Are annual booster vaccinations needed?

Paradigm

We all have it, the card through the door from your vet "Your pet is due his annual booster"! Off we go & get it done to find that the dog, cat or whatever is a little unwell for a day or so & our bank balance is £30 or so less.

Never mind, it's all about keeping the pet healthy... it's one of those things you have to do as a responsible pet owner!! Or is it?

It would seem that the Vets of North America have discovered that annual vaccs are not only not helpful but may actually be damaging the animals!

http://www.doggiesparadise.com/immunisation.shtml just one link, plenty more out there

We (humans) get our MMR, TB & other vaccs in one course, we are not called back to the doctors surgery every 12 months for a booster... the vaccs last a lifetime.

I'll admit a dogs physiology is way different to ours but it's immune sytem works the same way.. a puppy surviving Parvo is likely to be immune for the rest of it's life.

We think we are doing the right thing but are we? Is there any need & are we being ripped off?

LusciousLuce

Paradigm wrote: »

a puppy surviving Parvo is likely to be immune for the rest of it's life.

But that's the key - a puppy has a very very slim chance of surviving parvo. And even if it does survive, having seen first hand on far too many occasions just how much puppies & adults suffer with parvo, there is absolutely no earthly way I would risk this.

As far as I understand things, immunity is not indefinite for most conditions, but length can vary, so some diseases may have very long-term immunity while others are relatively short-term.

I know lots of people will say they have had unvaccinated dogs live to a ripe old age, but I also know (even more) dogs that have lived to a ripe old age and been vaccinated. I also know far too many people consider vaccinating when they need to kennel their dog, but a walk on the park can be far more dangerous in terms of exposure to disease than a few days in kennels. A dog died in our surgery a fortnight ago from parvo, and the only place the owner had taken the dog was the local park. Tragic.

Paradigm

Lets be clear about this, I agree whole heartedly with puppy (young animal) vaccs... everyone should have their pet vaccinated as soon as possible.

My point is that "booster" jabs are possibly doing more harm than good, are not needed & are costing us (pet owners) a fortune over the life of the pet!

I have no argument with the initial course.

foreign_correspondent

I believe that whilst some are unerstood to be longer lasting the Leptospirosis (Wiel's disease) vacc only lasts 12 months

Paradigm

Glad you mentioned that....

"Current concerns in canine immunology have addressed issues related to overuse of vaccines in dogs and cats. General consensus among specialists in the field is that yearly vaccination against viral infections associated with canine distemper virus, canine parvovirus and canine adenovirus are generally unnecessary since active immunity induced by these vaccines provide at least several years of protection. This consensus, however, does not apply and should not be generalized to bacterin vaccines, which immunize against diseases associated with bacterial organisms. In fact, clinical evidence suggests that bacterin-derived vaccines including those which protect against Bordetella bronchiseptica (kennel cough), Leptospira (Leptospirosis), and Borrelia burgdoferi (Lyme disease) probably don't even provide protective immunity for 12 months suggesting that more frequent vaccination for these diseases are required. It is perhaps the common use of combination (all-in-one) vaccines containing bacterins, which immunize against bacterial infections such as Leptospirosis and/or kennel cough in addition to common viral infections, that gave rise to the practice of frequent vaccine administration"

Is there a specific injection for Leptospirosis? Or is it the "all in one", most of which is not needed & may even be harmful to give something that may not protect against Lepto for 12 months anyway?

ka7e

I'm pretty sure that a lot of insurance companies make it a condition for claims that your pet must be up to date with boosters etc.
I doubt they would check every claim, but it is a loophole they could invoke.
With my previous dog I had her vaccinated for the first 4 or 5 years and then let them lapse. I must admit I didn't notice this clause in her policy, but in retrospect, the insurance I paid for over the next 10 years may have been void!

elsien

Paradigm wrote: »

We (humans) get our MMR, TB & other vaccs in one course, we are not called back to the doctors surgery every 12 months for a booster... the vaccs last a lifetime.

But we have the flu jab every year, not sure how often the pnuemonia one is, and things like cholera, hep b and c, typhoid etc have to be updated every few years when we go on our travels. So if we were paying for them we'd be in the same situation as our pooches.

geri1965_2

ka7e wrote: »

I'm pretty sure that a lot of insurance companies make it a condition for claims that your pet must be up to date with boosters etc.
I doubt they would check every claim, but it is a loophole they could invoke.
With my previous dog I had her vaccinated for the first 4 or 5 years and then let them lapse. I must admit I didn't notice this clause in her policy, but in retrospect, the insurance I paid for over the next 10 years may have been void!

I checked the wording of my policy when I took it out - it excludes conditions which could have been avoided if the annual booster had been given, but nothing else.

mrcol1000

Its a simple question. Are you willing to waste £30 a year on something which may save the life of your pet? I am sure that my dog will live a long life without being vaccinacted but then for £30 a year its worth taking the chance its a waste of money. Its the same reason I blow £150 a year on Pet Insurance. I am happy to waste this money and would be pleased never to have to use it.
If you can't afford this money to pay out on your pets then you shouldn't really being having pets.

oystercatcher

mrcol1000 wrote: »

Its a simple question. Are you willing to waste £30 a year on something which may save the life of your pet? I am sure that my dog will live a long life without being vaccinacted but then for £30 a year its worth taking the chance its a waste of money. Its the same reason I blow £150 a year on Pet Insurance. I am happy to waste this money and would be pleased never to have to use it.
If you can't afford this money to pay out on your pets then you shouldn't really being having pets.

It's not only the vaccination you get for the £30. My dogs have a complete checkover when they have their booster and a discussion on any small relevant problems like dental care which I wouldn't have booked an appointment for otherwise this can avoid large bills later and also picks up on any other health problems.

Paradigm

elsien wrote: »

But we have the flu jab every year

Because there are so many variants constantly mutating.

elsien wrote: »

things like cholera, hep b and c, typhoid etc have to be updated every few years when we go on our travels

Cholera & Typhoid are bacterial infections, not viral. The body doesn't work the same way with these vaccines & immunity does wear off.

Hepatitus B is a 3 jab initial course with a booster after 12 months &, AFAIA that's it. There is currently no vaccine for Hep c.

mrcol1000 wrote: »

Its a simple question. Are you willing to waste £30 a year on something which may save the life of your pet? I am sure that my dog will live a long life without being vaccinacted but then for £30 a year its worth taking the chance its a waste of money. Its the same reason I blow £150 a year on Pet Insurance. I am happy to waste this money and would be pleased never to have to use it.
If you can't afford this money to pay out on your pets then you shouldn't really being having pets.

With respect, I think you are missing the point. It's not just about money.

Giving Distemper, Parvo & Viral Hep boosters yearly is possibly causing more harm than good... recent studies in the USA have shown that vaccination against the 3 named lasts a "minimum of 7 years, quite likely for the lifetime".

Combining this with the possible risks associated with yearly boosters is the reason that all Veterinary Schools in North America are changing vaccination protocols.

Comparing this with Pet insurance is like comparing chalk & cheese, my 3 dogs are all insured safe in the knowledge that it's doing them no harm whatsoever! All 3 had their puppy jabs but have had no boosters since, the eldest is getting on for 6yo.

All owners will do what they think is right for their pets, quite rightly! I only posted this to enable a discussion into the benefits, or not, of yearly boosters