1st adult vaccination
 

Ok, just got back from Vet Ruger (15 months) got his DA2PP which is a 4in 1.
He had all his sets of puppy shots.
Now I'm looking @ no more boosters, except rabies.
Talked with my Vet on numerous occasions about over vaccinations.
She said in 3 years we will test antibodies.
Any thoughts from you all would be appreciated

My veterinarian told me that there isn't any research showing that x amount of level when doing titre tests means they are safely protected. So she recommends doing vaccinations, and just following the recommended vaccination schedule. I'd imagine though a different doctor might say something different. Who knows. I don't read any of the research in academic journals about veterinary medicine. And I don't know exactly what the danger and concern about doing vaccinations is. My understanding is it's safe. I'll have to bring up this topic next time I go to the clinic, and maybe chat with multiple veterinarians.

There are different opinions on the reliability of titers. I decided not to do titers.

Our vet agreed to the 3 year plan for vaccination boosters, but I pushed Max's DHPP a couple extra years. He is 7 and will have a booster this year.

If I understand correctly, the latest studies on vaccinations say the boosters can provide immunity for anywhere from 5 years to a lifetime. I want to avoid over-vaccinating, but parvo and distemper are also a real threat.

maximo-is there a good link I can read on vax? My vet used to not reco lepto vax and now she has had three cases this spring and now that we have to consider, I am very nervous. She said she uses that newer half dose one with less preservatives, she doesn't love the vaccine but it is becoming more common to give bc of the increase in cases locally.

Here is some info in the YT library: http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/die...-overview.html

There are lots of threads in the health section discussing vaccines.

Lepto is a scary illness. The vaccine covers only 4 strains of it, and there are over 100 different strains of Lepto.

Ugh that's nuts on the lepto. It's like the flu vax for humans?!

I trust my vet (had the same vet for yorkie who lived 14 years) and will continue have the vaccinations administered on his recommended schedule.

Just keep in mind that titers are expensive and basically tell you nothing at all, since they *only* measure humoral immunity, not cellular immunity.

Since SO many vets still actively engage in the reckless overvaccination of our animals, I think most of us aren't comfortable w/ blind trust...and would rather be the advocates for our animals via our own education on what the correct schedule currently is.

I took Katie for her annual checkup last weekend, and I chose not to immunize or titer her, with the exception of rabies. She had all of her puppy shots and her one year booster. When it came time to immunize her at the age of four, I asked about titers instead. My vet preferred that to vaccines for her. I titered the next year, as well. Last year, at the age of six, I asked my vet if he thought it was safer to vaccinate Katie one more time to be safe. He told me he felt it was safer for her not to vaccinate. He checked her titer levels from the two previous years, and he told me he did not think we needed to titer her either. He told me the same last week. He said that, in the nineteen years that he has been in practice, he has not seen a case of parvo or distemper in a dog that was properly immunized as a puppy ( with first year booster). He said he was comfortable with not tittering her..If he recommended it, I would have done so, but he didn't feel it was necessary. I have been with this vet for the nineteen years he has been in practice (with the exception of the two years I didn't have a dog). I trust him implicitly, and I have always felt he has acted on my dogs' best interests. I still research and ask lots of questions.

None of my Yorkies have ever had vaccines for Lepto or any other core vaccines. My vet does not like the Lyme vaccine, even though his practice is in heavy Lyme country. I must disclose that my vet combines Eastern and Western medicine. His wife, also a veterinarian, was trained at Cornell, but he was trained in Beijing, so he specializes in Chinese herbal remedies along with conventional medicine. My dear friend lost her Coton de Tulear this past fall from an immune mediated disease which can be caused by vaccinosis. All white dogs are more susceptible to this, but even her vet suspects that the vaccines could have been the cause. Her dogs also had yearly Lyme shots in addition to the boosters every three years and rabies.

This is part of what makes me nervous about doing the DHPP boosters later in life. Our previous dogs never had anything other than rabies boosters after their puppy vaccinations. That includes our Airedale who lived to age 19.

There have been reports of pockets of parvo and distemper among adult dogs in a couple places around the country, but who knows if they were properly immunized to begin with.

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
I am sorry....I worked for a vet for years before I started vet school....I am a vet school drop out.....vaccinations and worming are the bread and butter of vet practices. Some vets will NOT let go of an annual vaccination schedule even tho many qualified, reputable vet school studies have shown annual vaccinations are NOT necessary....5 years is the acceptable "safe" boundary now....but 7 year immunity is actually being followed now, and then a lifetime immunity schedule will also be addressed/ being watched and studied. One of the last studies I read, is going with puppy shots at 8, 11, 14 weeks old, rabies at 4-6 month old, then boosters after a year, then dog is good to go until 7 years old, and that second 7 year set will last them for their lifetime, as they usually live 12-16 years.

Hello everyone. Great posts!! Thanks so much for the conversations. Hope more chime in. We just can't be too careful with our little Yorkies. We all know these guys are a breed of their own.

Discussing puppy vax is like discussing human baby vax, after you do your research, you must decide but there are always going to be many opinions on both sides :)

I haven't read any vet journals or anything and have only read stuff online. But I think there is some truth in that Vets are taught to give vaccines annually and they still stick by it even though our pets may not need it, only because they want your annual check-up business.

For my previous dog, when I didn't know any better, she had annual shots until she was about 8 years old. Our vet then suggested that since she never ever steps foot outside, she didn't need to be vaccinated. We took that suggestion and she lived to 19 years.

For Scottie, he had all his puppy and rabies shots done by his breeder. I was nervous about not having done his booster shot when he was due at 1 years old, but I didn't do it - not sure if it was a good idea or not. Scottie roams the city streets daily for his walks, in a neighborhood where every condo unit has at least one dog. He recently turned 2 and he got his first booster shot. Our vet recommended shots every two years. I think I'll wait and see...maybe I'll do the 5 or 7 year booster. I really don't want to over-vaccinate him.

Here is a good thread on titer testing and vaccination schedules that cites veterinary research... http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yor...naturally.html