Rabies and 5-in-1 Vaccines at Same Time?

[Ellie May]

Yes,, DHPP here also.

Then we may have to get into another issue since you are in Korea.
What brand are they and do you trust the manufacturer?
Not all vaccine companies are good...
The effectiveness may be less with some.

[Nikitta34]

Originally Posted by Ellie May

Yes,, DHPP here also.

Then we may have to get into another issue since you are in Korea.
What brand are they and do you trust the manufacturer?
Not all vaccine companies are good...
The effectiveness may be less with some.

I'm not sure about the brand, but I can ask when I go in. I live on a US military base and I go to a US Army veterinarian. The medicine they practice is very standard (aka: drug those dogs!!!) and I am confident that they either have the vaccines shipped from the US or have found a supplier here that meets US standards. They were the ones who first warned me about Korean vaccinations perhaps not being stored correctly, etc.

The original two vaccines were given by a Korean vet and who KNOWS what the quality of the vaccines were. I don't want to offend anyone, and I'm not saying that they were necessarily bad quality, old, etc, but I have no way of knowing. But since they were given so young, they apparently wouldn't have done much, if anything, for Meg.

Ellie May, you still think I should finish Meg's DHPP with her second round at age 17 weeks? There are so many funky diseases floating around Korea, and tons of stray dogs, cases of Parvo, Distemper, etc. BUT I am normally not a big fan of vaccinations (I don't get them) and I 100% do NOT want to overdose Meg. Meg hasn't had any exposure to puddles, stray dogs, etc, and I am very willing to keep all exposure to a minimum. Like I said before, the vet wants me to do a third round of DHPP, but they are big advocates of vaccines in general, and bet you my life savings that they have never worked on a dog as small as Meg (<2 lbs).

[Ellie May]

Originally Posted by Nikitta34

I'm not sure about the brand, but I can ask when I go in. I live on a US military base and I go to a US Army veterinarian. The medicine they practice is very standard (aka: drug those dogs!!!) and I am confident that they either have the vaccines shipped from the US or have found a supplier here that meets US standards. They were the ones who first warned me about Korean vaccinations perhaps not being stored correctly, etc.

The original two vaccines were given by a Korean vet and who KNOWS what the quality of the vaccines were. I don't want to offend anyone, and I'm not saying that they were necessarily bad quality, old, etc, but I have no way of knowing. But since they were given so young, they apparently wouldn't have done much, if anything, for Meg.

Ellie May, you still think I should finish Meg's DHPP with her second round at age 17 weeks? There are so many funky diseases floating around Korea, and tons of stray dogs, cases of Parvo, Distemper, etc. BUT I am normally not a big fan of vaccinations (I don't get them) and I 100% do NOT want to overdose Meg. Meg hasn't had any exposure to puddles, stray dogs, etc, and I am very willing to keep all exposure to a minimum. Like I said before, the vet wants me to do a third round of DHPP, but they are big advocates of vaccines in general, and bet you my life savings that they have never worked on a dog as small as Meg (<2 lbs).

That is a hard call. She should be fine with 2 rounds one being after 16 weeks but because you can't titer and you really still don't know about the vaccines that are being given, I would have no idea what to do.

One of the companies who produces vaccines in the US is one I would never use but they are cheaper. People in the US could still run into this same problem but this brand is more common for those who vaccinate at home I think. Hopefully your vet gets them from somewhere like Merial, Pfizer or maybe Wyeth/Fort Dodge.

[Nikitta34]

Originally Posted by Ellie May

That is a hard call. She should be fine with 2 rounds one being after 16 weeks but because you can't titer and you really still don't know about the vaccines that are being given, I would have no idea what to do.

One of the companies who produces vaccines in the US is one I would never use but they are cheaper. People in the US could still run into this same problem but this brand is more common for those who vaccinate at home I think. Hopefully your vet gets them from somewhere like Merial, Pfizer or maybe Wyeth/Fort Dodge.

Ellie May, you are a wealth of information. I had no idea that some vaccination manufacturers are better than others. I will call my vet tomorrow (they're closed today) and ask what brand they gave Meg.

Here's another question: what if I was to stop after the 2nd round, then when I am in the US this summer, have titers run? If I was to vaccinate again at that point, would that be effective, or do the vaccines need to be given within 30 days of each other?

[chestermama]

Yorkies are too small for both the rabies and the others, kennel cough would be safe with the rabies. My girlfriend has a pom and she got the rabies and the kennel cough together today and the rest later.

[Ellie May]

Originally Posted by Nikitta34

Ellie May, you are a wealth of information. I had no idea that some vaccination manufacturers are better than others. I will call my vet tomorrow (they're closed today) and ask what brand they gave Meg.

Here's another question: what if I was to stop after the 2nd round, then when I am in the US this summer, have titers run? If I was to vaccinate again at that point, would that be effective, or do the vaccines need to be given within 30 days of each other?

Good question.
They do need to be given 3-4 weeks apart for pup shots, however, after the immune system is fully mature (maybe around 6 months), it is possible that only 1 dose would be needed (2 is probably better). This should only be attempted if your vet knows what they are doing.......... It is not the standard. If you did decide to give another set in the US, it would not hurt even if the earlier vaccines "took" but you would probably be overvaccinating.

Because it doesn't sound like you are confident in your current vet, I would probably do the set at 17 weeks and titer in the US if it is possible.

It comes down to, if she is gong to ever be protected with vaccines given in Korea on the American base, she should be protected with the two sets, one after 16 weeks. The question is, do you trust the vaccines they are using. If you don't, I'd do titers. If you do, you can do one more set at 17 or two more sets at 17 and 21 if you are worried about her needing three sets. Vaccines are a difficult thing because there is no one size fits all protocol.

By the way, for the people in the US, if you have a good vet, you shouldn't have to ask about vaccine companies...

[Nikitta34]

Originally Posted by Ellie May

Good question.
They do need to be given 3-4 weeks apart for pup shots, however, after the immune system is fully mature (maybe around 6 months), it is possible that only 1 dose would be needed (2 is probably better). This should only be attempted if your vet knows what they are doing.......... It is not the standard. If you did decide to give another set in the US, it would not hurt even if the earlier vaccines "took" but you would probably be overvaccinating.

Because it doesn't sound like you are confident in your current vet, I would probably do the set at 17 weeks and titer in the US if it is possible.

It comes down to, if she is gong to ever be protected with vaccines given in Korea on the American base, she should be protected with the two sets, one after 16 weeks. The question is, do you trust the vaccines they are using. If you don't, I'd do titers. If you do, you can do one more set at 17 or two more sets at 17 and 21 if you are worried about her needing three sets. Vaccines are a difficult thing because there is no one size fits all protocol.

By the way, for the people in the US, if you have a good vet, you shouldn't have to ask about vaccine companies...

All of that makes perfect sense. I'll ask about the brand at the vet tomorrow. Hopefully they are using a good brand and all of this worrying is for nothing.