Bordettela Kennel Cough Intra

[sabrina]

my dogs have always gotten this vaccination once a year. I got a reminder from my vet

that Sabrina was due on 11/8/09 I wrote back no she is due on 5/12/10. I got an answer to my reply. It was, they give the booster every 6 months because that is what all the grooming & boarding facilities are requiring. Has anyone else been told this or do any of you give this booster to your dog every 6 months?

[Guest PiagetsMom]

I think it varies from vet to vet. My vet gives the nasal dose, and we get it twice a year. My mom's vet gives the injection, and her pup only gets it once a year. Don't know if it's a difference between the nasal vs the injection, or if it's just the vet's preference. We both board our pups at times, so it obviously isn't based on that.

[Guest Energy11]

As a matter of fact, Goldie got her Bordetella Vaccine (*I do the others, but Goldie won't let me near her), Monday, when she was at the vet.

 

Anyway, I noticed a six month reminder on the vaccine. I would say, UNLESS your board your dogs, once a year is fine. That is all I do, as mine don't board, and are not around other dogs.

[Hubcitypam]

The six month vs. one year was explained to me by one of my vets and also by the the owner of the daycare where I worked as that originally it was suggested every year. However, as time progressed they noticed that almost all the vaccinated dogs that were contracting it were doing so eight to ten months or so after innoculation so many vets and just about all bording facilities have upped their protocol to twice a year.

[LaFlaca]

Wendy gets hers every 6 months. Maybe that's a Florida thing?

[kudzu]

... they give the booster every 6 months because that is what all the grooming & boarding facilities are requiring.

In my experience that is correct. I only give bordetella vaccine to the dogs that are required to have it for day care, grooming, etc. In my case that is one out of three. And yes, she gets a booster every 6 mos. Bordetella vaccine is not one of the core vaccs for my dogs. My youngest does doggie daycare and has been boarded so it is standard for her. My vet, however, doesn't send out a reminder for it.

 

The choice to vaccinate is totally your own. It is not something I think necessary but it does seem to be pretty safe. Am not aware of anyone whose dog had a reaction to it except a bit of reverse sneezing. Personally, I would not get it for a dog if I didn't have to but that does not mean I am opposed to it. Still, it is usually only spread in kennel type environments & most dogs who get it recover quickly without treatment. For most of our dogs, the risk of contracting kennel cough is low. If one of my dogs came down with respiratory symptoms I would have them to the vet quickly anyway just to be safe. Bordatella dun skeer me.

 

ETA: The safety & minimal side effects apply to the nasal vaccine only. Don't know anyone who has used the injectable type. It used to have a questionable reputation but I cannot remember why.

Edited February 24, 2010 by kudzu

[ahicks51]

We never give the bordetella vaccine as we don't board our dogs, etc. In fact, when we got Fletcher (non-greyhound) from the pound as a foster, we kept them separate for I forget how long to make sure the greys didn't come down with it. Fletcher ended up with kennel cough, and I braced for having it go through all the other dogs, but it never happened.

 

The vaccine isn't even a very good one; it doesn't protect against all strains. It's a vaccine that carries a relatively low benefit, IMO, although certainly folks may want it if they board their dogs or have a lot of dogs coming and going for whatever reason.

[KF_in_Georgia]

Locally, many boarding facilities require the vaccine within 6 months of the date you want to board the dog. PetSmart's PetsHotel will require the vaccine within 6 months for boarding or doggie day camp.

 

I don't regularly board my dogs, but my guys frequently are around other dogs. Also, if I have an emergency and have to board my guys on short notice, I don't want to have to be scrambling to get the vaccine. Finally, if my vaccinated dogs suddenly come down with a respiratory problem, we can be pretty sure we're not dealing with kennel cough and can start treating for canine influenza or whatever other breathable nasty is going around.

 

If you want the protection of the vaccine, but don't plan to board your dogs, you can order the vaccine on-line and just administer it yourself. Since this is a squirt-up-the-nose, it's not as complicated as injections...unless you've got a dog as graceful as my Jacey. She got the vaccine at the vet's, and when the vaccine hit her nasal passages, she jumped back and smacked her head into the metal exam table hard enough to make the metal ring. These days, I stand behind her when the tech shoots the vaccine up Jacey's nose.

[Guest PiagetsMom]

Locally, many boarding facilities require the vaccine within 6 months of the date you want to board the dog. PetSmart's PetsHotel will require the vaccine within 6 months for boarding or doggie day camp.

 

I don't regularly board my dogs, but my guys frequently are around other dogs. Also, if I have an emergency and have to board my guys on short notice, I don't want to have to be scrambling to get the vaccine.

 

That's true here, as well. I also remember my vet telling me that you really need to have the vaccine two weeks before boarding in order for it to take full effect, so last minute scrambling wouldn't provide the best protection. Don't know if that's common thought with all vets, or if that's just his preference.

 

I posted this in another thread recently, but my DS's dogs were boarded over Christmas, had the vaccine and all the other dogs there were required to have proof of the vaccine. Both his dogs came home with kennel cough, severe enough to require treatment and it took them a couple of weeks to recover. Their vet explained that the vaccine is much like our flu vaccine......protects against most strains, but every once in a while a new or unfamiliar strain comes around that it's not effective against.

[Guest mountain4greys]

I don't board our hounds, but they do get the injection once a year.

[Sambuca]

I'm a dog walker so Bu gets most vaccines on a regular basis. I have heard of kennel cough going around the dog park, so it's not only for dogs that are boarded.

[Guest FullMetalFrank]

The vaccine is only effective for about 6 months so it needs to be given twice a year; if you are frequenting dog parks, boarding, showing, etc... where your dog will be in close proximity to others. Also, it does take a couple of weeks to be effective so it should be given 3 weeks before it's needed; pre-planning helps here!

[Guest kydie]

There is a whole new thought to vaccines, as I have always been big on them, I must confess I am now giving second thoughts to them, as my pack has no contact with other dogs, and I give my own vaccines, this year will be a debate on wheather I give as many, Lymes will be a must for all of them, and my old girl? Lymes only, and rabies of coarse every 3 years

[Guest greyhound9797]

I vaccinated all my pets up until 3 years ago when I learned about the dangers of vaccines. When we left town we boarded Piper once and they would not let her stay until she had the bordatella, which they administered there (boarding/vet facility). I didn't like the fact that they insisted my dog get something that she didn't need but I didn't have alternate care for her at the time.

 

Now I don't vaccinate at all, not even rabies. The 4 cats are strictly indoor and Piper does not have contact with other dogs (she's not large dog friendly so no dog park visits for her). I have a pet sitter come to the house to care for them when we go away so no vaccines are needed.

 

Sandra in FL

[Batmom]

We use the bordetella injectable here. My (young, progressive, overvaccinating-adverse) vet doesn't like the nasal and switched to injectable a couple years ago. I give it if I'm planning to take the dogs to classes, events, etc. It isn't a perfect vaccine but it beats having a case of kennel cough in the house (BTDT more than once).

[Guest Swifthounds]

The injectable form is a killed virus, while the intranasal is a modified live virus. Because bordetella is a bacterium its duration of immunity is somewhere between 6 months and one year, but not for all strains.

 

Vets seem to be split on which type they prefer. Intranasal has been associated with occurrences of full blown kennel cough, so some vets suggest the killed to avoid it. One large local practice does the injectable series of two for any dog that hasn't previously had the vaccine and then switches to the intranasal after that. Their thinking is that the injectable creates the memory cells for immune response without the potential of causing disease in the dog. Thereafter, they use the intranasal because a dog with memory cells for the bacteria is at less risk of developing bordetella from the MLV and because the intranasal has immunological advantages (earlier immunity, upper respiratory immunity, some additional protection against parainfluenza infection).

 

AAHA doesn't list it as a core vaccine anymore, and I no longer give it. I don't board my dogs, though they are exposed to plenty of other dogs on a regular basis, including dogs that have had kennel cough. Kennel cough is annoying and time consuming to treat, but it's not likely to be fatal in an otherwise healthy dog. Some dogs can be in high risk exposure situations and never get it, even when in the company of dogs with active bord. Other dogs will seem to have less risk, and still get it.

 

In the end you just have to weight the pros and cons and make what you feel is the best decision for your dogs, come what may.

[Guest Heehoo]

Mine get it once a year.

[Pippin]

My vet lets me skip the bordatella, becuase the only place my dogs ever go is my house, Dee's house, and the vet. On the years that we're going to Sandy Paws, we get it just in case. But her vet tech told me this morning that they'll need it before their dentals - she sounded like they would give it willy-nilly, the morning of the dental. I told her to check with Doc, because I don't want it and don't think they need it.