Vaccinations

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GinaB

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Do you all keep your dogs vaccinations up to date?

I admit, I got the Beastie's initial jabs as a puppy, then when she reached about 3 she stopped getting the annual boosters. However, I have started her back on them again (vet had to start course all over again as 3 years had passed)

It's just general curiosity as I know so many people who don't get a booster done for their dog.
 
I have to admit that i dont.They all had the Parvo jabs as pups but i havent done them since.Spot is 16 now and i dont think he needs them now!.
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I tend to have mine done about every 18 months. Living in the country I am always wary of lepto as I have lost a bitch with it in the past. BUT my 6 year old GSD bitch is at the moment hopefully recovering from serious problems after her booster at the end of February. To keep it brief, she developed an abscess at the injection sight, which caused a massive infection which affected her joints, she went lame on alternate legs and at one point struggled to stand, wouldn't eat and was a very poorly little girl. As I have said she is hopefully on the mend now, but has 6 more days of antibiotics to go. So I am not sure about future boosters. One point I would be interested to hear your views on- do you think I should be billed at full cost for treatment. I have a very good relationship with my vets which I would hate to damage, but one or two people have said to me, well surely they won't charge as its" their fault" . I feel it is just one of those things that happen, but would never say no to reduced bills! Just wondered if any vets viewing this had an opinion?
 
i have mine fully vaccinated, saw too many cases of parvo, all of which could have been avoided by vaccinating. i know no vacc is 100% but tbh for £25.00 a year its well worth that extra security and thonk its irresponsible not to vaccinate!!
 
Hey there GinaB
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Loving the monkey by the way
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As a general rule of thumb, any vaccination that we give to our dogs as has already been stated - is never designed to be 100% effective in preventing the disease, but the benefits of giving such vaccines far outway the potential risks.

Routinely in the UK we vaccinate against Distemper, Hepatitis, Leptospirosis, Parvo and Para-influenza.

To date there is no 1 vaccine that has allowed for a single one-off dose to provide protection lifelong - but instead some components of the vaccines protect for 1 year whilst others protect for a longer period of time.

The reason why we don't see many of the diseases we protect against is down to the fact we encourage vaccination throughout a dog's life. For example, Distemper hasn't been around in the UK for about 11yrs or so??? But elsewhere in the world, when they tried controlled studies of stopping vaccination protocols, they found that the disease rate increased.

Locally in Co.Durham and elsewhere in the UK we have seen an increase in the number of Parvo cases due to a new strain which means that such vaccs and boostering against parvo has become even more important. Just before christmas I lost 2 patients with confirmed parvo - one of which was a pup not yet vaccinated and the other, an adult dog 7yrs old whom hadn't been vaccinated since it's puppy course - Horrible situation to be in when you call an owner to inform them of their pet's death, even moreso when it could have possibly been prevented.

Some people may say that Vets and the Drug companies whom manufacture these boosters are doing it for pure profit, and I can see their thinking behind it...However I would never recommend to clients something that I don't or wouldn't practise with my own dogs.

I have 3 dogs, all of whom have been fully vaccinated/boostered since pups, even before I went to Vet school. I think this was partly driven by my parents need to go abroad on holiday AND therefore the kennel's need to have the dogs vaccinated prior to boarding mind you
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Vaccination reactions are not commonplace in practice and are a theoretical risk as per any other injections given to our pets.

Another way to look at your dog's annual trip to the vets for his/her's booster is that we as vets are sometimes able to pick up underlying problems during our examination prior to giving the booster, these problems might therefore be picked up early enough for treatment to be more successful, such as heart conditions, dental problems, tumours etc...

So even if we don't all agree with yearly boosters at least we should be visiting our vets annually for a general MOT health check.

Hope this is of some help Gina
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All the best

Ollie
 
my dog is vaccinated every year without fail. i recently had to watch a dog die of acute renal failure due to Leptospirosis because it's owner hadn't bothered to get it vaccinated. Have also seen several deaths due to Parvo in adult dogs who hadn't been vaccinated since puppyhood. For the sake of £30 odd a year, isn't it worth it? Plus, the fact that you get a full MOT from the vet as well in which I often pick upn things which the owner hasn't noticed.
 
Thanks for such a great reply Ollie! Very informative.

It was due to increase in Parvo cases that I decided to get the furry one back on track with her vaccines. I couldn't stand the thought of her ever catching anything like that. She got them on 19/3/07 and has been a bit 'snuffly' for the past week so going to get vet to check her out on 2/4/07 (that's the second round of jabs for her) and make sure no problems with her chest or anything. Although seems to be clearing up. Could just be vaccine knocked her a wee bit just like it does a puppy?
 
I do the first and the booster as the follow ups aren't neccessary,only done to cover the drug compagnies.
Some years ago I had a litter of pups that went away to a friends for a few weeks to get used to a hectic household and children.
They were all vaccinated for parvo before they went except for the runt who I was not sure could take the vaccine.--Guess which one didn't get parvo!?
 
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the follow ups aren't neccessary,only done to cover the drug compagnies.


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Actually leptospirosis vaccination has been shown to provide immunity for a year only and if your vaccination lapses over 3 months then you may not have full cover. Parvo and parainfluenza viruses also need yearly top ups. Distemper and Hepatitis can be done biannually as they provide longer lasting immunity.
Were your pups tested to prove parvovirus because there are a number of other things that can cause haemorrhagic diarrhoea exactly like parvo such as salmonella or campylobacter infections. The vaccine is highly effective and in my career of 13 years I have only ever known one dog that failed to gain immunity after its routine jabs and had to have even more regular boosters because of this. His owners were aware this can be a problem in their particular breed and used to have their dog blood tested following vaccination to make sure he responded in the correct way. In Dobermanns, Rottweilers and GSD pups I usually recommend a additional parvo jab to make sure they are fully covered.
 
I have no choice but to vaccinate all of my dogs.....I would pose a huge risk to my dogs otherwise.....I work in a veterinary hospital and we see a much more increases number of parvo and lepto......as we treat animals for those on low income/means tested benefits.....in general due to the low income factor we see a hell of alot of cases
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I am on duty tonight and have come in to 3 suspected parvo cases tonight in isolation
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I can tell u its not a pretty sight....2 younger dogs and a 13 year old
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blood/mucus everywhere
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(shower for me tonight)

Those living on a farm environment will inevitably come into less contact with dogs......but higher risk esp those in kennels of coming into contact with rats.....therefor at risk from lepto
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There is also the boarding kennel scenario.....as no kennel will accept a dog without a fully up to date/sighned vaccine book....and u never know when an emergency may occur and you have to use these services
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Also you never know what is lingering in the neighbours garden(un vacced dog purchased the day b4 from the local rescue kennels)
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that could easily carry and pass a virus or the dogs on your local walk
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I definatley think it has to be a rather safe than sorry for me as DOUGIE said it is a horrible bunch of viruses and very costly to treat compared to the booster cost.
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Always keep them up to date,without exception.
Of course nothing is 100% but the chances of your dog getting one of the diseases when vaccinated is next to nothing, an unvacinated is dog is completly at risk.
 
It is sods law that if you dont vaccinate your dog, something will happen. Better safe than sorry. I worked in a kennels where a whole litter of JRTs died of parvo, and the owners answer before he bred the next lot was to coat the shed they were born in in creosote. I also saw a case last year where a 5 year old dog died from leptospirosis. It was awful.
 
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I do the first and the booster as the follow ups aren't neccessary,only done to cover the drug compagnies.


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now wheres the scientific facts and research on this?!?!?!?
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after you have saw dogs with parvo or lepto then u will always vacinate! its a horrid disease and its sad as the majority arent vaccinated and hencewould have been fine if vaccinated (well 99.9% would have been)
 
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I do the first and the booster as the follow ups aren't neccessary,only done to cover the drug compagnies.

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That's rubbish - the dog i had in recently that died of Leptospirosis had had his initial course, but no boosters and he died of this horrid disease that is completely preventable. We do blood test titres for infectious diseases for owners that dont want to vaccinate and more often than not they come back as not being protected - now that's nothing to do with vets and drug companies making money, but pure fact.
 
As I said in my earlier post I lost a bitch with leptospirosis. She was fully vaccinated, but a pm showed had very few antibodies. It was many years ago but tragic as she had a litter of a few days old. We hand reared all the pups (what a job) but it is a horrible disease. My vets have never pushed me to have boosters exactly on 12 months so hopefully they are happy with my regime. I used to have blood titres checked before I had a bitch mated and they have always shown they were fully protected . It seems none of you vets want to commit yourself as to whether I should have a reduced bill following my girls reaction to a vaccine- which I don't blame you for, anyway my main concern is that she is hopefully improving. She finished pain killers yesterday so I am keeping everything crossed she doesn't have a flare up.
 
I would ask your vet to contact the company that manufactures the vaccine and report the problem. Often they are very helpful and may indeed help regarding the cost.
 
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As I said in my earlier post I lost a bitch with leptospirosis. She was fully vaccinated, but a pm showed had very few antibodies. It was many years ago but tragic as she had a litter of a few days old. We hand reared all the pups (what a job) but it is a horrible disease. My vets have never pushed me to have boosters exactly on 12 months so hopefully they are happy with my regime. I used to have blood titres checked before I had a bitch mated and they have always shown they were fully protected . It seems none of you vets want to commit yourself as to whether I should have a reduced bill following my girls reaction to a vaccine- which I don't blame you for, anyway my main concern is that she is hopefully improving. She finished pain killers yesterday so I am keeping everything crossed she doesn't have a flare up.

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sorry - didn't see you previous post about the bill thing. I wouldn't have thought any reduction in bill was warranted as dont see how it's the vets fault unless he blatantly dropped the needle on the floor before injecting her or some other such loss of sterility. unfortunately these things sometimes happen. we had one form a huge injection site abscess recently which needed surgery eventually, but sometimes these things just happen.
 
Star I agree with you that murphysminder has been unfortunate in that these things do sometimes occur following injections (not always vaccinations) but the shifting lameness sounds a bit odd and I do think it warrants reporting to the relevant drug company. If she was my client I would tend to keep the costs absolutely minimal as a goodwill gesture.
 
I have all my youngsters fully vaccinated then redone every two years until 7 when I titre test to check on immune levels ...sadly we lost a beautiful bitch to an adverse reaction to her annual booster innoculation ...she was 6 years old. Prior to this I automatically had all my dogs bosted yearly without really thinking about it- after she died I did question the automatic yearly regime that dogs are supposed to follow throughout their lives irrespective of the levels of immunity already present.
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Star I agree with you that murphysminder has been unfortunate in that these things do sometimes occur following injections (not always vaccinations) but the shifting lameness sounds a bit odd and I do think it warrants reporting to the relevant drug company. If she was my client I would tend to keep the costs absolutely minimal as a goodwill gesture.

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i agree - would probably report to vaccine company just in case was related and costs to a minimum, but probably no actual refund. in cases similar i tend to do consults for free and put them on computer as post-op checks so as not to hike up the bill, so client just pays for drugs really.
 
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I do the first and the booster as the follow ups aren't neccessary,only done to cover the drug compagnies.


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now wheres the scientific facts and research on this?!?!?!?
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after you have saw dogs with parvo or lepto then u will always vacinate! its a horrid disease and its sad as the majority arent vaccinated and hencewould have been fine if vaccinated (well 99.9% would have been)

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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fnews%2F2004%2F04%2F02%2Fnpet02.xml

http://www.earthclinic.com/Pets/vaccination_side_effects.html

http://www.doggiesparadise.com/immunisation.shtml

http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/petvacc2.htm

http://siriusdog.com/articles/vaccine-protocols-dogs-dodds.htm

http://www.k9atf.com/60.html

http://www.whale.to/vaccine/driscoll1.html

http://www.dogsadversereactions.com/vKCtestimony.html

http://antechdiagnostics.com/clients/antechNews/2002/jul02_01.htm

etc etc etc
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bull [****]!!

the telegraph: there is no scientific study been carried out it stats its merely vets opinions!! and 30 out of christ knows how many vets

the rest are crack pot holistc ballox websites written by people who i sincerely doubt have saw animals with these diseases!! i cannot stress enough if u have ever witnessed a dog with parvo or lepto u would always vaccinate!! the majority of who work in the veterinary industry willknow what i mean when i say "the parvo smell...smells like death" it is heart wrenching when u smell it....as one immediatly knows how ill the animal they are about to see is excetionaly ill. anyone who actually cares about there animals should vaccinate!!!
 
Like me........2 dogs from last night died, one still hanging on in there........new arrival....puppy Akita and it does not look good.......struggling for breath (no sleep for me tonight)
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ah its so heart breaking when we work so hard for the poor creatures to pass away. its also pityful as since the owners are so irresponsible not to vaccinate they rarely care (sound like any of our forum members?
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bless the little mite, what age is he?
 
thats such a sha,e but sadly often the case, we had a full litter of lurchers die the other month!

if only breeders were more responsible ad not just high rise flat muppets without a clue or money!!
 
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8 weeks
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and mum was not vaxed either, rest of the litter have sadly died he is the last one
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and I think he may be joining them
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God thats so sad, and making me so angry at the same time!!

The debate about elngth of protection form vacciens has been going on a long time and shows no signs of stopping.
The ONLY thing I need to see is tht vaccenated dogs VERY rarely contract/die from these diseases while unveccenated dogs are dying everyday.
A dogs life is worth a hell of a lot more then £30 a year to me.
 
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thats such a sha,e but sadly often the case, we had a full litter of lurchers die the other month!

if only breeders were more responsible ad not just high rise flat muppets without a clue or money!!

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Cant call those muppets breeders.
 
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