[Mom to Hot Rod]

Originally Posted by yorkietalkjilly

Every petlovers's fear - vax reaction. We're not doing Lyme but we did just do Bordetella in the summer and now I read this, so glad that's over. So glad you got Hot Rod right in(over & over!) and he didn't go into respiratory distress, seizures. Thankfully you acted to get him to the vet. Hope he's good to go for a while and nothing else is needed in the way of a vax for a while.

Originally Posted by MandiesMom

Another problem with vaccines is the dosages. They give the same amount for a 50 lb dog as they do a 5 lb dog. I had a lady who works a lot with dog rescues tell me that most vaccines aren't necessary and could even be harmful. More and more studies are showing that.

It really is a very hard decision to make on what is best for our loves.

I'm so glad Hot Rod is ok now!

Originally Posted by Rescuemomma

I also don't do lyme or lepto - I lost a dog to a combo shot, a 12 week old show potential Italian Greyhound puppy Never looked at vaccines the same again!!! I do what others mentioned, and always have them do a benedryl shot prior to ANY vaccines. If I get a puppy, I only do 3 sets max of puppy shots, if I get a say in it I don't have the first given until 10 weeks, do one more at 14 weeks, and send in titers at 18 weeks, so far never have done anything past that. Alot of studies are showing shots done before 10 weeks have little to no affect since there's still circulating antibodies from the mom for a few weeks after they're compeletly weaned. I then titer test at a year, and if titers are high, I don't vaccinate again, and check every 1-3 years. Rabies I follow the law, but if my dogs get ANY chronic health issues, I start titer testing for rabies, to, and where I live they'll accept that with a note from the vet as to why they feel the dog shouldn't be vaccinated. Vaccines are far from harmless, I won't do them past puppyhood unless titers are low.

I'm definitely going to re-think the lyme vaccine next year. I just wanted to try and head off anything prior to any potential problems, but now having gone thru this, this is a whole new ball of wax. The positive thing is that I've not found any ticks on them; hopefully that means Frontline Plus is working for us. I'm still in search for a natural alternative for ticks since they are prevalent here.