Injections - yearly or every 3 years???

[Kirsy & Jasper]

Vets recommend to do yearly injections. Here in Australia it is PROTECH C6 (for Parvovirus, Distemper, Hepatitis, Adenovirus, Kennel cough and Bordatella Para-influenza). We don't have Rabbis in OZ!

There is a lot of talk, that those injection actually lasting/ protecting for over 3 years!

Having an epileptic Dog, I try to do as little as possible medics.

Any input on this would be appreciated!

Kirsy & Jasper, who HATES injections

[Tamara & Giada]

I didn't know! We get shots every year. I haven't seen a conection, but then again she just began to have seizures. I will discuss with our Vet!

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

Tamara, I have found that in most cases vets are not well versed on this subject. Many just do what they have always done. I encourage you do some research on your own including some of the discussions here on DK about vaccinations and make your own decision based on your findings. Then discuss THAT with your vet.
Please see the link I posted below and also this one:

http://www.itsfortheanimals.com/DODDS-CHG-VACC-PROTOCOLS.HTM


Dr. Jean Dodds is one of the well known proponents of reduced vaccine use and this is her suggested protocol. But as she says it is not an absolute and other protocols work as well.

If Tara had a health issue such as Giada's I would also be testing titers on rabies after the first shot or even try to get a waiver for it totally. Remember these vaccines challenge the immune systems which can adversely effect health-short and long term. Plus if your dog shows high titers (good immunity) then more vaccinations are just unneccesary and of no benefit to them.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

This is so true. My regular vet never mentioned either the three year rabies option or the blood titers, despite the fact that Jack has an immune-related disease. It was his specialist who enlightened me.

[Stella]

Our vet recommended every three years for rabies, the others are still annually. We are in Canada.

[Nina, Phil, Harlow & Lacey]

Kirsy, there are more and more studies on animal vacs that are showing that even every 3 years for vacs may be over kill. If you are worried about vacs triggering a seizure ask your vet to do a Titers. This will test the level of immune defenses. Here is a link to an article about it.
http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/titer_test.htm

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I answered this is your Health & Medical discussions post, but will post it here, too.
Jack does not get vaccines every year any more, since I found out there is a better alternative. His specialist recommended a three year rabies (we do have to have them by law here) and blood titers to check immunity for the parvo, distemper, etc. rather than just giving shots he may not need. He showed full immunity and did not need any shots for the past two years. We will test again next year.
One word about the kennel cough/bordatella...it is the same disease, and it has varied forms, like most viruses. Bordatella vaccine can be given intranasally, which is what we do. So to sum up, Jack gets a rabies shot every three years, blood titers at the same time, and a dose of intranasal bordatella vaccine every year. The year you do the blood work & rabies, it is pretty expensive, but then you have two years with nothing but bordatella, so it averages out very well over the three year period, and I feel much better knowing he isn't getting vaccines he doesn't need.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

Taquito, my chihuahua, has very early kidney disease. He only gets rabies (they won't do 3 year here) and bordatella each year (nasal only), along with bloodwork to check his immunity. This past year, he didn't need any other injections because he was immune.

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

We are trying to keep Tara's vaccine exposure to a minimum. She is not quite 2 years old right now and she has had parvo/distemper puppy series only (no 4 or 5 in one shots). This year we tested titers which showed strong immunity against parvo and distemper and we did not vaccinate her this year. We plan to go to every 3 years testing titers. We have not and don't plan, at this point, to vaccinate any further unless her titers drop. These are the only two diseases we are vaccinating for at all other than rabies. By law here in the US she is required to have rabies vaccine which she had earlier this year. Next year she will have another rabies shot than go to every three years.

We did much research on the pros and cons of vaccines before we even got Tara because we had a dog in the past who had a severe reaction to vaccinations. Many vets here are extending them from 1 year to 3 years and many are open to testing titers instead of automatically vaccinating if we ask for it. They don't offer it yet-at least in my area-we have to ask for the test.

We have had some discussion on this topic recently in the Naturally Living Group under Titer Testing Question. I will try to insert the link but it's my first attempt so..here goes..


http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/naturallylivingdoodles/forum/topi...


Personally, I would be very careful with vaccines and a dog with a pre-existing health issue. But at issue is also what you have available in your country and what is required by law.

[Donna K & Quincy]

When Quincy had his last rabies shot the vet told us we were good for 3 years.

[Lesley, Wellington & Bingley]

Yes Live virus vaccines last for years - if not the life of the dog. Not many vets over hear (UK) know this - the research to show this here is needed to be done by the drug companies. They won't do it - because there would be no benefit to them to do so.

My dogs get puppy shots, then one booster at a year (as long as there is no adverse reaction to the puppy shots) and then thats it. No more boosters after 1 year.

I've done alot of research to come up with this approach - and lost alot of pets prematurely to auto-immune related disorders thought to be caused by over-vaccination. Yearly vaccination didn't work for us and so far with this approach we have a 15 year old and a 10 year old. Before, they never made it past 7 or 8.

[Kaytlin and Cooper]

I looked into getting titres checked, but it was just too expensive for us at the moment so Cooper is off for her shots next weekend. The (indoor) cats however have told me they are ok skipping their shots this year (last year was the only time they had them and that was because we were concerned the dog would bring in germs)

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

It is very expensive to do the titers, but keep in mind that you won't have to do any vaccines for three years, so if you average the cost over three years, it comes out much less than doing the shots every year. Jack's annual vet visit this year was just an exam and cost $40.