To Vaccinate or Not?

[Megansmom]

Puppy shots followed by titers to check for declining immunity as age advances really is the way to go. Rabies, of course, is a must.

I just want to take a moment to say that vaccination saves lives, both human and canine. There is risk involved in any medical procedure, but in my mind, this risk is far outweighed by the "emergency response test" given to the immune system by the vaccine. Vaccination also protects both individuals and communities - some people (infants, the elderly, those with certain preexisting conditions) cannot be vaccinated safely, and rely upon the "herd immunity" provided by their vaccinated neighbors to protect them from deadly diseases. The preceding sentence applies to all animals, human and otherwise, and the current trend against vaccinating children at all makes me very nervous (and very frustrated).

That said... after those very-important puppy shots, the risks outweigh the benefits. The annual boosters won't do your dog any good (unless the titer shows that s/he has declining immunity), and the risk of adverse reaction remains. Of course, if you want to help your vet pay for his vacation home...

Tofu, I think you summed it all up perfectly!

 

[sable]

Lepto? As adults I believe more hunting dogs receive it, because they are more prone I quess to this disease being out in the fields, more so then a house dog, like our shelties.

Vaccines are recommended around here and my pups do have the more important ones administered. If I am ever questioned I can pull my paperwork. My shelties don't bite, or run the neighborhood, but low and behold if something would ever come up I am not paying bills for someone for the rest of my life, its a must they have their shots.

Plus the fact I kennel my shelties, and fax the paperwork to them ASAP, so when I go away, they are up-to-date on everything. I feel my shelties and I are both protected.

 

[danisgoat]

We also titer our dogs. My setter went 6 years without need a vaccination. Also...if a titer comes back that the dog needs the vaccine, you can get the single shot, instead of giving the entire thing.

 

[tofu pup]

Vaccines are recommended around here and my pups do have the more important ones administered. If I am ever questioned I can pull my paperwork. My shelties don't bite, or run the neighborhood, but low and behold if something would ever come up I am not paying bills for someone for the rest of my life, its a must they have their shots.

There was a case a couple years ago in the area where my family spends the summer in Maine... a rabid raccoon had gotten into a kennel with two Goldens, and the dogs killed the raccoon. Sadly, because the owners could not provide any proof of up-to-date rabies vaccination, the dogs were destroyed immediately. It is so, so important to keep your dogs up-to-date on their rabies, and to have proof that you can provide ASAP. Anything can happen.

 

[SheltieLuver]

I think the people who titer their dogs have to give Rabies anyway right? Since it is against the law to go without their Rabies shot?

 

[Megansmom]

There was a case a couple years ago in the area where my family spends the summer in Maine... a rabid raccoon had gotten into a kennel with two Goldens, and the dogs killed the raccoon. Sadly, because the owners could not provide any proof of up-to-date rabies vaccination, the dogs were destroyed immediately. It is so, so important to keep your dogs up-to-date on their rabies, and to have proof that you can provide ASAP. Anything can happen.

Oh how awful , Goldens are such awesome dogs, I had one and am still grieving his loss. I couldnt imagine the incredible guilt I would feel if he had to be quarantined or euthanized because of me basically. It is the law here in Texas that dogs have their rabies vaccination.

 

[Calliesmom]

That is one thing that my vet is against I am proud to say. That do not give Lepto at all. The things that I have heard about Leptospirosis is that it is not common at all anyway. People can catch it from their animals... how many people have you heard of that has had it? The last that I have heard Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, and New York are the only states that have experienced the Lepto virus.

Alabama ?? I'll have to inquire with my vet about that one. We did just finally go to the 3 yr rabies instead of annual.

 

[Caro]

This issue came up recently in Australia. There has been an increase in the number of deaths from parvo. The Austn Vet Assocn is now saying to ensure a level of immunity dogs should be given a least 3 booster shots after their initial puppy shot (eg, annual shots for 3 years or biennial for 6yrs) for the C4 vaccinations.

It will be interesting to see how this works for the dog clubs as they currently require evidence of annual vaccination at time of enrolment, and flyball and agility also require annual vaccinations to compete.

 

[Justicemom]

This is long and I'm sorry.

Vaccines are an ever changing area of veterinary medicine. Research is going on currently and we still don't have all the answers. Titers only indicate exposure. The true immunity of an animal lies in the memory B cels not the T cells which titers counts. We hope by using titers that if they are high the animal is protected but that is not always the case. An animal can have low titer and be protected and conversely a high titer and be at risk. Remember it is not an absoolute.

Veterinarians cling to annual vaccines for various reasons. 1) they remember the days when parvo and distemper killed a large number of animals. Terrible diseases and animals suffered while they tried to save them most of which they couldn't. (I have seen 25 cases of distemper, all but 1 in S.Dak all died except 1, I see about 6-10 parvo cases a year in minnesota and I'm in a low risk part of the city) 2)That's what they were taught, 3)they see vaccines as a way to get clients into the hospital instead of educationing on the importance of annual exam and preventative bloodwork. or 4)They fear that if they don't recommend the vaccines and the animal gets the disease that they will be at fault because the disease is preventable.

Tofupup is right. Herd health immunity is at work. The vaccined dogs protect the unvaccined ones. When the % drops,the population as a whole is more at risk. That why I saw distemper in S. Dak. there was a large population of unvaccined dogs. They still see at atleast 1-2 cases of repoted rabies with human exposure in dogs and cats yearly there. The is risk in vaccination and there are risks in not.

I think as an pet owner you should be able to talk with your veterinarian and design the vaccine (or titer if you prefer) protocol for your animal based on its lifestyle and risks. A stay at home dog that never leaves its yard needs a different one then the show dog or performance dog that is exposed to hundreds of dogs on a weekly basis. Discuss pro and cons of each vaccine available and remember the decision is yours(except for rabies) in the end and you are also responsible for the outcome of that decison. If you don't have that relationship with your vet that you can talk about things then maybe you need another vet.

One last thing, and I don't mean offense. If you have a infomation that your vet doesn't know and you think they should. Discuss it with them in a respectful manner. Veterinarians are responsible for huge amount of knowledge over serveral species and that knowledge is constantly changing. You only have a couple or many dogs/breeds and your knowlegde can be more specialzed at times. A good veterinarian will thank you for the info so they can do more research. Don't treat your veterinarian like an idiot and they won't treat you like one.

For the record, I vaccinate my dogs at 9,12,15 wks for distemper and parvo, annually a year later and then every 3 yrs. Rabies at 5 months and then a year later and then every 3 yrs. I vaccinate for lyme except Ember(we have a ton in MN). Bordatella yearly. No corona, lepto(I have seen it in MN), giardia or dental vaccines, no flu vx. I am willing to change if I find strong evidence to do so. I will not vaccinate any sick or chronicly ill pet for any reason. We all try to do the best we can.

Dr. Shelli

 

[Mya'smom]

I use to believe in yearly vaccinations to prevent any thing happening to the dogs until my beloved girl, Sassy, died from hemolytic anemia.
One of the thing that causes hemolytic anemia was vaccinations. Over a period of time the immune system get hyperactived from the shots and its starts destroying itself by destroying the red blood cells.
There was a list of other things that could cause hemolytic anemia but Sassy didn't match any on the list except vaccinations or innoculatins.
So, to this day I haven't given Mya any shots since I bought her two years ago.