Can We Talk About Vaccines Again?

[Guest zoolaine]

My older dogs are due for their "yearly" vaccines. They just turned 9 years old and have been fully vaccinated every year. I had decided to just do their rabies and bordetella this year and not the DHPP. I have read a lot that vaccines should really be 3 year intervals instead of yearly. But now with the FWAC 29 and the deaths from possible distemper I am reconsidering. My vet's office said they are still recommending yearly vaccines because parvo and distemper are seen here in Yakima (especially parvo but isn't parvo really a puppy disease???). So now I don't know what to do?!?!?!??!?!?! I am buying the bordetella vaccine and giving that to them myself - its the nasal spray type. Also my insurance will not cover any illness which could be prevented with a vaccine, if they haven't been vaccinated.

[Guest BorzoiMom]

DHPP is a three year vaccine, so is Rabies (unless by law it's yearly), Bordatella (intranasal) is 6 months - based on Fort Dodge vaccines.

[Hubcitypam]

I went on the 3 year plan and nothing but rabies after 9 many years ago. The AVMA recommends a three year schedule. Burpdog has posted their protocol on here before but you can probably google it and print it out and ask your vet. Parvo IS a puppy disease. My yorkie and my neices dog were exposed to a pug puppy that died of it and both our vets told us not to worry.

 

I discussed only rabies after 8 or 9 with my vet and he said that is what he does with his personal dogs - puppy shots, one round of adult shots the next year, then two more rounds three years apart...then only rabies.

[PrairieProf]

Thanks for posting this -- the FW dogs made me think about it too. I titered Beth instead of vaccinating her for the first this summer. If you're not vaccinating, doing a titer (though I understand it's far from perfectly reliable) does give you some reasonable assurance they're protected, right?

[Guest mcsheltie]

The AVMA and all vet schools have said three year for quite a while now. Dr Jean Dodds also agrees with that protocol. Google Dr Ron Schultz of UofW. He is one of the world's premier immunologists. He is doing work to prove that dog vaccine, like our own, are good for life. The immune system does not forget. He current work is proving 7 & 10 yr efficacy. But his goal is to prove lifetime immunity. I do puppy series and then titers after that. My dogs have never needed another booster. Dr Schultz is a Golden breeder and he does the same thing with his own dogs. They have all had lifetime immunity from the puppy series.

 

Unless your dogs have a faulty immune system they are as protected as they are going to get. Once a dog is immune giving more boosters does not make them more immune.

[Batmom]

We do bordetella every 6-12 months if we're going out and about; lepto yearly; everything else 3-year unless my vet suggests otherwise. We continue to do parvo, distemper, etc. on a 3-year basis because we do have those diseases here. If I had a younger dog I might do every year until age 3-4.

[PrairieProf]

Am I correct in thinking there is probably a similar protocol change now for cats? I have been vaccinating my now 14-year-old indoor-only cat forever, and now realize that that is almost certainly ridiculous. She's due for shots now but I want to take a pass.

[Saharasmom]

Last month when I took Sahara in for her annual checkup/HW test/vaccinations, I told the vet I was interested in switching her to a 3 year schedule. He had no problem with it, as he knew I would still take her in for the HW checks & checkups each year. He didn't seem concerned that she would contract any diseases. You could try asking your vet how many cases cases of Parvo/Distemper he's seen in older dogs who've had regular vaccinations.

 

One thing to keep in mind with the Ft Worth dogs is that their immune systems were likely run down from being underweight and covered in ticks.

 

PP - I wouldn't vaccinate my cat if I were in your situation. I have been vaccinating my own cat because (prior to Atlas) I had been fostering cats and kittens for our local AC.

[racindog]

The AVMA and all vet schools have said three year for quite a while now. Dr Jean Dodds also agrees with that protocol. Google Dr Ron Schultz of UofW. He is one of the world's premier immunologists. He is doing work to prove that dog vaccine, like our own, are good for life. The immune system does not forget. He current work is proving 7 & 10 yr efficacy. But his goal is to prove lifetime immunity. I do puppy series and then titers after that. My dogs have never needed another booster. Dr Schultz is a Golden breeder and he does the same thing with his own dogs. They have all had lifetime immunity from the puppy series.

 

Unless your dogs have a faulty immune system they are as protected as they are going to get. Once a dog is immune giving more boosters does not make them more immune.

 

 

Well put. The AAHA also recommends 3 year protocol. If getting a rabies be careful. Something fishy is going on with the rabies vaccine right now. Unusual number of adverse reactions.

[Guest BorzoiMom]

"If getting a rabies be careful. Something fishy is going on with the rabies vaccine right now. Unusual number of adverse reactions. "

 

Is that from ALL manufacturers of the vaccines? Remember there are more than just one company, the system of delivery (for lack of a better word - the liquid the vaccine is delivered in) is different for different manufacturers.

[Guest FastDogsOwnMe]

I don't vaccinate for anything but rabies after puppyhood (or a new dog with no history). I do rabies every three years.

[Guest mcsheltie]

Am I correct in thinking there is probably a similar protocol change now for cats? I have been vaccinating my now 14-year-old indoor-only cat forever, and now realize that that is almost certainly ridiculous. She's due for shots now but I want to take a pass.

Yes, the same protocol is for cats. Indoor cats need even less boostering since they are not exposed to anything. I vaccinate my cats after the maternal immunity has worn off and that is it.

[Guest mcsheltie]

This is the vaccine I use. Neopar for Parvo and NEOVAC® DA2 for Distemper Virus and Adenovirus Type 2. These are high titer vaccines that are able to overcome maternal immunity. This is valuable for both puppies and adults if there is an outbreak of these diseases in your area. Because these are high titer vaccines you only need to give one vax to dogs over 16 weeks. You do not need to booster. For dogs coming into rescue with unknown vax history being able to give only one vax is both cost and time effective. And easier on their immune systems. I also like the fact that you do not have to give multiple vax at one time. Once again this is easier on them.

[racindog]

"If getting a rabies be careful. Something fishy is going on with the rabies vaccine right now. Unusual number of adverse reactions. "

 

Is that from ALL manufacturers of the vaccines? Remember there are more than just one company, the system of delivery (for lack of a better word - the liquid the vaccine is delivered in) is different for different manufacturers.

 

Minny nearly died from the Pfitzer(which I believe bought Fort Dodge). Don't know what kind the other dogs got.

[Guest eaglflyt]

I'd like to ask what most are doing concerning vaccinating for Lepto ... what interval? Last year our vet and many others in this area were overwhelmed with the number of dogs with leptospirosis. We do vaccinate for lepto annually, especially since we live in a rural area. We've had no reactions of our pups to this vaccine which includes our mini dachshunds, our elderly Aussie and our grey girl.

 

Good info. at this link.

 

eta link

Edited August 2, 2010 by eaglflyt

[Batmom]

In case you missed mine, we do lepto annually, always. There's a lot of it around here, plus our property abuts a natural area of sorts, so we get a lot of wildlife.

[Guest eaglflyt]

In case you missed mine, we do lepto annually, always. There's a lot of it around here, plus our property abuts a natural area of sorts, so we get a lot of wildlife.

 

Yep, I missed it. Thanks for the pointer. Oddly enough, we do the same as your vaccination protocol for your pups. Although, I need to check with TDI regarding the every 3 years protocol since Ady Bea is a therapy dog. I know they're OK with the 3 yr. rabies, just not sure of the 3 yr. for the others. I'll call and check now.

 

eta: after the initial set of core vaccinations TDI accepts vet recommendations

Edited August 2, 2010 by eaglflyt

[Anne]

My greyhounds have never had another DHLPP or anything like that since I adopted them. They did all get one last rabies shot when we moved here 5 years ago. My poodle got the routine puppy shots (I've had him since he was 12 weeks old) and then the 2 year booster and has never had anything else except that rabies shot 5 years ago. And my dogs will never get another shot. I did titers once about 7 years ago and they were great. I won't be doing titers again either.

 

edited cause I can't spell!

Edited August 3, 2010 by Anne

[Guest TeddysMom]

I must say that this is the first time I have ever been considering giving all my dogs the parvo vaccine more than every three years. It seems that this whole area is under a parvo scare enough that all the feed stores, vet's offices and farm stores have signs up warning people not to adopt "free to good home" puppies that don't have vet records showing a series of 3 puppy shots. I won't get the combo shot but I think I will order the parvo booster for everyone. All these idiots that never vaccinated their dogs is catching up with them and the vets are seeing more parvo than they have ever seen. In all the years I rescued in FL, we never had a boxer come in with parvo. Here we can't even pull them out of the shelter until they are in there for at least 3 weeks and show no signs and I quarentin all the dogs for 3 weeks after bringing them home. This is the worst I have ever seen.

[Hubcitypam]

I think the key word in the signs is "puppies" I may be wrong but have been told over and over and over adult dogs with multiple vaccinations just don't contract parvo. Ther may be once in a blue moon exceptions as always. When my dog and my niece's were exposed to the parvo pup and the vets heard they were 6 and 8 years old and vaccinated you could practically hear them yawn through the phone.

[greytlucy]

Here's the protocol my vets recommend:

 

DHPP: 8 weeks, 12 weeks, 16 weeks, 1 year, 4 year

Rabies: 6 mos and every 3 years after as required by local law

Bortadella: only for dogs that are at high risk of exposure. My don't board or visit dog parks we don't do this

 

I've had three dogs on this protocol. One a retired racing greyhound who was vaccinated at 4 when we got her and then only had rabies shots until she passed in June at 14+ years old. The second a greyhound that never raced and I adopted at 8 weeks. He's now 9 1/2 and other than rabies hasn't vaccinated since he was 4. The third is a standard poodle who is now 17 weeks old. He's being vaccinated according to the above schedule and has received all his DHPP puppy shots and will have the rabies in approx two months.

 

 

I'm not yet convinced the 4 year is necessary but....i've had two cats and now a dog live past 14 so I do that one until there is more evidence on the efficacy of vaccines past ten year.

 

Also, rabies and DHPP are never given together by my clinic.

 

Under my vet's recommendation I don't bother with titers and have never had them done.

Edited August 3, 2010 by greytlucy

[Guest TeddysMom]

I think the key word in the signs is "puppies" I may be wrong but have been told over and over and over adult dogs with multiple vaccinations just don't contract parvo. Ther may be once in a blue moon exceptions as always. When my dog and my niece's were exposed to the parvo pup and the vets heard they were 6 and 8 years old and vaccinated you could practically hear them yawn through the phone.

 

Your probably right. I just worry about my very senior dogs, I have several over 14 now. I hate giving any of my adult dogs any shots, I guess I am just worried for nothing.

[racindog]

I had ~4 or 5 adult dogs once that drank out the same water bowls and lived with a newly aquired Humane Society pup that promptly came down with parvo. None of the adult dogs got sick or had any consequence. And the pup survived. The parvo vaccine does seem to work really well.

[Guest TeddysMom]

I had ~4 or 5 adult dogs once that drank out the same water bowls and lived with a newly aquired Humane Society pup that promptly came down with parvo. None of the adult dogs got sick or had any consequence. And the pup survived. The parvo vaccine does seem to work really well.

 

Thanks, I am feeling a little better about this and I do quarenteen shelter dogs from my dogs for 3 weeks so I quess I will skip the vaccine. I have never had to deal with parvo before.