Opinions on when to vaccinate Puppy

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cm2581

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I'll be getting my border terrier on Thursday or Friday this week. He'll be 8 weeks next Sunday. I've had so many opinions on when to vaccinate him my head is a little spinning!!!!!!

Breeder says to the vet next Monday when he will be 8 weeks and 1 day.

Internet searching seems to vary between 8 and 9 weeks with second 2-4 weeks after depending on product.

I work at a veterinary disease surveillance centre and asked the small animal specialist his opinion on this and many other things. His opinion was to wait AT LEAST a week after I get him and ideally wait till he is 10 weeks old for his 1st vaccination due to the stress levels the pup will be experiencing and recent research has indicated that maternal antibodies can be present for longer than was originally realised and earlier vaccination can be ineffective because of this. However I realise that this would mean he potentially misses an important window for socialisation.

Opinions?! And why?
 
cm2581 said:
I work at a veterinary disease surveillance centre and asked the small animal specialist his opinion on this and many other things. His opinion was to wait AT LEAST a week after I get him and ideally wait till he is 10 weeks old for his 1st vaccination due to the stress levels the pup will be experiencing and recent research has indicated that maternal antibodies can be present for longer than was originally realised and earlier vaccination can be ineffective because of this. However I realise that this would mean he potentially misses an important window for socialisation.

Opinions?! And why?
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I would listen to him he is giving you some very sound advice. To give a multi vaccination when under stress and moving to a new environment can cause a lot of problems to the immune system.
 
We got Betsy at 8 weeks and the vet insisted we waited a week to get her jabs done to lower the chance of stress at the vets.... she settled in within an hour and was a pro at car trips and meeting people after a couple of days, I would have far rather had her done earlier to have longer to socialise her as a tiny pup.
 
I also agree with your colleague, wait the week.
I just read the why bit:o because of the stress, an example, a pet shop puppy will seem fine in the pet shop environment when people are gorping atit through the cage, its bought and took home and after day one, change of environment, being wormed and change of diet has the puppy now vomiting,passing watery faeces and shivering, this is due to a complete over load on the system and what ever the puppy was harbouring is now coming out, same when you take a dog from the pound and thye always use the "it was fine when you took it" basically it was a time bomb waiting to happen (best way I can describe it) and ontop of that a vax course may have been started:eek: the system has no chance.

You can still take the puppy our in the car and keep it in yours arms, its all critical socialisation you are correct but aslong as you take caution and keep the puppy off the ground and give no direct contact with other animals the puppy can still hear, see and smell the environment in your arms.
 
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It's a long time since I've had puppies rather than kittens but I always got the first vaccination done two weeks after weaning and a few days before leaving me.
Typically at around 8- 9 weeks for the first vaccination (and health checked by my vet at the same time).
I always tell buyers to get puppies checked over by their vet but the second vaccine injection ( the brand I used ) was needed three weeks after the first shot.

I don't like the idea of a puppy moving home and then getting the stress of vaccination when it is easy to keep them an extra week.
 
my pup only had the two didnt realise some have three..one at 8/9 weeks and the second 10/11 weeks..wormed regulary aswell..start to socialise two weeks after,but as cayla says take pup in car and carry it to places to get used to sounds smell..i carry my pup to school to collect the kids...lots of attention and cuddles

i thought six weeks having a first jab was too early..the pup should be still with the mum at that age
 
Yes, all puppies have the first 2 vaccinations *before* they go to their new homes!!
Then the new owners have to do the final one, the third.
This is how things work here. You would question how reputable a breeder is if you got an unvaccinated pup.
 
I have no questions about the reputabilty (sp?!) of the breeder - he has been breeding border terriers and german shepherds (and showing these) for many years. I also had and 'interview' to see if I was suitable to have one of his pups although I ddn't realise that's what it was till later!! 6 out of the 8 pups were booked prior to conception and some of those up to a year in advance!! I was lucky that the bitch had so many or I wouldn't have had a chance!!

The breeder did offer to keep the pup for longer (most are going this weekend) but he said if he still had him at 8 weeks, he would get his 1st vaccination on the Monday and he wouldn't let him go till he had had his second vaccination as he has had problems when pups get different brands of vaccine for 1st and 2nd jabs. Dunno if there is any sound basis to this or not!

I'm not in any massive rush to get him vaccinated in general but border terriers are known to become aggresive with other dogs if they miss out in early socialisation with other dogs. I would have thought that even leaving his 1st jab till 10 weeks and his second till 12 weeks would have been fine and would greatly reduce, if not eliminate the likelihood of interferance by maternal antibodies leaving the vaccination much more effective but still have him young enough for socialisation. Just wanted some other opinions! Thanks!
 
the thing is, everyone is different, all my puppies go to their new home before they get jabbed. mainly because new owners can be daunted by the side affects of a jab and get the fear, so i prefer ask them to leave it a week or two and not take them out of the house into contact with other dogs or places dogs have been. i also ask them to give it a month for any chipping too.

a friend of mine has all her puppies jabbed and chipped bang on 8 weeks without fail, she is a good breeder who produces very strong, healthy lab puppies.
 
I personaly would get my pup vaccinated at the earliest opportunity so i could get out & about,meeting & seeing as many different sights/sounds/smells as possible.you will have a much better chance of having a bold & social pup thats a pleasure to own if you can expose it to as many different experiences whilst it is under 14wks.i work in a veterinary practice & see many owners with dogs that have" issues" which havent had the correct socialisation.its soo much harder to correct a problem than to prevent it.
vaccinate asap & enrole in puppy social/training classes.
good luck with your pup :)
 
I would probably agree & leave it for a week after you have got her. Let her settle in a bit. The timing of the second jab & then the time you have to wait before pup can go out will depend on the brand of vaccine your vets uses & what its data sheet says,.

There is a risk of vaccine breakdown, especially if the pup has high levels of maternal antibodies. That can depend on things such as when the dam was last vaccinated prior to mating etc.

Personally I would always err on the side of caution. Have known of the results of vaccine breakdowns (used to work in the vet pharma industry;) ) I usually vaccinate at 9 & 11 weeks - ish But I suggest that new owners take their pup to their vets after a week to get it checked, for their own peace of mind, as they are checked by my own vet before going to their new homes. And get their 1st vaccination then too. If the vet is in agreement that is.

I would agree with Cayla there is a lot you can do with regards to socialisation without needing the pup to be vaccinated.

Having said all that my puppies mix with all my gang once they are old & big enough, great socialisation for them, but does expose them to some risks as my lot are vaccinated but go out & about all the while. But I believe they are better off with that life experience!!

Enjoy your new addition!
 
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