OK shots done now what?
 

Ok, so now I took him this morning to get his first round of shots. I guess it's Distemper and Pavo. He also had Heartworm and Frontline on spine as they normally would do. But anyone else on the fence about Frontline? I will never give my dog the Lespo or whatever vaccine, and I will never board him so no need for Kennel Cough. Due Rabies in two weeks.
I also hear that Heartworm is over rated in small dogs and they don't need it. But don't yell at me if they do.:D
I need an eye exam today so I will take him with me in his pet carrier. Otherwise he'll be left in cage and I JUST CAN'T DO THAT YET. I'm sure he'll be crying. He cries in his cute little car seat and I don't know why. Try to ignore him, difficult. Also, buying carrots today but can someone tell me what store bought treats have the closest ingredients to natural foods and very soft? Thank you.

I also see I am a Yorkie Yakker not a Yorkie Talker :rolleyes:
STILL cannot upload a picture from my phone. Hoping a moderator sees this.

Forgot
 

One thing I forgot to mention is the Vet couldn't find his testicles....:eek:
Do they drop at all at a certain tim? Hope he's alright.:confused:

Every dog needs heartworm prevention. Heartworms are transmitted through mosquitoes. The mosquitoes bite you dog an infect them with microflera the heartworm prevention kills that microflera but if you don't do that monthly the microflera will grow into worms in your dogs heart and the treatment when it gets that far along costs a lot of money and can kill your dog and if it doesn't it can leave them with lasting heart issues. What did they give your for heartworms? If your going to be taking him lots of places I would get the bordatella (kennel cough) because if he gets it, it can last well over a month and require multiple rounds of antibiotics. Mine have gotten if every year and my oldest will be 10 in a month and have never had any issues with it. We do the nasal one. Mine like the freeze dried liver treats at petco or petsmart they come in a tub and we cut them smaller and they love them. His testicles could still drop but they might not which will make neutering him a little harder but really isn't to big of a deal. A lot of doctors offices aren't going to be happy with a dog coming in so you need to be prepared for that. It is also better to get him used to staying alone now then when he is older and I know this first hand. I'm not a fan of topicals like frontline because my girl does not handle them well so I use nexguard.

Kennel Cough Vaccine is over rated.:rolleyes:

Why would you say that? You seem to have thought that with heartworms so I'm wondering what your source or reason for feeling that way is.

Because this vaccine is unable to prevent kennel cough. It can even produce kennel cough like symptoms. The WSACA Guidelines say, "Transient (3-10 days) coughing, sneezing, or nasal discharge may occur in a percentage of vaccinates."
It can also cause a serious anaphylactoid reaction. Look it up you won't like it.
In general if they have good ventilation and practice good hygiene, Kennel cough shouldn't be an issue.
In contrast other dogs are never vaccinated for Kennel cough and disease is not seen. CPI immunity lasts at least three years when given intransally, and CAV-2 immunity lasts a minimum of 7 years.
Two renowned vets have said they generally DO NOT recommend kennel cough vaccines unless dogs are staying in a boarding facility even then they said find a facility that doesn't require them.

I've owned other dogs for 12-15 years.

I don't need to look it up I'm in class to become a vet assistant. Never had any issues with it but have known lots of dogs who were not vaccinated and got it.

Well since Vets want to give it for profit it isn't necessary as stated above. Look it up. We all are educated in one way or another. You see sometimes certain shots are not necessary. That's it end of story.

I don't like the kennel cough vaccine, either. It doesn't cover every strain and Jackson got the nasal vaccine twice (the mist - which is different from the shot) and GOT kennel cough (or some symptoms) from it both times (and yes, it was weeks after the vaccine so it wasn't like he contracted it, got the vaccine and then got sick so I blamed the vaccine).

Anywho, I just don't like it. Kennel cough is a pain in the butt but I've found that Jackson has built up an immunity to it on his own because he's around so many dogs. I work at a doggy daycare and he and Lola often come. KC is like a human cold, basically.

Bordatella is over-rated IMO but it's a lifestyle choice. Many kennels and daycares require it. I use a mobile groomer who does not. I won't get it any more.

That said, I am pretty "minimalist" with a lot of things, but heartworm medication is very important. There are very few places that you shouldn't give it year round. I usually spread it out to every 45 days in the winter (they are proven to work this long - but the companies know it's easier to remember to give a medication once a month). In the warmer months, I just do it every 30 days. Speak to your vet about it, of course. Doing every 30 days is fine though. The medicine is well tested and proven very safe. I'd rather give the preventative than deal with heartworms, ever.

Flea/tick medicine (such as Frontline) I do NOT give year round. I've been using Nexgard and more recently Simparica. I usually do it like April - October, depends on the weather though.

Most vets are not in it for profits, I'm guessing you have had some bad vet experiences. Vets really don't make that much money if you look at it. Shots are not as black and white as that it depends on a lot of stuff.

I think it's not so black and white with deciding to get bordatella. Callie will be 10 in a month and has gotten it every year with no issues ever. Sammy got it every year we had him with no issues. Joey is due for his second one and he didn't have any issues with it. The Lyme vaccine is being very recommended around here and Joey had a bad reaction to both Lyme shots so I will not be getting that for him ever again. Vaccines almost as hot a topic as food lol.

I wouldn't get kennel cough either...I'm with Brit on that.

Kennel Cough is basically the name for the common cold in dogs - there are *hundreds* of strains. The vaccine vaccinates for, I think, 7 of them (lol). I've never gotten it in any of my animals, ever. Nor have they ever contracted KC naturally. If they did, I'm quite sure they could get over it since they're healthy.

As far as heartworm though - GET IT. Seriously. Even when incidence and prevalence appears relatively low - bam, it's there anyway. And heartworm is treatment for the disease is *not* something you ever, ever want to put your beloved kiddo thru :(. You don't have to get it from the vet either, if you're okay doing that. There are other options that are way more affordable.

Why are you getting rabies so young, btw? I would wait.

I wondered the same thing. They said Rabies in two weeks. That would put him at 3 months old or so. Would that be right? I think my Labrador was 5 months when he got his..I forget it was long ago.
On Healthypets.mercola.com it says that there is a huge potential conflict of interest about the Heartworm. that it is an overuse of potentially toxic medications sold by Pharmeucutical giants like Bayer Healthcare, Merial, and
Pfifer. which are virtually money making machines for drug manufacturers, online retailers, veterinarians, and any other entity that can find a way to cash in.:eek:
When there's money on the table, in this case billions of dollars, your pet's health and quality of life can quickly become a secondary concern.
And BTW, Heartworm 'preventives' don't actually prevent your pet from getting worms. What they do is poison the larvae at the microfilaria (L1-L2) stage of development, causing them to die.
This information is NOT intended to minimize the need to protect your dog, but ONLY to point out the actual potential for Heartworm disease is less than you've been led to believe by financially motivated marketing campaigns designed to scare pet owners into buying 12 doses per year, year in and year out, regardless of where you live.
Florida, Texas, and the Gulf States need the 12 month preventative doses. everywhere else it should be six months. This is how all my dogs live very long lives.
For example, I don't ever take a flu shot and I'm not young. I've never had the flu.

Add to this list of "yours", Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, need 12 month heartworm preventive med . Where there are mosquito's, there is potential risk of heartworm disease.

It's the same with the flu shot but I still get it :D

I find a lot of Dr.Mercola's to be lacking. You might want to look up skeptvet that's a pretty awesome resource. The issue is if you don't kill the microflera then you risk them becoming adult heartworms and if you give them the heartworm chew when they have adult heartworms you are more then likely going to kill the dog. Heartworms is something you shouldn't play around with especially with small dogs that the treatment can kill and leave last issues. We have mosquitoes except maybe January and February but we had a mild winter here in Maryland so I give year round. When there are mosquitoes there is a chance for the spread of heartworms. I have had the flu at 25 and almost killed me not shot that year, got the flu shot this year and a month ago got the flu and it was so much less then it was when I didn't have the shot but the flu and heartworms are very very different.

Mercola is not a consistent source of good information, so I would go with a vet's recommendation. Heartworm prevention is essential in most parts of the country--you can google heartworm incidence maps to see if you're in a part of the country where it is prevalent. Some heartworm treatments are less toxic than others. We personally go with Revolution since they specifically make a smaller dose for dogs under 5 pounds.

With respect to kennel cough, I agree with the others who say it's not necessarily effective. However, our local boarders and groomers require a vaccination certificate for kennel cough, so we get it anyway. If you do get it, get the injection, not the nasal vaccine.

Living in Mississippi, it is heartworm meds all year. We kill mosquitoes in our house 12 months a year, and it has been bad this year since we've had no winter. Mostly 60s-70s this winter. It's 87 today. My vet recommends the heartworm test every year due to this fact (even taking preventatives), and since we love our boys, of course we have it done. Lepto is always recommended in my area. I do the kennel cough vaccine as well, but then again, I did all vaccines for my son. I don't really look up much about vaccines for humans or dogs on the internet, because most of what you read is simply scare tactics and fear mongering. JMHO.

I'm not sure why you're asking so many questions if you already have your mind set/have your own answers :p:D LoL no, but you are correct about heartworm medication. Watch a dog go through heartworm treatment though and I think you'd prefer to just give the medication every month. It truly is safe. If I am wasting my money, so be it. I'd rather not take the chance. Even if it's just a 10% chance that my dog may get heartworms, I'd rather give the medicine anyway.

Here are some videos of heartworms in a dog's heart:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7L8116RTNOM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcgZPK9BNEY
^both dogs died due to heartworm.

Uhhh yeah, no thanks! lol.

Where are the questions? I like others opinions and advice THEN I make up my own mind after research which I always do even about myself, health wise. I had the flu shot one time 20 years ago and never had it again. Never had the flu. Look up what's in a flu shot. People just go along and do what their doctors tell them to do while all along the doctors are the ones getting the kickbacks. I'm sorry, but sometimes I just don't go with the flow. My son had the pneumonia shot, had pneumonia two weeks later, induced coma, rest is too sad for this forum. Although he came out of the coma, he was never the same. People need to educate themselves about ALL vaccines, things your dog gets but doesn't need, and for yourself. And I cannot watch a depressing video. That does not make me change what I already know.

If you've read all my posts, I am very limited-vaccine, I myself don't do the flu shot, etc, things of that nature. I am very cautious and never ever just follow along with what a doctor said blindly. So I agree with you.

I just thought it was funny how you were asking the questions and then you come back and kind of answer them for yourself haha. No offense meant to be taken.

It's not a depressing video. It's actual worms inside a dogs heart. What heartworm disease IS. I don't want that to happen to my dog so I choose to keep him on medication.

For what it's worth, Jackson wasn't vaccinated for... six years? I likely won't ever get him vaccines again except for rabies every 3 years which unfortunately is required by law. I did puppy vaccines (8, 12 and 16 weeks... lepto was included in the 12 week one - NEVER AGAIN... as my boy had a horrible reaction). Then he had his one year old booster. He did not get the distemper booster again until 7 years old. I fully believe vaccines to be effective for 5-7+ years, likely more.

So you're just preaching to the choir here. I'm just trying to help because I've come a long way too and I used to sound just like you honestly LoL. I've learned that not everything is so black/white and it's not as simple as saying "all doctors are out to get your money" when that's really not the case. Speak to the majority of veterinarians and they are in the profession because they love animals. Nobody goes to school and has thousands upon thousands dollars in debt to abuse animals or steal your money or get kickbacks from food (which in all actuality, is very little). Are there some bad apples? Of course -- just like in every profession. Are there some vets I wouldn't go to due to pushy beliefs that they learn in school? Yes. I definitely have been choosy with my vets and am sooo glad to have found my perfect vet (in my opinion) who is a perfect happy medium just like me.

:thumbup:

you have been asking lots of questions coming off kinda like you knew to dog. I don't ever do anything blindly and have many reasons to back up my choices. Honestly though there really is no wrong answer it's based on your own opinions and choices. There will always be different opinions about everything especially vaccines and both sides have great resources. Vets don't really make that much money and most are not in it for the money but like everything when humans are involved there will be bad vets.

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

Totally agree Brit.

I would MUCH rather treat w/ preventive, than treat my dog with ARSENIC for actual heartworm. No way.

Bella2017 - yes, I think 3mths is too early for rabies. I always wait until about 6-8mths. The law often will often prefer you get it earlier, but not worth the risk to me.

I understand your hesitation w/ heartworm treatment, believe me. I'm a minimalist, like Brit. But I think you've got it wrong on this one. I understand your flu analogy - and I don't get the flu vax either. But if my dog got the dog version of, say, the "flu", I wouldn't freak out; however, if they got heartworm, I most certainly would. You have to do what you think is best though, of course.

One of my dogs died from heartworms (mid treatment) 30 years ago in way North California about an hour from Oregon. I had never heard of heartworm before then. I was still paying for the loan I took out for his treatment for about 6 months after he died.

I still remember every heart breaking, painful (for me and him) moment.

Never again if I have a say in the matter.

I'm so sorry.