Puppy Socialization or Infectious Disease Prevention – Can’t We Have Both??
1.0 CE Credit Hour / Veterinarians & Veterinary Technicians
Overview:
The first 12 weeks of a puppy’s life are prime time for socialization. Failure to adequately socialize puppies during this time is arguably the most common reason for the development of major, often life-threatening behavioral concerns in adult dogs. Many serious problems can be prevented if appropriate care is given during these early sensitive weeks of a puppy's life. One major challenge to adequate socialization is a puppy’s simultaneous vulnerability to infectious diseases. As maternal antibodies wane and immune systems lag in full response to immunization, many in the veterinary community advise against early contact with dogs and environments outside the safety of home. How do we navigate these competing risks and promote overall behavioral and physical health? This talk will review key concepts in puppy socialization and infectious disease prevention, providing a practical approach to safe and effective socialization practices.
Learning Objectives:
- Recall the key elements of promoting puppy socialization for young canine patients.
- Recall main infectious disease risks for young and adolescent dogs, with individual- and group-level prevention methods shown to effectively reduce infectious diseases in these age groups.
- Identify practical steps you can immediately put into practice to balance both socialization and infectious disease risks in young and adolescent dogs.
Jason Stull, VMD, MPVM, PhD, DACVPM
Jason Stull an Associate Professor at The Atlantic Veterinary College. He holds a veterinary degree from the University of Pennsylvania, Masters degree in Preventive Veterinary Medicine from the University of California at Davis, and PhD in veterinary infectious disease from the University of Guelph. He is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine. Over the past 20 years, he had been involved in One Health and controlling and preventing infectious diseases in animals and people. His employment has spanned experiences in private practice, state public health and academia. He has taught and conducted research on these topics with over 50 peer-reviewed authored publications and 8 invited book chapters.
Meghan Herron, DVM, DACVB
Dr. Meghan Herron is the Senior Director of Behavioral Medicine, Education and Outreach at Gigi’s – A Shelter Organization dedicated to improving the lives of shelter dogs. Prior to her current position she spent over a decade as an Associate Professor in the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences as head of the Behavioral Medicine Service at The Ohio State University Veterinary Medical Center. She graduated from The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine and became board-certified as diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Behavior after completing a residency at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. As a published author and seasoned international speaker, she has given lectures and seminars on animal behavior around the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia. Dr. Herron is the lead editor on the book “Decoding Your Cat” and a contributor to “Decoding Your Dog”. Her most recent work, “Introduction to Animal Behavior and Veterinary Behavioral Medicine”, a textbook design to provide a strong foundation in animal behavior concepts, as well as an introduction to clinical behavioral medicine is available now from Amazon and other major retailers.
This course is RACE-approved for 1.0 continuing education credits hours in jurisdictions that accept RACE-approval.
This activity is sponsored by Elanco.
