

Also, not sure what breed you have. If you have some type of working breed (I have a Mal), then while the above mentioned is important for almost any pup, I would especially make sure to get it out and about in the safest way possible.

Today, at 17 weeks, my lil dude is so confident. Almost nothing spooks him. He will just sit and watch people and other dogs…doesn’t shy away from them, doesn’t pull to get to them (or worse try to attack them). He’s not bothered by trucks, mowing equipment, etc.. .When we walk, and people pass, he ignores them (well, he looks at them but expends no other energy in their direction). Same with other dogs. He ignores them or will sit and watch them pass. I am so happy I didn’t let fear keep me from giving my pup the experience he got during this critical time in a pup’s life.