Bringing your dog to the park, beach, and other public places is a great way to provide your dog with opportunities to interact with other dogs and their people.

But before you bring your dog to social gatherings, it’s good to keep some health and safety tips in mind. The American Veterinary Medical Association has compiled some helpful advice to keep your dog—and yourself—safe during canine social outings.

You can read the full list of tips on the AVMA website. Here are a few highlights:

• Keep your dog’s vaccinations up to date so that your dog is protected from disease.
• Don’t bring your dog out if she is showing signs of illness.
• Talk to your vet before bringing a dog on cortisone or other immunosuppressant medications to canine social gatherings.
• Avoid interacting with other dogs that are showing signs of illness. It’s a good idea to wash your hands after interacting with seemingly healthy dogs too.

• Clean up after your dog and don’t let your dog come into contact with another dog’s poop.
• Keep an eye on your dog while he is playing off-leash. Keep him, and yourself, away from aggressive dogs.
• To avoid rabies and other diseases, don’t let your dog come into contact with wildlife (alive or deceased) when outside.
• Bring fresh water for your dog to drink, as standing water can contain harmful algae or parasites.

• Be sure to take the usual precautions to prevent flea, tick, and mosquito bites and check for ticks after being outside. This applies to dogs and people.
• Don’t bring young puppies to canine social events until they are properly socialized and fully immunized. Training classes should contain puppies with similar ages and vaccination histories.