Ask Dr Claire

We are getting a puppy in a week and have a trip planned prior to her being fully vaccinated. Is it safe to take her there?

It’s great that you’re checking on this.

Puppies should be fully vaccinated before playing and interacting with dogs of unknown vaccination history. They can play with healthy, vaccinated dogs in safe environments.

As your pup won’t be fully vaccinated there is risk he can pick up conditions such as Parvovirus from infected dogs or from a contaminated environment. If he was going to an area where no sick dogs had contaminated the environment, and he was only socialising with healthy, vaccinated dogs then his risk of infection is very low. If he is travelling to dog parks or an area where there are dogs galore, his risk is higher.

The other concern is travel is the presence of ticks, such as Paralysis tick. Paralysis ticks are found along the east coast of Australia into Victoria, reported about as far in as 20km in from the coast line.
It would be good to call the local vet in the exact area that you are travelling to, and check for cases of Parvovirus and ticks in the area. It’s always better to be safe than sorry.

If you’d like to chat in person, you can book a live video call or start a chat to discuss in more detail, as soon as possible.

We’re here to help!

Chat soon,

Dr Claire