vaccination time?

[roscoe11]

I know there is a lot of Concerned about over-vaccination, witch I know nothing about so here is my question.

Dexter's annual checkup and shots are due. Last time he was in he got a three year rabies along with DA2PP, Laptospira, and Bordetella shots.

besides the rabies, do these all need to be updated annually?

[GentleLake]

Nope. And not even the veterinary associations recommend annual boosters.

 

You might want to check out Dr. Jean Dodds' vaccination protocol.

[juliepoudrier]

Just to add to the above, some of the vaccines you listed do need to be updated more often than others. Bordatella and leptospirosis are two that don't provide extended immunity. That said, I don't vaccinate for either one because I don't think my dogs are greatly at risk for either, despite horror stories to the contrary.

 

But certainly the distemper, parvo, etc., don't need to be done yearly.

 

J.

[Gideon's girl]

I don't vaccinate for Bordatella at all, and the Lepto vaccine doesn't necessarily actually cover the Lepto virus that's going around, so you have to ask about that, there are several serovars. The core vaccines should be good for 5-7 years after the 1 year boosters, but most vets recommend getting them every 3 years.

[Sue R]

I do the multi-shot only about every three years but do the 4-way Lepto yearly since my dogs do a lot of pasture and woodland walks, and regularly drink out of puddles and natural water. I've done that since reading about Denise Wall's Mick and his contracting Lepto and almost dying. I don't do Bordatella at all, partly because it is of such limited duration.

[Alchemist]

Also - a lot of people recommend against combining too many different vaccinations at once. For example: do rabies one day; DHPP a couple of weeks later; Lyme at yet another time...

 

Yes, it'll increase your vet bills. But if there IS an adverse reaction, you'll be able to identify the trigger. And many will argue the risk of an adverse reaction is reduced if you don't overwhelm the dog's immune system.

[Tommy Coyote]

Speaking of Lyme. Do I need to get my dogs vaccinated here in KC? I haven't seen a tick on my property for years and we don't go out to the woods where there are tons of ticks.

 

Even though I haven't seen them I'm sure we do have ticks around here in the city. There are thousands of deer that live all over. i see them all the time.

[GentleLake]

The Lyme vaccine is pretty controversial. My vet doesn't think it's worth giving, mostly because it's not very effective, and it's a pretty reactive vaccine, IIRC. You may want to look into it a bit more before making a decision.

 

As for the ticks, if you're using a tick preventative, the vaccine should be moot. It takes longer for the ticks to transfer Lyme than it does for the preventative to kill them.

 

And you might also want to investigate the prevalence of Lyme disease in your area. If the ticks aren't really carrying it, then they';re not going to transmit it. Lyme disease is increasing in some hot spot areas, especially in the northeast, but many areas are still considered low incidence areas.

[G. Festerling]

Everything that I know has already been said.

So a lot of it boils down to what YOU can live with.

 

I have several dogs that are 8+ all the way up to 14.5. Except for the old one (who suffers from an autoimmune issue) all have been vaccinated religiously every year. Short of some bumps and bruises simply due to lifestyles, I have not yet ever had the feeling that I over vaccinated.

 

I have however lost dogs due to under vaccination. Lepto was one. It was horrid. Distemper another. Now here I have to say, I also fostered a lot more and many of those dogs come from circumstances where they are exposed to a lot more than the average owned dog.

 

Parvo has taken about 25% of the dogs that I have had under my care who broke with it, Again, fosters for the most part with questionable backgrounds and vaccine history. Here it would be fair to mention though, that my own personal dogs never broke with parvo even when a foster did. I have to believe that the regular vaccines may have helped this for sure.

 

So I think, a lot of it has to maybe do with exposure and individual immune responses as well.

 

Having said that...I am not going to vaccinate my 8+ (possibly a bit younger too) dogs this year. I will attempt to boost the Lepto and Distemper separately if possible and if my vet agrees that this will be a smart thing to do. Lepto scares the dickens out of me and so does Distemper.

 

So as I said, make a decision based on what you can live with if something happens to go haywire. I do not believe that there are any guarantees. That is why I say that. A minor sore reaction to a shot though...would not be something I can not live with.

[waffles]

Speaking of Lyme. Do I need to get my dogs vaccinated here in KC? I haven't seen a tick on my property for years and we don't go out to the woods where there are tons of ticks.

 

Even though I haven't seen them I'm sure we do have ticks around here in the city. There are thousands of deer that live all over. i see them all the time.

You should be able to go on your health dept. website for the county you live in and find out how prevalent lyme is in your area as well as lepto. My county shows the # of people and dogs that have been diagnosed with lyme and confirmed cases of lepto in dogs.

 

Bordatella is not something I have ever vaccinated for. The only time I would is if I ever needed to board at a commercial facility that required it.

 

Rabies is every 3 years in my state and I do follow that.

[GentleLake]

CDC Interactive Lyme Disease map: http://www.cdc.gov/lyme/stats/maps/interactiveMaps.html

 

I'm guessing this is for humans, but it still gives a pretty good idea of the prevalence.

 

Here are some others with more info about dogs:

http://www.lymeinfo.com/ticks/geography.html

http://www.goodsearch.com/search-web?keywords=lyme+disease+map+dogs

 

If I lived where you do, I sure wouldn't be vaccinating my dogs for Lyme. I live in a red zone area based on that first map and I don't, based on my vet's recommendation.

 

ETA: The "you" in the last sentence refers to Tommy Coyote.

[emilyfalk]

Vaccines are about risk vs. benefit for each individual dog. I know a dog who contracted Lepto this year in the KY region while at a dog trial. Myself and the owner developed what was unconfirmed but highly suspicious of Lepto after having extensive, close contact with that dog while trying to care for her (we treated ourselves and responded appropriately, otherwise would have sought further diagnostics). I have and will continue to vaccinate my dogs for Lepto annually. Though it may not protect against all the strains of the disease out there, it covers the most common ones and is thought to offer some cross-protection. I give it as it's own vaccine as described by Lynn (ie not in a combo).

 

I also vaccinate for Lyme disease with one of the newer, safer, better vaccines that has come on the market in the last few years. I see SO many dogs at work who are clinically affected with Lyme that I want to help reduce that risk for my dogs who are out in tick-infested areas all year. The most recent continuing education lectures that I've been to have recommended the Lyme vaccine, but everyone will have their own take on the matter.

 

My dogs are at an increased risk for Parvo and Distemper because I am exposed to that at work. I booster them about 3-5 years. When the Distemper outbreak hit, I boostered everyone immediately because that scares the heck out of me. I'd imagine that most dogs aren't frequently (if ever) exposed to the virus, though.

 

I have personally seen dogs die from Parvo, Distemper, Lepto, and Lyme. Even young, previously healthy and well-cared for dogs. I lean toward promoting fewer vaccines, but I'm still not willing to take the chance that my own dogs are unprotected. But everyone needs to consider their own dog's risks for each disease vs. risk for over-vaccinating.

[Tommy Coyote]

Thanks for the info. Looks like almost no cases in Mo. at all. Looks we're good on that one.

 

Mary

[ncsugrad54]

Question: should I worry if one of my dogs misses their heartworm/flea medicine for a month?

 

I have 2 dogs. One BC about 37 lbs and the other Aussie mix about 43 lbs. they are on trifexis. The BC is on the smaller dose. One of them threw up their pill of course not a 100% sure which one. I think it was the Aussie, so I re-fed what was left of it to her. Recommendations/advice?

[Tommy Coyote]

Ck with your vet but I had a dog that grabbed 2 of the pills while they were on the counter and ate them both. I called the EV and was told that they could eat 2 and be OK. Now, if they ate 2 packages then you might need to worry.

 

See what your vet says to do because I'm sure they hear that one a lot.

[urge to herd]

If you kennel Dexter or send him to doggy day care, they will require certain vaccinations. The kennels in this area all require bordatella and DHLP yearly, as well as the every 3 yrs. rabies.

 

Ruth and Agent Gibbs

[Gideon's girl]

Question: should I worry if one of my dogs misses their heartworm/flea medicine for a month?

 

I have 2 dogs. One BC about 37 lbs and the other Aussie mix about 43 lbs. they are on trifexis. The BC is on the smaller dose. One of them threw up their pill of course not a 100% sure which one. I think it was the Aussie, so I re-fed what was left of it to her. Recommendations/advice?

I crate mine for medications, so the 13 lb dog doesn't steal the 45 lb dogs dose. She would in a heartbeat, and he would let her.

[GentleLake]

If you kennel Dexter or send him to doggy day care, they will require certain vaccinations. The kennels in this area all require bordatella and DHLP yearly, as well as the every 3 yrs. rabies.

 

And this is why I hire a dog sitter to come to my home if I go away without mine. Ain't no one (other than the state ) gonna tell me what vaccines I must give my dogs.

[juliepoudrier]

And this is why I hire a dog sitter to come to my home if I go away without mine. Ain't no one (other than the state ) tell me what vaccines I must give my dogs.

Exactly. Distemper combo (ick!) yearly? Not even supported by current veterinary science.

 

J.

[GentleLake]

Distemper combo (ick!) yearly? Not even supported by current veterinary science.

 

Nope.

 

And I've read the only reason it's recommended every three years by the veterinary associations is political, not based on science. When the research came out saying that the vaccines are good for at least 5-7 years, if not longer, vets got up in arms saying they'd have no way to convince clients to come in for annual wellness checks if they didn't think they needed vaccines and they'd loose too much money. So the 3 year recommendation was a compromise.

[ncsugrad54]

I crate mine for medications, so the 13 lb dog doesn't steal the 45 lb dogs dose. She would in a heartbeat, and he would let her.

Ah that's a good idea. Hadn't thought about it before

[GentleLake]

The Lyme vaccine is pretty controversial. My vet doesn't think it's worth giving, mostly because it's not very effective ...

 

I don't know how I could have forgotten to include this!

 

I let my old vet talk me into giving my dogs the newer Lyme vaccine in 2012. In 2013 one of my dogs tested positive for Lyme and she was indeed having symptoms that I'd mistaken for age related arthritis.

 

So I have first hand proof of its unreliability.

[GentleLake]

[nancy]

From the time Fergie was 6, which was when I first heard about doing blood titers, she did not need any vaccines except the legally-required rabies vaccine and the bordatella one for us to board her. And she lived to past 15.

 

Our vet and I agreed to vaccinate Dixie twice. Next time, we'll stasrt to do the titers.

 

Yes, the titers cost. And, then, you might still need to get the vaccine if that's what the titer indicates. But my vets agree that we over-vaccinate.

[emilyfalk]

Just out of curiosity, but GL, do you have proof that your dog had never been exposed to Lyme disease prior to receiving the vaccine? As in a negative titer?