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Originally Posted by Taramyorkie  Tara got her first booster on Friday and except a wee yalp she made when we actually touched the spot on her back by mistake, she did fine. I asked about the vaccinations my vet and she said that it's not true that it is not necessary to vaccinate every year, that they have dogs dying of parvo and lepto even those that have been vaccinated regularly. As for rabbies I don't think they do them here, except when you want them, but the other vaccinations distemper, lepto , parvo and parainfluenza are required. Tara does fine usually but she is 6.5 pounds so she is not a tiny yorkie but she is still small. It's probably harder to decide the dose with the tinies you have. They always weight her before giving the vaccine so they do it by weight. Maybe the smallest dogs should get really tiny dose. It's unfortunate when a dog or a child gets sick afterwards, they are just supposed to be tired and sleepy for about two days, which Tara was a little. I just would rather be better safe then sorry, so for now she will be getting hers regularly. But I understand your concerns maybe you should discuss your individual pet with your vet, it's always good to get a second opinion too. All the best for you and all your yorkies!  |
The American Animal Hospital Association has new guidelines about vaccines. The core vaccines (they say) should be given as puppy shots, then at one year then every three years. Some people believe even this is too much. Non core vaccines usually have a shorter duration of immunity and do need to be given more often if you are going to do them (but it is highly questionable whether these should be given at all).
The lepto vaccine can be very risky for small dogs.
It has killed Yorkie puppies.
Long-term side effects of vaccines include autoimmune disease and cancer.
We have to give the rabies vaccine every 1-3 years depending on state law in the US but all other are our choice (although some vets and groomers require certain ones).
Dogs that are vaccinated regularly can die of parvo and lepto.
Lepto doesn't cover all strains, so that could easily happen.
Any dog could be a non-responder to a vaccine making it worthless, so if they get the disease, vaccinated or not, they are unprotected.
So even if a dog doesn't react after a vaccine, they could months or years later. It really is a scary thing. We have stopped vaccinating Ellie every year because for us, the risk of over-vaccination outweighs the benefits.
But the vaccines/vaccine companies in the UK may be different.
Here, most vaccines aren't given by weight of the animal because it takes a certain amount of the virus to get an immune response. So it would not be uncommon for a Yorkie to get the same dose as a Great Dane.