Olive's 2 year annual vet visit/vaccination questions

[Cindy and Olive (Ollie)]

Hi all, 

Olive is due for her " DA2PP+ Bordatella booster, the Lyme Booster, and Leptospirosis vaccine," according to her vet. They're also doing a Heartworm Antigen Batch. Our appointment is tomorrow, but it seems like a lot of vaccines for one day and I'd like to ask to separate out some. Do you know the best way to sort these? Is it bad that our vet does the (combined?) DA2PP+Bordatella? I vaguely remember reading something about this. 

Olive hasn't before reacted to her vaccines but I'm just wanting to keep her all good. Also if you recommend any other testing or anything, please lmk.

Thanks for your feedback as always.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

....technically she will be considered past due on vaccines; this would only matter if you needed to show proof that she is UTD, such as if you signed up for a training class or applied to adopt a dog from a reputable rescue.

If the above situations don't apply to your life with Ollie, then I would simply wait before vaccinating again.  That is what we did - at our vet's suggestion.

[Gail and Bailey]

I started doing titers on my dog when she was about 2 years old and she is now 7 and she still has immunity.   The dog park and any other place that requires proof of vaccines has accepted the vet papers that show the titer test results.  I love the fact that she does not have to be vaccinated every year (or every three years)!  We still do yearly check up and rabies and bordetella are kept current.  Cost for titers is about the same as getting the shot.....maybe a bit more but not bad considering you are not vaccinating unnecessarily!  I wish more folks would learn about titers and consider them!

[Cindy and Olive (Ollie)]

Thank you, I will definitely do titers for next and will spread the word!

[Debbie and Toby]

I would suggest breaking these down into more than one visit. It may seem like an inconvenience to have several appointments, but much better for Olive. And if Olive has any reaction to the immunizations, you will know which one is causing the reaction. Toby is due for his annual next week, he currently gets the 3 year DHPP, not due until 2019, 3 year Rabies, due this month, Bordatella once a year, then he gets Canine Influenza H3N8 and a Bordatella with the Parainfluenza IN once a year. We do not get the Lepto. We started a few years ago separating all the vaccines into separate appointments because Toby was having seizures within a week of getting vaccines, and we were trying to figure out which one was causing the problem. We did determine the Lepto was triggering his seizures. Not saying Lepto would cause seizures in any dog, but since Toby is a seizure dog, the Lepto shot was triggering seizures for him. Karen, do they need both the Canine Influenza H3N8 and the Parainfluenza?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

It's a different flu virus; parainfluenza is fairly standard and offers good protection but H3N8 is a flu strain, and like the human flu shots, it's often ineffective for that year's variety of flu, lol. I never do that one and won't, unless there is some type of local epidemic. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Oh, and Jasper has a full brother from a previous litter who almost died from a reaction to the Lepto vaccine; but it was given in one of those 7-in-1 cocktails, so it was the old version. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

And breaking it all down in spearate visits is an excellent idea; that's what I always did with Jack. Again, everything except rabies can be given by a tech, so it should not cost any more to just stop in for bordatella, or whatever, provided your dog has already had their annual check-up and only needs a vaccine.

[Cindy and Olive (Ollie)]

Thank you, any inconvenience seems completely worth it!

[Stacy]

Lepto is the one that my vet strongly pushes as a yearly vaccine. My girls do play in the lake, and as much as I try to discourage it they drink the lake. I don't know how anyone convinces their dogs not to drink while they're in there! Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think he said that lepto is one that can be transmitted from dogs to humans, so I think that's part of it.

No one has ever recommended the Lyme vaccine for us. It's not terribly prevalent in the area, and the vet had some big long spiel about how effective the flea/tick medication that we take is and that it kills the ticks within four hours and ticks have to be attached for 24 to transmit disease.

Bordatella is the one that I think is kind of silly. Kennel cough seems to be more of an inconvenience than a really dangerous disease. But since they have to have it to go anywhere fun we continue to vaccinate for it too. 

My biggest frustration is knowing that the one year vaccines and the three year vaccines are exactly the same and it all comes down to labeling. It's incredibly deceptive. And I know there are vets out there lying about it. I encountered one of them a year ago (and I'm still mad about it!) We are supposed to be able to trust that our vets have the most up to date knowledge and that they are working in the best interest of our pets, but that's definitely not always the case.  It's important to find a vet you trust, but continue to do your own homework. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Yes, lepto can be transmitted from dogs to humans. If your girls have contact with lake water, even if they don't drink it, they should get the lepto vaccine. (It can enter the bloodstream through mucus membranes). But you want the one that requires two shots about a month apart. 

[Stacy]

I'll have to check that they're getting the right Lepto vaccine. Maggie was UTD when she came home. She doesn't need anything for a while. 

My other complaint is that this vet says we are taking a great heart worm medication, and it treats for all the worms and things, but he still wants to do a fecal every 6 months. I don't understand that, and I think it's a cash grab. Do you have an opinion on this? 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The HW meds don't work against giardia or tapeworm; I think an annual fecal is not out of line, but every 6 months to me is crazy if the dog has no stool issues.