What's your view on giving booster vaccinations?

[Tori]

Hi Denise

Of course everyone will be gentle with you, thats the best thing about this forum compaired with others i'm on they advise NOT tell.  I'm sorry i can't offer other than i've said.  To be honest i think its one of those real catch 22 situations, but you'll do whats best for you and yours at the end of teh day

Good luck in getting there

Tori x

[Penel]

Talk to Mark...

(I've posted my views on this a gazillion times on here so I'm sure if you search you'll find them - if you really want me to I can post it all again, but it's long and will no doubt start a debate)

[*jean*]

one of our dogs died from distemper. it was horrible it fitted and fitted I never want to see that again.
 everyone has ideas and opinions but its up to you the individual owner. 

[Helen]

i think i've had exactly the same info as you denise, and that's my understanding of the vaccines too

will be very interested in what Mark has to say too

[Michele]

As Penel says, if you do a search on here you will see the topic has had plenty of discussion. This is one them which contains a lot of info.

[moll]

wowzers, only took chester to vets for his second jab, before he can walk out first time next week!, Vet said today to remember to come back next year, though i will be going in reularly enough for wormers etc.   this thread has definately given me more to think about! the link to previous discussions was useful, thanks Michele. Had not heard of titre, but sounds like an ideal option, sseems silly to overdo it, though ive been miss paranoia about not letting him on outdoors floor before first vaccines complete, won't let him near shoes either! will do titre next year, and then top up on ones he needs 

[PennyB]

There are vaccines that are Licensed with a three year cycle which you could ask your vet for

My two are on this schedule as well --- but vaxed yearly for lepto

[Cob-Web]

Out of interest - how many people know the Licensed vaccination schedule of the specific vaccine that their dog is given?

Many vets seem to use the vaccine that Molo has (Nobivac) on an annual schedule rather than the Licensed three-year schedule (with a DHPPi "big" booster every three years, and a Lepto "small" booster in the intervening years 

the Intervet website has an interesting page about the Nobivac vaccination schedule and reasoning behind it - here

I am happy with this compromise tbh - there are so many places I take Molo to that require vaccination now, that to have to explain the titre test results at each one would be a challenge and may mean we have to stop going.
My own personal views are not firmly in the "anti-vaccination" camp - lil'bit was vaccinated - but I am aware that there can be a risk, just as there is with many of the choices I make for Molo 

[*jean*]

my vet doesnt give my dogs the same jabs every year they get  the three-year schedule with a DHPPi booster every three years, and a Lepto  booster in the intervening years  same as rachels..at least thats what I think it says on the card. my sister and the croft dogs have come to no harm  without jabs but they dont mix with strange dogs. they get the first lots of jabs as pups and thats it.

[Ben's mum]

I had the same concerns as you, last year when Ben was due for his booster at 3yrs old.  I printed loads of stuff from a website with some very good reasons NOT to vaccinate.  I'm not sure if I'm allowed to put the site name on here so if you want it pm me.
Baasically it said
Leptospirosis is made up from a range of hundreds of bacterins, and the chance of the strain the vet giving your dog being the same as the one he might come up against is remote.  the vaccine only protects them for between 3-6 months so your dog injected for no real benefit.

distemper immunity lasts for years in the body if they have had the first puppy jabs

the only one I was worried about was parvo so had Ben titre tested (which really upset the vet, who said I was neglecting my dog etc etc)
I was told he needed to have a titre of greater than 80 to be protected - his was 640 !!!!!

I will always titre test now and only re innoculate when Ben needs it.  It works for me, and yes i would be gutted if he got an illness that could have been innoculated against, but equally if he became ill from over innoculating I would be devestated too - its just weighing up in your own mind what you think is the least risk and trust your judgement, none of us is infalliable, we just have to do the best we can with the information we've got.

right I'll stop now, but i do feel strongly about this as you can probably tell - mostly because in my experience, vets can be unhelpful when they are the people who should have the knoweldge and skills to help us.

Bens mum

[lyn]

denise, my paddy only had his first set of vacs.no yearly booster he had an allergic reaction(mild) and i am now sure it was the vaccinations.
my neice got her gsd puppy about the same time i got paddy.also about the same time of paddy's mild reaction her poor dog devoloped a nasty allergy.like me my neice was told it was probably a grass allergy.she took her dog for his booster in august and he has since gone bald(totally)vets say its ai now and not a grass allergy.though to be honest i haven't met the dog and from what my sister is describing he sounds more like he has a severe yeast infection of the skin.yeasty smell and thickened skin like an elephant is how my sis described it.i have advised her to contact a homeopathic vet which they have done and i am waiting to hear how things are going.
i am reading more and more of the disadvantages of yearly boosters.
saying that,ellie was fine with hers and i find myself deciding wether to have her booster this year or not.

[fifer]

This is an emotive subject, but one I have made different choices on over the years, for different reasons, and I think that's key to the issue.  It depends on the circumstances, ask yourself the questions:

a)  Do I live in an area where there are loads of pet/stray dogs/foxes, or am I going to show my dog. (Increased risk of contact with disease)

b)  Did I get my dog from an area where Parvo/Distemper are very unlikely to have occurred? (I got a hound from a rural Highland area - it took 4 vacs and the added cost of titre testing 4 times to get her titre up to an acceptable level to show her!)

c)  Is there a large rat population in your area? (Having lost a dog to Lepto I would not advise anyone not to get this cover, at least when there is an upsurge in rat population, a truly horrible death!)

d)  If the answer to all above is no, can homeopathic remedies give good enough immunity for the years following initial vaccination? (Pet cocker initially vaccinated and given 1st booster, homeopathic remedies given from age 3 - 9 vaccination re-started age 10 as residual immunity waned)

then there's the fly in the ointment - the external influences on your decision.....

e)  Do the boarding kennels I use accept titre testing? (Most only accept valid vaccination certs)
f)  Some vets insist on annual boosters and will not accept your dog as a patient unless you agree.

Sorry if I've added to the confusion in this debate ................ but it's better to be aware!   

[Penel]

in answer to the previous post.....


a)  Do I live in an area where there are loads of pet/stray dogs/foxes, or am I going to show my dog. (Increased risk of contact with disease)

or - if I show my dog it will be exposed to more things, and therefore as a result it's immune system will become stronger.  Especially if I feed it a species specific diet, so that it's immune system works properly.

b)  Did I get my dog from an area where Parvo/Distemper are very unlikely to have occurred? (I got a hound from a rural Highland area - it took 4 vacs and the added cost of titre testing 4 times to get her titre up to an acceptable level to show her!)


or - as tests have shown, some dogs (Rotties, and Dobes for example) never get an acceptable titre to some diseases.  A titre test is only measuring circulating antibodies - NOT memory cells, which are what create an immune response should your dog be challenged by the disease.  A low titre does not actually mean low protection, it means that your dog has not been challenged lately.

c)  Is there a large rat population in your area? (Having lost a dog to Lepto I would not advise anyone not to get this cover, at least when there is an upsurge in rat population, a truly horrible death!)


my friend's mother is a pest control officer, dealing with rats every single day of her life.  She has never been vaccinated for Lepto, and has never caught it, despite her close proximity with rats every day.  There are many many strains of Lepto, the vaccinations only cover two or three.  You cannot titre test for Lepto either.

e)  Do the boarding kennels I use accept titre testing? (Most only accept valid vaccination certs)


so find an alternative - take the dog with you / leave it with a friend / hire a dogsitter.


f)  Some vets insist on annual boosters and will not accept your dog as a patient unless you agree.


I have never ever heard this.  Sounds like a breach of something though .  Vets are obliged to treat any animal.....  I don't vaccinate ANY of my pets, my vets totally understand and accept (and some of them agree) with my reasons.  It would be a very narrow minded vet that would say they won't accept you as a patient unless you vaccinate your dog.

[Cob-Web]

f)  Some vets insist on annual boosters and will not accept your dog as a patient unless you agree.


I have never ever heard this.  Sounds like a breach of something though .  Vets are obliged to treat any animal.....  I don't vaccinate ANY of my pets, my vets totally understand and accept (and some of them agree) with my reasons.  It would be a very narrow minded vet that would say they won't accept you as a patient unless you vaccinate your dog.

I have, Penel - afaik, no vet is obliged to accept anyone as a routine client; their obligation ends at providing emergency care

Not everyone is in a position to avoid using professional dog care or training classes; so vaccination is the compromise I make to allow me to have a dog - after evaluating and assessing the health risk.
Personally, I consider the risk of vaccination about equal to the health risks associated with raw feeding and leaving him entire rather than neutered 

[Penel]

ah well,  you haven't seen your dog nearly die from a booster reaction.  I have, and then watched her die two years later from the multi systemic AI condition that stemmed from it.     My dogs are far far healthier NOT being vaccinated - but that is my choice.
You takes your choices...