Leptospirosis Vaccine -- Do Your Dogs Get It?

[Guest ArtysPeople]

question please: my two greys were vaccinated last year for all shots including lepto).

This year I decided to only give rabies and have heartworm test done. Does the lepto shot fall in the 3 year protocol? and can it be caught from rabbits? we now have a million rabbits in our neighborhood. some of them think my back lawn is their private snack area.

 

Leptospirosis is a bacteria, so the vaccine is only good for one year. Also, the vaccine is only for four out of several hundred varieties of the bacteria, but that's a different topic.

 

From all the reading I've done, Lepto is considered so dangerous because it can be passed between a large number of animal species (including humans). Rodents and wildlife (which, I would presume, would include rabbits) are the main concerns for transmission to dogs, but even cattle can carry it. The way that it is usually contracted is through exposure to contaminated urine. (Since lepto attacks the kidneys and liver, there is a lot of shedded bacteria in the urine.) The most common way this happens is through drinking or swimming in contaminated water, like a puddle, drainage ditch, or lake.

 

Also, lepto seems like it's most common in the south (e.g., Texas) but is spreading north, and is just now reaching the level here in Maine that our vet is even offering the vaccine. So, it's not just that your dogs have to be exposed to rabbits, but they have to be likely to be exposed to infected rabbits for it to be a concern. You could call your local or state health agency for information about how common it is in your area.

Edited July 16, 2008 by ArtysPeople

[PatricksMom]

My vet gives an additional Lepto every year, because the one in the 3 year combined vaccine won't cover for three years.

[VinnieAndRexsMom]

I have a friend whose dogs get the leptospriosis vaccine. However one of her dogs still contracted a strain of lepto that was not covered by the typical vaccination.

Yeah, last time I checked the lepto vacc covered 5 or 6 strains, but there wqere more strains out there. That was a few years ago.

Regardless, mine get it and I believe the corona, too. I don't believe we do lyme.

[Guest ryan2627]

Both of our dogs get it, on recommendation from our vet.