Advice Please for a Nervous Mom

[Kate]

Thanks everyone for reading this, and all advice is most welcome.

My 9 year old furbaby is due her vaccinations. She has a bad time with them, so this year I scheduled the rabies vaccination first. That was last Thursday, and she is just now feeling much better. It started out with a limp and I thought she had a sliver in her foot. The vet said it was from the shot which was given to her in the shoulder. She was listless, but she did eat soft food only and she drank water when I brought her bowl to her. I know by law the rabies is required, or I would probably not vaccinate her for that.

She is now due the DHLPP + Corona shot. The Lepto is part of this vaccination and my vet said they can't leave it out as that is the way it comes. I was told the Lepto is what is hard on these tiny dogs. Sadie weighs 5.5 lbs. He said it is up to me whether or not to give her this shot. I am totally at a loss as what to do.

To top it all off, she has a small hernia that needs to be repaired. His recommendation is to clean her teeth, repair the hernia, and give the second shot all at once. She would go in at 8:30a, and be home by 1:30P depending on how she is doing.

He said the hernia surgery is about like a spay surgery, and she would need to be kept quiet for about a week. The hernia is small enough that the surgery site would probably be closed with glue, not sutures.

I don't want her coming home like a zombie, and am wondering if I should do all of this at once, or break it up and give her the second shot in two weeks.
The surgery is not scheduled until May 9th. Or, should I just forget the second vaccination?

Any feedback would be most appreciated.

Thank you.

Kate - Nervous Nellie

[OwnedByJezebel]

I would definitely not let mine have the vaccine at the same time as the surgery. Too much on her little body at once. Besides, you want to know if something you are seeing is the result of the surgery and pain meds, or the vaccine.

There is a combo shot available that does not contain the lepto & corona portion, I'm surprised that your vet does not carry both.

If you take your dog to a groomer or board them, then they will probably require proof of these vaccines. If you do your grooming yourself and never board, then there is no law that forces you to get vaccines other than rabies. Whether you think the risk of not getting the vaccines is worth it is up to you.

[Buster Brown]

I agree. My opinion is that I would not do the surgery and the shots at the same time. Teeth and surgery together yeas as they both require anesthesia. I would think the small Yorkie body would need time to separately deal with processing the anesthesia and dealing with the shots. That is a lot of toxins for the liver to process. Best wishes.

[gidget529]

The Lepto can be given separately. Because my girl is so small (4.5-5 lb), my vet gives Lepto separate. He gives Distemper as DAPP.

[mscat]

When my shih tzu was only a puppy she got an open cut that you could see the bone through. The only way to fix this was surgery. Plus she had not even had her rabies yet. The vet told me the county could place her into quareeten for 10 days. I was scared to death. this puppy had never been outside>
So I let then take ger away from me, of course in tears. Against my knowledge they did give her the rabies vaccine. Fortunately she was ok and did not have a reation to the shot. poor baby had her leg bandaged for a while, but she healed nicely.

[Britster]

With her being 9yrs old... she honestly is probably fully protected anyways. There have been people who get the puppy and one year boosters and those have been proven to stay in their system for years... so if she's gotten all these vaccines throughout her life, she is probably fine and does not need anymore, except rabies which is usually required by law. I am not a vet but I personally would not get anything that is not required and get the very minimum of vaccines.

I am unsure if Jackson will ever receive any more DHPP or not. He got them as a pup (8, 12 and 15 weeks) and then at one year old. At his 12 week appointment (he got DHLPP at this one), he had a BAD reaction to lepto so never again will he get that one. Rabies he will be getting every 3yrs due to MD law. I may do DHPP again when the 3yrs is up but then after that, I'm unsure if he will get anymore.

I really like Dr. Dodds vaccine protocol.

[Christinee]

I don't know if I care about the law with that rabies shot... Charlie was shivering after his rabies shot a couple days ago... Freaked me out.. Not sure if I'll do that again.

[Ellie May]

I think it's time to find a new vet.

Vaccines should not be given to dogs that are known to be sensibive on the same day as an anesthetic episode.

The DHPP does come without L and C.
There is no reason for any dog to receive corona, really - so esp. not a sensitive one.

A dog her age that has gotten vaccines yearly for her whole life does not need DHPP.

[My lil friend]

Is it at all possible that vets are giving way to much in the injection? I'm just curious.

[ladyjane]

Originally Posted by Ellie May

I think it's time to find a new vet.

Vaccines should not be given to dogs that are known to be sensibive on the same day as an anesthetic episode.

The DHPP does come without L and C.
There is no reason for any dog to receive corona, really - so esp. not a sensitive one.

A dog her age that has gotten vaccines yearly for her whole life does not need DHPP.

I agree and I know some people will not; but once my pups are around 9 or 10, I no longer vaccinate with the DHPP. And...certainly I would not with one that is sensitive already...and do the corona and lepto??? I think not.

I would definitely be looking for a new vet. His ideas are scary to me.

[AlicetheYorkie]

I agree with everyone, I wouldn't even bother doing the DHLPP at all at 9 years old - especially not the lepto or corona and definatly not on the same day as the surgery and dental. I only get my dogs DHPP every 3 years after they're 1 yr. old - same schedual as the rabies. My Beagle who's 12 hasn't had any vaccs. expect rabies since she was 9 and I'm not going to anymore because it's just not necessary (I don't use a groomer or board at all), she's had enough vaccs. over the course of her life that she should still be protected. Your vets right on track with the other stuff though - doing the hernia repair and dental the same day is what I would do.

[Kate]

Thank you everyone for all the great information.

I still don't know what I am going to do, but I know for a fact that she will not be getting her booster shot, teeth cleaning and the hernia surgery at the same time. Like someone else wrote, if she has a reaction, I would not even know what it is that she is having the reaction to.

Right now, I have her scheduled for the booster shot in two weeks. Then, three weeks later for the teeth cleaning and surgery.

I am torn about the shot and would like to not give it to her. But, she does go to a groomer, and I have two elderly parents that I care for. If they are ever hospitalized, I will have to board her as the hospitals are far away.

If something happens to her due to the shot, I would never forgive myself.
At this time, I don't think I can bear the thought of her getting the rabies in three more years when she is 12 years old. She is so healthy, and then I take it personally when I take her in, and she comes home ill for five days.
To top it all off, she is perfect so that makes it harder. But, aren't all Yorkies perfect. LOL

Thanks again.

[AlicetheYorkie]

Originally Posted by Kate

Thank you everyone for all the great information.

I still don't know what I am going to do, but I know for a fact that she will not be getting her booster shot, teeth cleaning and the hernia surgery at the same time. Like someone else wrote, if she has a reaction, I would not even know what it is that she is having the reaction to.

Right now, I have her scheduled for the booster shot in two weeks. Then, three weeks later for the teeth cleaning and surgery.

I am torn about the shot and would like to not give it to her. But, she does go to a groomer, and I have two elderly parents that I care for. If they are ever hospitalized, I will have to board her as the hospitals are far away.

If something happens to her due to the shot, I would never forgive myself.
At this time, I don't think I can bear the thought of her getting the rabies in three more years when she is 12 years old. She is so healthy, and then I take it personally when I take her in, and she comes home ill for five days.
To top it all off, she is perfect so that makes it harder. But, aren't all Yorkies perfect. LOL

Thanks again.

If she's going to a groomer and there's the possibility that she may need to be boarded on short notice, then you probably need record of the vaccs. in that case (most boarding facilities require Bordetella vacc. too), but maybe check with your groomer and whatever boarding facility you would plan on using and explain to them that your dog has reactions to vaccines and would they make an exception? If not, and you have to get it, I'd reccomend not getting the Lepto and corona though, most places won't require those (in my experience, but check on that too) and if your vet doesn't have a combo. vacc without the lepto in it (most do, but I suppose some don't) I'd find a vet that does, at least just for that shot. As far as the Rabies vacc., I'm pretty sure you can get a waiver if you get a vet to sign off that your dog as severe reactions to it, you'll have to check the laws in your state though. If your state doesn't, you can talk to your vet about administering Benadril or something similar prior to getting the vaccine to minimize the reaction. Hope this helps your decission

[gidget529]

That is really smart of you that you scheduled the shots on a different day than the procedure. For high risk vaccine reactions, my vet gives them a shot of Prednisone with the vaccine to help reduce possible reaction, and he keeps the dog at his office for 4 hrs post shot for observation at no charge.

[AlicetheYorkie]

Originally Posted by gidget529

That is really smart of you that you scheduled the shots on a different day than the procedure. For high risk vaccine reactions, my vet gives them a shot of Prednisone with the vaccine to help reduce possible reaction, and he keeps the dog at his office for 4 hrs post shot for observation at no charge.