CockersOnline Forum
Cocker Specific Discussion => Oldies (Over 9s) => Topic started by: Jaysmumagain on April 03, 2017, 08:43:16 PM
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Can I ask what your thoughts are on vaccinations on dogs over 9 years age, Ollie has had them each year and for some reason the usual reminder has never arrived, this prompted me to check due date, which is next week. Does vet assume it is not required or is it just an error!
I know there is some thought on older dogs not really being of benefit, yet one concern is if I don't will his pet insurance with Animal Friends become void.
Naturally Ollie is my main concern :luv:but do you just keep going year after year, my late Jay was poorly by this age and I am afraid memory does not serve me well :005:
Joules hope this is in right thread :D
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Have you thought about titre testing or having a Vaccicheck done instead which would tell you if Ollie has immunity and therefore wouldn't need the boosters?
There is divided opinion about boosters now but some official bodies say that boosters should only be given every three years. Others believe that after initial vaccination a dog is probably immune for life.
Mine are six and five and haven't had boosters now for four years. We had a Vaccicheck two years ago and were found to have immunity to all three diseases. I just didn't want to pump them full of chemicals they didn't need especially as Maddie's line has seizures in it.
A titre test will probably cost more than the boosters but you may only need to do it once.
I believe some people think older dogs do not need boosters.
With regard to insurance I think that you are just not covered should the dog actually develop one of the illnesses.
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I agree with lescef. I had my 9 year old girls vaccinated for the first five years as i believed that was what I was meant to do but then it seemed odd to me that we vaccinate our children once or twice and they usually have immunity for life whereas dogs who have a much shorter lifespan are vaccinated each year :huh: :huh: :huh: why?
My understanding of the insurance is the same as what lescef wrote.
The only 'problem' with not having them vaccinated is that many boarding kennels insist on it.
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...we vaccinate our children once or twice and they usually have immunity for life whereas dogs who have a much shorter lifespan are vaccinated each year :huh: :huh: :huh: why?
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Because different vaccines are made in different ways and some last longer than others. We humans need to booster tetanus every 10 years, rabies every 1 or 3 years etc. Not all vaccines can be producet to give lifelong immunity unfortunately :)
I would just call the vet, they probably just forgot to send the reminder.
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As I understand it (after a chat with my vet when Archie was last due) Only Lepto and kennel cough (if you have it, I don't) are a yearly booster. The others are every 3 years but not all are given at once, hence one jab every year. It's just not the same jab.
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I no longer vaccinate Jinley since she had some issues last year. Will titre test next year. The Lepto only lasts 4 months and the vaccine has killed more dogs than the disease has.
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Well rang vet and asked for price titre test, will need to come in and discuss with vet, so asked which day lady vet was in and told needed to see senior vet..............he is the bloke who last year told me the only flea tick treatment they now use is Bravecto, when I expressed my concerns re this and said if I went that way would prefer a one month drug - he was totally in the dark.
I am wondering whether to phone around a couple of other vets and see if they do this.
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If you check the vacci check website it will tell you which vets local to you do titre testing. ;) ;
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We humans need to booster tetanus every 10 years
It's no longer the case, actually. The tetanus vaccination course is now considered complete after the early teenage booster, and is believed to give lifelong immunity.
http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/tetanus/pages/introduction.aspx#vaccination
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We humans need to booster tetanus every 10 years
It's no longer the case, actually. The tetanus vaccination course is now considered complete after the early teenage booster, and is believed to give lifelong immunity.
http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/tetanus/pages/introduction.aspx#vaccination
Interesting, over here they still recommend the boosters. But that could of course change :) Anyway the fact remains that vaccines are produced with different methods and some will give immunity longer than others because of that.
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Medivet group are the cheapest for titre that I have seen.
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Bear in mind that there is no titre test for lepto.
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William is almost 13, and hasn't had a vaccination of any sort since he was 6.
Two reasons for that:
Leptospirosis vaccination - he used to have that every year but had a relatively mild, but worrying, reaction to it when he was 6. I discussed it with the senior vet at the practice and he said if it had happened to his dog he wouldn't have him vaccinated against Leptospirosis again in case he had a worse, perhaps fatal, reaction. He said he might not think that way if we were in an area that had a lot of Leptospirosis cases, but he only very rarely saw a case in the practice despite there being a lot of unvaccinated dogs around.
Parvovirus, Distemper and Adenovirus vaccination - when William was young he was vaccinated annually because that's what the vaccination manufacturers and vets recommended. Then the guidelines issued by the WSAVA (World Small Animal Veterinary Association) recommended a booster every 3 years because it was recognised that the vaccination lasted for many years, perhaps for life. The guidelines changed again a few years ago and the WSAVA now recommends titre testing in preference to a booster every 3 years. William and my younger dog Louis were titre tested in 2013, which was more than 3 years after their previous boosters and both had immunity. Late in 2016 I had Louis tested again, but not William, then 12 years 6 months, because that same vet, plus the one I regularly see, plus the vet who does William's acupuncture, all prefer not to vaccinate old dogs, so I decided not to have him titre tested.
William won't be vaccinated again. Louis will probably be titre tested in 3 years time when he'll be 10.
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One thing I have decided is to change vets, Ollie is 9 and the vet I am with uses out of hours cover 45 mins drive way, if OH was away and Ollie ill I would be in no fit state to do that drive, after speaking to friends had good reports of another vet in area - and must admit did think I should move Ollie there, plus OH was not impressed with the vet -plus one of his friend recommended new vet = plus they do there own emergency cover
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I chose my vet based on their out of hours availability. They have 2 hospitals that are open 24 hours a day within a 20 minute drive. Many vets contract out to an out of hours system where you have to prove that you can pay for treatment before you are allowed to see anybody!
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I chose my vet based on their out of hours availability. They have 2 hospitals that are open 24 hours a day within a 20 minute drive. Many vets contract out to an out of hours system where you have to prove that you can pay for treatment before you are allowed to see anybody!
I'm lucky that my vet practice has it's own out of hours service that I can phone any hour of day or night and then go to the surgery if needed. Even though it's a small practice and quite old fashioned in some ways it's one reason why I stick with them.
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...we vaccinate our children once or twice and they usually have immunity for life whereas dogs who have a much shorter lifespan are vaccinated each year :huh: :huh: :huh: why?
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Because different vaccines are made in different ways and some last longer than others. We humans need to booster tetanus every 10 years, rabies every 1 or 3 years etc. Not all vaccines can be producet to give lifelong immunity unfortunately :)
I would just call the vet, they probably just forgot to send the reminder.
that's the issue - lifelong immunity. The original lab dogs weren't kept long enough to tell whether they had immunity and the drug companies don't care so the annual boosters became the norm.
My dog was last titre tested in 2015 - he was 10. I hadn't boostered him since he was 2. His immunity was fine - in fact more than fine.