Question about Bordetella Booster

[yorkiesrock]

My Yorkie received a bordetella shot last year because the vet thought he was going to need surgery for his LP. Luckily the orthopedic surgeon said no and the surgery was canceled. Now I got a reminder in the mail that he needs his bordetella booster. I called the vet yesterday and asked if it is necessary since he isn't boarded and the groomer comes to my house. She told me yes it is required and he could even get bordetella just by walking him. What are your thoughts on this shot. Is it really necessary and are there any dangerous side effects?

[marcerella02]

Originally Posted by yorkiesrock

My Yorkie received a bordetella shot last year because the vet thought he was going to need surgery for his LP. Luckily the orthopedic surgeon said no and the surgery was canceled. Now I got a reminder in the mail that he needs his bordetella booster. I called the vet yesterday and asked if it is necessary since he isn't boarded and the groomer comes to my house. She told me yes it is required and he could even get bordetella just by walking him. What are your thoughts on this shot. Is it really necessary and are there any dangerous side effects?

We dont' give the Bordetella shot anymore. layla had the shot when she was 1 and then got kennel cough anyways. It's like giving the flu shot... you can still GET the flu even if you have had the shot as it does not protect against all strands of kennel cough. I am of the mindset to give as few shots as possble and i told my vet i would not be giving Layla this shot which she said was fine.. should layla need to be hospitalized they have that written in her chart and she will be kept in a room with no other dogs so she isn't at risk of catching it (which i like better anyways... the noise of the other dogs would stress her out and i'm sure she'd get more attention ) if you don'tthink the shot is necessiary.. say soemthing.. you are your dogs voice and only you can do what is best. If you aren't happy with how your vet reacts.. you might need to think of a new vet.

[chachi]

If you dont board or go to the groomers and your dogs arent around other dogs than I dont think it is needed. One of mine has reactions to that shot so I wish I could get out of it but she goes to a groomer

[BamaFan121s]

I don't get this vaccine for ours for several reasons. For starters, they are never boarded and not around 'strange' dogs. The vaccine is kind of like the flu vaccine--there are several different strands out there and the vaccine only protects against some, the others the dog would still be succeptable to. Also, should a dog somehow contract it, it is treatable...a PITA maybe, but not something that is life threatening.

(I actually filed a complaint against a vet once who administered it to my dog anyway after I sat there and TOLD her not to. Then she tried poorly to laugh it off and say, oops, we just won't charge you for that one! Boy did she ever hear it from me!)

[jadecomputergal]

My vets don't require them other than for boarding, and I don't board my dogs. You might want to search for some posts about this by Woogie. He's very knowledgeable about this sort of thing, and he doesn't believe in unnecessary vaccinations. I am completely in agreement with everything I've seen from him. You don't want to over-vaccinate or under-vaccinate. You run a small risk of an adverse reaction with every vaccination, so I don't get the ones that are just in vogue. I have wonderful vets, and I usually go with their recommendations of what's necessary.

[Ellie May]

What did she mean it is necessary?
It may be necessary to hospitalize your dog there and in that case you don't really have a choice. It is necessary for boarding or grooming BUT it isn't law. You don't have to get it if you don't want to. It is not a core vaccine and has given several dogs kennel cough.

If you don't get it your dog could get kennel cough then pneumonia.
If you do get it and your dog gets kennel cough from it and it goes to a full blown case then I imagine your dog could get pneumonia from that too.

So, it is one of those things that you'll have to do what you're comfortable with.

[yorkiesrock]

Wow, this is a tough decision to make. As I mentioned earlier my dog isn't boarded and I use a mobile groomer but I do take my dog to dog events where he is around other dogs. I only spoke with the techinician so I will ask to speak with the vet tomorrrow and see what she says.

Now that we are talking about vaccines besides rabies, what other vaccines do you all get for your dogs? Mine gets rabies, lepto and DHPP. Is this too much?

[jadecomputergal]

Originally Posted by yorkiesrock

Wow, this is a tough decision to make. As I mentioned earlier my dog isn't boarded and I use a mobile groomer but I do take my dog to dog events where he is around other dogs. I only spoke with the techinician so I will ask to speak with the vet tomorrrow and see what she says.

Now that we are talking about vaccines besides rabies, what other vaccines do you all get for your dogs? Mine gets rabies, lepto and DHPP. Is this too much?

It's not easily contracted in the conditions my dogs are kept, and it's also not effective enough to encourage me to get one more vaccination just for the sake of a vaccination. Same with the Lyme vaccination. Bordetella, Lepto, and Lyme are all bacterial, unlike things like Parvo and Distemper, which are viral. Most of the vets I've talked to and read literature from agree that vaccinating for bacterial infections is of limited usefulness and would have to be done more than once per year to provide much protection at all. All that being said, there isn't a great risk of adverse reaction if you choose to have your dogs vaccinated for some or all of them, so you have to weigh that small risk against whatever peace of mind it might give you to have it done.

Best wishes.

[bruizersmummy]

Question. My baby just got her 16 week booster shots and also the Bordetella. I am wondering what to watch for? The vet said he would rather give her a $15 shot insted of spend $80 to try to cure her is she gets it. He also said she would be sleepy for the day and maybe even some of tomorrow too! Is this normal? please pm me. I dont want to take of threads here..... Thanks

[jadecomputergal]

Originally Posted by bruizersmummy

Question. My baby just got her 16 week booster shots and also the Bordetella. I am wondering what to watch for? The vet said he would rather give her a $15 shot insted of spend $80 to try to cure her is she gets it. He also said she would be sleepy for the day and maybe even some of tomorrow too! Is this normal? please pm me. I dont want to take of threads here..... Thanks

No worries about taking up threads. Others are usually interested in the responses to your questions.

With any vaccination, you basically watch for the same things...vomiting, diarrhea, extreme lethargy, refusal to drink water, refusal to eat after 24 hours, whining or crying, and extreme itching. You need to take all these in context. For example, lethargy is common after some shots, but there are degrees of lethargy. Refusal to drink is very dangerous. Itching is one that a lot of people don't think much about, because all dogs scratch now and then, just like all humans do. However, if the dog is having intense itching, it can be a sign of a serious allergic reaction and the vet should be contacted.

I give my dogs only the core vaccinations, and even though none of them has ever had a serious reaction to a shot, I still keep a close eye on them. I work from home so my scheduling of shots isn't a problem, but for people who don't, I always recommend that they get shots on Friday afternoons if they have weekends off, or on a day before they will have at least one day off afterward if they don't work the common Monday-Friday. That allows you to be with the dog and monitor it for any abnormal behavior during the time adverse reactions are most common.

[zoeybear]

I gave mine the intra-nasal vaccine and She got kennel cough "from" the vaccine. My understanding is that the risk of side effects is much less from the booster which is given as an injection not intra-nasal. I believe this is what my vet told me.

[mel Vincente]

I'm in NY and the vets here tell you that you should vaccinate for kennel couch twice a year, which I do not for the same reasons as the others. Lepo and Lymes I would research before you have any vet talk you into it. I have seen 3 different vets and they all have to tried to scare me into it. If I didn't have to rabies (by law) I would skip that one too. Good luck to you and your little one

[KathyinCali]

Originally Posted by zoeybear

I gave mine the intra-nasal vaccine and She got kennel cough "from" the vaccine. My understanding is that the risk of side effects is much less from the booster which is given as an injection not intra-nasal. I believe this is what my vet told me.

How interesting. Vets certainly do differ. Lucy just got her booster and it was intra-nasal. My vet recommended the bortadella booster because she travels so much. It did make her nasally and sneezy for several days after. And then again, my vet doesn't give the Lepto. Go figure.

[Nikki+2]

My vet does not recommend it unless you board your dog which I do not. I do take mine to a groomer and he says in that case it is up to me and I choose not to. A lot of dogs (and children too) are very over- vaccinated IMO.

[mel Vincente]

LOL they do differ and they just love me when I come in because I question them a lot about everything. Sometimes I think they would be happy if there was no internet..LOL you can really educate yourself and thank God for this site it alone has been so helpful..