Sixteen Weeks Old

Loki is exactly sixteen weeks old today.

Parvo
He got his fourth set of Parvo/etc. shots today. I thought that was the end of it and now he was safe to go out and about. Much to my disappointment, the vet said Loki needed a 5th set in another three weeks. What?! Everywhere online that I've read said four sets and you're done at 16 weeks of age. Some even recommend fewer than four sets.

So I sought a second opinion. I called Banfield Pet Hospital, which is the vet clinic run by PetSmart. They only recommend two sets of Parvo/etc. shots. Um...okay. Then I called another local animal hospital, they recommended four sets. However, the receptionist that I spoke with said that Parvo is fairly prevalent in my area, so a 5th set isn't a bad idea.

Boo... I was looking forward to this day being the final set of shots. My vet told me that after 4 sets, Loki is about 98% protected, but he did not recommend allowing Loki to be out and about. So now, I'm kind of torn. Obviously, parvo is a very deadly disease and apparently, it is prevalent in my area, and I don't want a dead dog. But at the same time, 4 sets is sufficient by another local vet and 98% protected sounds pretty good to me. You're never going to reach 100% anyways. So do I take Loki out or not? I think we'll stay away from dog parks until the 5th set, but otherwise, let him out and about.

Accident
And in other Loki news, he had a peeing accident tonight - right next to the balcony door too! Boo... He was accident-free for 2.5 weeks up until today. Now the count begins all over again.