What vaccines?

[Kaytlin and Cooper]

Cooper needs to go to the vet and have a heartworm test and get preventatives (we didnt used to live in an area with heartworm problems, or at least I dont think so, no vet ever mentioned it). This is likely to cost a bit, especially as theres a $58 plus tax vet visit charge  ontop of everything else) and I was wondering if we could get her titers checked at the same time (though its a few months early). This is where it gets confusing (for me at least)

Going through Coopers vet records, here is a list of what she has had and when

Sept 2010 - wellness exam, distemper booster 1 yr, bordatella-influenza adenovirus mod. rabies 3 yr

Sept 2011 - wellness exam, distemper 3 yrs, parvo 3 yrs, bordatella 1 yr, parainfluenza, hepititis/adenovirus (on receipt it says DA2PP 32, Bordatella 18)

Feb 2012 - lepto and DA2PP (1 yr) (I was mad they gave the DA2pp again but thats a whole other story)

March 2012 lepto booster

So, my question is... what vaccines/titers is she due?

Does she need bordatella if she doesnt go to day care, kennels, dog parks etc? Will my insurance still be valid if she doesnt have this vaccine/titer? (Im going to email them and ask)

edit the DA2PP apparently is parvovirus, parainfluenza, adenovisus 2, distemper and coronavirus

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Kaytlin, she doesn't need anything. Even if they hadn't re-vaccinated her in February (and I would be pissed, too), she wouldn't have been due for the DA2PP until September 2014. She isn't due for rabies until Sept. 2013, she just had the lepto in Feb., and you don't have to give the bordatella if you don't want to. I'd check with your insurance on that, but I doubt it's required. You don't have to do anything, including titers, except the HW test and a physical exam.

[F, Calla & Luca]

I read it the same way. I think Bordatella is voluntary but if she were to need boarding or even go to certain day facilities they might not accept her.

[Kaytlin and Cooper]

Oh good, thats what i was hoping! I know the DA2PP they gave her last time was a 1 yr, but i wasnt sure if the previous one was a 3 year or 1 year (it was with another vet)

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Well, regardless of which it was, she's good at least until February, and then you can titer. There is no question in my mind that she will be at full immunity.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

She will in all likelihood. Taquito has not had to have any vaccines in 3 years (except 1 rabies I think).  Choodle's Vet says she has studied 100 dogs over course of 3 years and only 3-4 of them have NOT tested at full immunity.  Interesting, right?

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

Since Bordatella is airborne you might want to consider it.  It's somewhat misleading to call it Kennel cough and Riley got a mild dose (because he was vaccinated) of it last winter even though he was not at doggy day care. 

[Diana Erhart]

I would agree on giving the bordatella.  My neighbor's doodle got kennel cough and they think he picked it up at PetSmart.  That was the only place he had been if you went back and counted the incubation period.

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

From my understanding of kennel cough,and I' stand corrected if wrong, is that if you are boarding or daycare, it is worth doing as there is a higher rate of possible exposure. . I realize they can catch it at dog parks or even Petsmart, but they can catch it even if they are vaccinated. It's basically a virus, runs its course like a human cold and other than having a secondary bacterial component, there's not much to do for it, unless antibiotics for the bacterial kind.
I am not doing it this year, nor am I testing for heart worms every year. I treat monthly for heartworm and I am just not sure it is necessary. Figure it's more in the "recommended"category, like a mammogram every yr and a pap smear.
If I didn't treat for heartworm faithfully, I would probably reconsider. Titter testing is pretty expensive in my area, so I am going to go with the studies that site most dogs are fully immunized for a lot longer than vets will have us believe. Yes there are always exceptions, but I'm okay with dealing with it when or if it becomes a problem.

[F, Calla & Luca]

No Bordatella is a bacteria and can be treated with antibiotics. I have skipped heartworm testing for the second time since I treat year round.

[Ron Carnes]

I keep Zack up to date on his Bordatella. In my opinion, it is the vaccine that could be eliminated. It is used because pet owners do not want to hear there dogs continuous cough. There has never been a dog die due to Bordatella.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

There may not have been dogs who died of Bordatella itself, but untreated Bordetella leaves the respiratory system more vulnerable to other infectious diseases such as pneumonia, especially very young or very old dogs, or dogs who have weakened immune systems, and pneumonia can and does kill dogs.

[F, Calla & Luca]

But people who are asking about vaccines here would treat their dgs. Still a very vulnerable dog could die.