Daisy Needs Shots - What should I do?

[Ellie May]

MyFairLacy, this is sort of off topic but I have a question for you. Could you explain why Texas A&M recommends giving DHPP at 6, 9, 12 and 16 weeks? From what I have read, dogs only NEED two sets of puppy shots. Those would be at about 12 and 16 weeks when no maternal antibiodies are interfering. To be safe they are given three times (8, 12 and 16 weeks). Maternal antibiodies are likely to counteract the 8 week shot but I hear nobody really knows and all animals are different, so why does Texad A&M give them four times (when three is plenty) and why do they start at 6 weeks (when maternal antibiotics are sure to counteract it). I don't want you to have to defend it. I am really interested in their reasoning. Thank you

[ARCHIE]

I'll be honest and say I follow my vet's advise. Buddy get's his shots
yearly. He is a larger Yorkie as well and has never had any kind
of reation, even to rabies. Rabies is given every other year.
Maybe the smaller pups should get these shots seperately so they don't
get reations but Bud is the smallest dog I have ever had and all the past
dogs also got their's once a year with never any problem.

[Sukoshis Gma]

Originally Posted by MyFairLacy

You shouldnt be giving those every year - only every three years now

Even though the rabies shots aren't needed every year and you want to do it less often I wonder how you get around the city requiring all dogs have a rabies shot/tag yearly?

[Doodlebug]

I did find out something interesting about the rabies shot. I asked the vet if the dog gets a dose of rabies shot in proportion to their size. She said NO every dog gets the same dose no matter the size. That sounded a little scary to me. I didn't think to ask her about the 1 yr vs the 3 yr dosage. I really wish they would tell you that the 1 year and the 3 year shot is the same. But they didn't tell us that.

The vet STRONGLY advised me to get the lepto along with the other shots. She said they do have cases of lepto come in for treatment and it is a very dangerous disease. She asked if we have squirrels in our yard and I told her we have a lot of rabbit (or squirrel) doo doo in our yard and our dogs eat the doo doo. She said I REALLY need to get that shot to be safe.

I asked her what she would do if this was HER dog. She was really sincere in her responses and gave explanations for her reasoning.

I also asked her about the titer (sp?) and she said they can do that test and get the amount of the vaccine that she has in her system (I hope I am explaining this correctly) but they don't have a measurement of how much they actually need to have in their system to be safe. I would sure like to know if anyone has any more information on this test.

Daisy is a good solid 13 lbs and the info she gave me pertained to Daisy and I don't know if the same would be true for tiny dogs regarding giving all the shots.

I thank everyone for their input. I took everything from everyone into consideration but the vets opinion won me over and I got the shots. I am watching Daisy to make sure she doesn't have a bad reaction to the shots. The vet said watch for swelling and lethargy. As soon as I brought Daisy home she wanted to play a game of chase with me in the yard. She is wagging her tail and running like a little maniac. I don't know if this is because of the shot but she sure isn't lethargic.

My husband asked the receptionist about the mail order meds. She cautioned that some of these meds are coming from Australia or other countries and may not meet the same standards that they have in this country. She also mentioned that when you pay the postage, you are not saving much, if anything. When my hubby checked the prices on some of the meds, he found out they were cheaper at the vets office. You might want to check on this.

I am really appreciating all of the responses and I want to generate more discussion on this topic so hopefully I will have an easier time next year when I have to make this decision again. I would really appreciate hearing what others are doing regarding shots and how you came to the decision. This was so hard on me and I feel terrible having to make the decision to vaccinate and worry about the effects of it, or not vaccinating and worrying that she will get a fatal disease.

NOW I have to decide if I am going to have the FLU shot myself tomorrow. I guess that's another topic for another day. LOL

[Ellie May]

I hate that whole rabies shot thing with the dose being the same for big and small dogs. That is ridiculous.

Ultimately you have to do what you are comfortable with. I strongly believe that vaccinating every year causes a lot more harm than good. Most people won't see their dog "reacting" to a vaccine and that is good. Something has to be taken into consideration though. There are disease (particularly hemolytic anemia) that have been linked to vaccines. It is a horrible disease and if I can prevent it in Ellie by not vaccinated so often, I will do that. It also doesn't matter what most vets think to me because some of the major vet organizations/schools are going to every three years. That makes a lot more sense to me. Miss Ellie had a very severe reaction to the lepto vaccine and could have lost her life because of it. The disease is serious but so is the shot. That shot also doesn't protect against all strains and is ineffective (atleast the old shot) in about 30% of dogs. It is really something you have to spend HOURS weighing like everything else (including food, toys). It does get old.

Titer tests measure the number of times the blood has to be diluted to see antibiodies. It is true that there isn't an exact number/reference range that people are comfortable with but I've heard some say 1:5 and some say 1:32. Most titer readings come back way above that at over 1:1000 so there is no doubt that the dog is protected. Ellie's distemper reading came back at 1:16 and she will be vaccinated against just that this year.

[Doodlebug]

Originally Posted by Ellie May

I hate that whole rabies shot thing with the dose being the same for big and small dogs. That is ridiculous.

Ultimately you have to do what you are comfortable with. I strongly believe that vaccinating every year causes a lot more harm than good. Most people won't see their dog "reacting" to a vaccine and that is good. Something has to be taken into consideration though. There are disease (particularly hemolytic anemia) that have been linked to vaccines. It is a horrible disease and if I can prevent it in Ellie by not vaccinated so often, I will do that. It also doesn't matter what most vets think to me because some of the major vet organizations/schools are going to every three years. That makes a lot more sense to me. Miss Ellie had a very severe reaction to the lepto vaccine and could have lost her life because of it. The disease is serious but so is the shot. That shot also doesn't protect against all strains and is ineffective (atleast the old shot) in about 30% of dogs. It is really something you have to spend HOURS weighing like everything else (including food, toys). It does get old.

Titer tests measure the number of times the blood has to be diluted to see antibiodies. It is true that there isn't an exact number/reference range that people are comfortable with but I've heard some say 1:5 and some say 1:32. Most titer readings come back way above that at over 1:1000 so there is no doubt that the dog is protected. Ellie's distemper reading came back at 1:16 and she will be vaccinated against just that this year.

I'm sorry to hear that your baby had a bad reaction to the shot. This is all so scary to have to make these kinds of decisions. I was hoping that my vet would have told me that they don't need to vaccinated so often, but she didn't. I see that different vets think so differently about the shots. I called two other vets in my area and they both also recommended getting the shots. I hope they are making different recommendations by this time next year.

You are talking about long-term effects of having these vaccines, right? That worries me even more. Next year I am going to consider getting the titer test done first.

[trini&coco]

I read up online about vaccinating our little Yorkies...and I found a lot of them ended up sick or "affected" more negatively than medium or larger breeds, so I asked my vet at the time her advice. I was told that we should only give 1/2 of the dose to our Yorkies. She only uses 1/2 the vile and tosses out the rest, (so I know it is not a money saving issue to her). She also explained how every dog, regardless of size gets the full dose and she does not see it necessary to give a small breed such a large dose. She told me of two seperate times that small dogs that have come into her office almost dead from a reaction to a shot and I was content to only give my babies half he "normal" dose. I have always given them all only half and they have all been fine and healthy and had almos no reaction to their shots. I am not an expert but this is what has worked for me... BTW-I was also told never to gove lepto unless I was in a high risk area...especially after what Ellie May had to go through~I am so sorry for that...

[Ellie May]

Yes, I am talking about long term effects but nobody knows how many times a shot has to be given to cause them. As far as lepto, that is a HARD call if your dogs eat other animal poop. I wouldn't want to make that decision.

[nancy137738]

I went to a workshop that a vet gave a couple years ago and the vet said our dogs are being way over vacinated.

[hha]

nvn girl, my one yorkie contacted kennel cough from the vets office, of all places..that's what the bordatella is for, and if your dog goes to get groomed, it should have the bordatella..If I'm not mistaken, it's a liquid that goes up the nose..

[hha]

nvnvgirl, I will ask on the rabi shots when I go in in a couple weeks...ours still give one year, and also 3 years(the puppy rabi shot is only one year), after that, they can have the 3 year..I would think, since they still have one year and also 3 year, that there would be something different in it...I may e-mail a vet in California today to ask her), will let you know when I find out..

[hha]

Another quick thing on the shots..mine had her first puppy shots at 8 weeks, then 12 weeks, she will get another set at 15 weeks and 18 weeks..there are 4 sets of shots to get them through their puppy shots..I was thinking there was only 3 sets..? Did e-mail the vet in California to ask about the 1 vs 3 year rabi shots and will let you know what she says...

[hha]

doodlebug, this is what the vet wrote back on the 1 and 3
year rabi shots
A vaccine given to a dog under a year old, good for one year. A vaccine given to a dog over a year old, good for 3 years. That's it. Hope that helps. Has to do with antibodies building up, etc.... Lisa

[MyFairLacy]

Originally Posted by Ellie May

MyFairLacy, this is sort of off topic but I have a question for you. Could you explain why Texas A&M recommends giving DHPP at 6, 9, 12 and 16 weeks? From what I have read, dogs only NEED two sets of puppy shots. Those would be at about 12 and 16 weeks when no maternal antibiodies are interfering. To be safe they are given three times (8, 12 and 16 weeks). Maternal antibiodies are likely to counteract the 8 week shot but I hear nobody really knows and all animals are different, so why does Texad A&M give them four times (when three is plenty) and why do they start at 6 weeks (when maternal antibiotics are sure to counteract it). I don't want you to have to defend it. I am really interested in their reasoning. Thank you

You know, I'm not really sure. Maternal antibodies should still be protecting the puppies at 6 weeks. My thought is that they're considering those puppies that have been weaned from their mother at 4 or 5 weeks and already off to new homes by 6 weeks. A lot of pet owners are irresponsible and don't protect their new puppies...and they end up getting parvo. So I guess it's more of a precaution than anything. I don't really think 6 weeks is necessary. I think 8, 12, and 16 weeks is fine. I got a new cat a few months ago and she received her first round of vaccines at about 4 months old (her breeder doesn't like early vaccines). I brought her home three weeks later and she got her second round of vaccines and rabies shots. The vet I took her to suggested a third round of vaccines in another three weeks but I never had them done because I believe she's protected with those two shots (plus she's an indoor only cat).

So far as the county/city requirement with rabies - Texas changed their rabies law in 2003 to allow vaccines every three years. I don't know if all states go by that or not

[Doodlebug]

Originally Posted by hha

doodlebug, this is what the vet wrote back on the 1 and 3
year rabi shots
A vaccine given to a dog under a year old, good for one year. A vaccine given to a dog over a year old, good for 3 years. That's it. Hope that helps. Has to do with antibodies building up, etc.... Lisa

That makes sense to me. I think I am going to get the 3 yr next time. I don't know why my vet does not tell me this and has me coming back year after year getting a one year shot.