To vaccinate or not

[corgimom]

I agree with you Deb - I try to give Cody the best of food and then I put
Frontline Plus on him - that in itself bothers me - long term may this possibly do any harm? The same with vaccinations.

Do we from this point on just say to our vets, thanks, but no thanks, I will
go 3 years with all vaccinations and will our pets be insured good health by
doing this, and can we walk away confident that we are doing the right thing?

Linda

[corgimom]

I know my vets place has told me that their clients that are into "showing" dogs vaccinate against Bordetella twice a year instead of once - they are
obviously afraid of their dog getting ill. I guess this would apply to boarding a dog in a Doggy Day care situation also.

Any thoughts on this?

linda

[Fluffypants]

Originally Posted by corgimom

Michael,

while that could very well be true, there is much controversy regarding annual vaccinations and each person should work with their vet and make the decision that they are comfortable with; weighing the possible risks associated with waiting for 3 years Some boarding places will not accept a dog without current 1 year vaccinations; in regards to parvo and bordatella.

linda

In my area, you also can't renew your dog license without showing proof of the annual rabies vacc. It expires yearly, and you have show proof of re-vaccination to get the license renewed (and you need the license for TDI therapy work).

[Jhemphill]

We have one and three year rabies here. When you get a new dog they are vaccinated with a one year rabies injection and a year license, when you bring them back for their annual, they can have a one or three year rabies and the corresponding license. The rest of the vaccination they ask you if you want. We always get the parvo, we had two puppies die of parvo and it is not a pretty site, mainly to be sure and have them tested for heart worms.

[corgimom]

Here is the site where Dr. Jean Dobbs gives her recommendations for vaccinations. This is the lady that Michael referred to; click on

www.weim.net/emberweims/Vaccine.html



linda

[Michael Romanos]

The whole structure of vaccinations is like a spider web. You have governmental organisations reliant on annual vaccines that are now considered by more and more specialists in the field, as a waste of money and a threat against the health of the dog. Our Local Councils in NZ don't have any rider for vaccinations associated with annual registrations and the NZKC only insists that for dogs competing at any of the sports and recreational events, that they have been properly treated for distemper etc.

It is very confusing for us owners. We want clear guidelines. Commercial enterprise is often based around pulling the wool over consumers and buyers eyes.

[Jespah]

Our vet's went to the every other year protocol a couple of years ago. That means the dogs get seen every year - which is important, but receive a different vaccine each time. We have a problem here with leptosperosis, that is tranimtted through the urine of raccoons, etc. so that has to be yearly - also the nose spray for kennel cough barely lasts a year.

As I have just found out, you need to know your dog and really understand when something is wrong to make sure you are taking the best care of them. I knew something was going on with Riley as she was never one to throw up, and I decided to get it checked out sooner than later.

[Michael Romanos]

When it come time for Taylor's annual vaccination booster for a range of things covering NZ purposes only, I am going to do a ring around of the vets - and there are heaps of them - to latch onto the one who understands the trend away from annual vaccines, and let that person explain what is or what is not required. Then I'll check out his summation with the canine and animal specialists at NZ's leading animal and agricultural university who should be up with the play. That way I'll have all my bases covered.

[milles2]

This is another dilemma for me. And I had a heart to heart w/ Tuck's vet last February. I am trying to tie his Annual Checkup to his birthday so I will always remember.

My Vet clinic suggests annual vaccines. Like Jessica, I am in NYS so we have to have rabies to license our dogs.

Because Tuck goes to day care and is social w/ other dogs,my Vet strongly recommends distemper & bordatella. I live in the country w/ lots of wild animal, and Tucker has to taste everything he finds on the ground, so the thought of not vaccinating against Lepto scares me.

We talked about doing the titers test and on Tuck's 2nd birthday, I will do that to see what immunity he has on his own.

Oh, and because we are a tick area, he also gets lyme booster.

[corgimom]

Cody goes to Doggy Day care at least once every two weeks so he can socialize with dogs - my vet therefore, recommends the bordetella vaccination every 6 months for him. He is due in September now and I am going to have that done.