tell the truth...do you vaccinate your animals

sarabe

missindecisive wrote: »

and give them their yearly booster every single year? do you flea treatment them & worm them as often as you should?

I know a few people who don't bother. they're animals appear completely fine!
(quickly dashes behind sofa ready to be shot down in flames!):rotfl:

No I don't, not because I can't be bothered but because I don't want to compromise their immune system.

Vaccinations are given as a pup and then one booster and that's it.

Worming twice a year and flea treatment only if absolutely necessary. I prefer not to put chemicals into their body.

Mupette

the jabs each year yes, and if he goes to kennels then kennel cough too, been lax on the worming and fleas as it is only now he is out more than in (moved to a better place with a huge park for dogs)

so now yes i should be worming him now, and fleas i havent in a year as he has had none, first sign is when OH cat has fleas then i would as weird as it sounds they have fleas when the cat had them

geri1965_2

I had my cats vaccinated when I got them as kittens, but didn't bother with the boosters. Last year (which was 13 years later) I had to have one put to sleep (cancer) and I became worried about losing the other, so had her vaccinated again (even though there was no reason to assume she would catch anything, and the death of my other cat wasn't related to lack of vaccine anyway).

I do her flea treatment every month without fail as she has a flea allergy and will start getting itchy and scratching otherwise. I didn't bother with the other cat when she was alive as she didn't have a problem with fleas.

stator

Of course I do. The only reason not to vaccinate is if the animal is seriously ill. Otherwise it's just irresponsible. I don't understand why so many people fail to understand statistical risks. They are too willing to believe that just because their grandad smoked 5 packs of cigarretes a day and lived until 90 that smoking is somehow safe. The same applies to vaccinations, you may know plenty of people who don't vaccinate and their pets are fine, but that doesn't mean it's safe or the right thing to do. If your pet gets ill from a disease for which their is a vaccine how awful will you feel then?

devildog

Worm-yes. Flea treatment for first year but nothing since(dog now 11!) never had fleas!! Vaccinations first couple of years yes(only been into kennels once so had kennel cough drops for that) Past few years has not had the full vaccination programme but has been vaccinated for Leptospirosis annually.
He is fit as can be and never had an medical issues.

foreign_correspondent

Vaccines - yes, but I go for 'lepto only' after the first few years with the full course every third year - the lepto jab does wear off quite quickly. This is on the advice of my very trustworthy and sensible vet, and I am happy with this - I know someone who lost a very healthy dog to lepto after it was bitten by rat.

Wormers - twice a year, spring and autumn, as by the time you 'see' evidence of worms, often the dog has a high parasite load and it's health can be suffering.

Flea treatment - rarely - generally if the dog appears itchy I will gove her a dose, but otherwise leave well alone.

cyberbob

tabskitten wrote: »

Google it, most recent reviews on pet care say boosters are a waste of time and money.

It depends on whose doing the reviews and their agenda. Don't believe everything on random websites

Barneysmom

Yes, to boosters, every January.
I don't think the insurance will cover them if they're not up to date.
Yes to wormers as our dogs have a good run round the fields every day.
Wormers I try to give every 3 months...

geri1965_2

Barneysmom wrote: »

Yes, to boosters, every January.
I don't think the insurance will cover them if they're not up to date.

They won't cover them for conditions which could have been prevented by vaccinations, but they will cover everything else. Spook's vaccinations were not up to date when she got cancer so I was worried about them using it as an excuse not to pay the claim, but it was fine.

cyberbob

missindecisive wrote: »

and give them their yearly booster every single year? do you flea treatment them & worm them as often as you should?

I know a few people who don't bother. they're animals appear completely fine!
(quickly dashes behind sofa ready to be shot down in flames!):rotfl:

Your choice but are you not going to vaccinate your children either?

Having nursed quite a few cats with Cat Flu and Feline Leukaemia and seen the horrible situation and suffering they had. I would never not vaccinate as why would I not do something to prevent such horrible illnesses.

I always find it quite strange in these arguments when people start saying their animals have been fine. That's well and good but when they get ill that's far too late