what to do about dog's vaccinations

zaksmum

When my dog got his annual booster last year he was ill for a day and a half afterwards.

I googled it and discovered many dog owners don't agree with vaccinations at all as it can often make the dog ill, and my vet agreed.

Anyway I just had a letter from my vet saying that as the dog missed his booster, he will now have to have a primary course of vaccinations consisting of two injections over a 4 week period.

If I do get the vaccinations for him, would it do him any harm just getting the booster as usual?

picklepick

Is he insured? It's a clause of my insurance policy that my cat has up to date vaccinations so i guess having out of date boosters would invalidate it?

I know that's not what you asked but just in case he is, thought I'd mention that.

System

If you ask for just the booster then the vet will probably refuse and insist on the full course. Taking the dog to another vet may well result in the same thing once they see his out of date vaccination record.

Tropez

It is worth bearing in mind that when Googling something where subjective points of view are likely to be expressed, you are far more likely to encounter negative opinions. People who are happy and content with things are much less likely to post on the Internet about it, whereas people who are angry about something are more likely to want to tell everybody how annoyed they are about something (take a look at the Praise and Vents board on here... the majority of threads are vents) and try and get their opinion heard.

The "many" dog owners you found that disagree with boosters may only be a small proportion of dog owners and importantly you don't know who they are and what level of knowledge they have. Some might experience a poorly puppy for a few hours and assume that this is a huge issue and try and make a huge issue out of it.

I would do what the vet says on this one, particularly if the dog is insured. It is a requirement of virtually every pet insurance policy that treatment outlined by the pet's vet is followed at all times otherwise it could invalidate the policy and when you need to make a claim you find out you've been paying for a service that you're not going to be receiving.

I would also do what the vet says because they are better placed to give this advice than anyone here. While I've no doubt the majority of people here are dog lovers we aren't in the position to give health advice to someone regarding their dog.

zaksmum

picklepick wrote: »

Is he insured? It's a clause of my insurance policy that my cat has up to date vaccinations so i guess having out of date boosters would invalidate it?

I know that's not what you asked but just in case he is, thought I'd mention that.

Thanks picklepick, yes he is insured. I never thought of that. He's only about six weeks beyond the date when he should have had them...maybe I'll speak to the vet about my concerns about him being ill again.

zaksmum

Thanks !!!!!! and Tropez. Best make an appointment then!!

Sooz00

Hi - if he's only 6 weeks over, he could have his boosters without needing to start the primary course again.

One of my dogs was ill for 48 hours after his boosters in 2010. My vet reported it to the manufacturer and the manufacturer came back and said they would pay for titre blood tests a few weeks before his 2011 boosters were due, to understand what his antibody levels were and allow us to make an informed decision whether to give them or not so that's what we did. You can pay for titre testing too but I'm not sure how much it costs, but it is an option if your dog was particularly ill.

Croatoan

If anyone really wants to wade through a serious US scientific study, re vaccinations (I don't) then here it is in pdf format:

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=dog+vaccinations+us+study&source=web&cd=15&ved=0CJ4BEBYwDg&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.aahanet.org%2FPublicDocuments%2FCanineVaccineGuidelines.pdf&ei=jLLoTq7-JtHltQbQ75jHBw&usg=AFQjCNHCxxjP9WahTkwnnDyZXPfvH6-CEQ



A precis is given here. I make no claims as to the validity of this precis, or the link to the site below as it is not affiliated with the American Animal Hospital Association's (AAHA) and I include it just for those those who don't want to read the full report) :
http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/10/27/new-canine-vaccination-guidelines.aspx


One of the salient points is that:
"The absolute highlight is that all core vaccines with the exception of the 1-year rabies are now recommended at 3-year or greater intervals.
Even more exciting is the task force has acknowledged that in the case of the non-rabies core vaccines, immunity lasts at least 5 years for distemper and parvo, and at least 7 years for adenovirus."






On a personal level I probably will do what my vet recommends, but I think everyone needs to realise that inertia, as it is in every field, is often difficult to overcome. Because we have always vaccinated every year then the tendency is to continue doing so. And insurance companies who demand a yearly booster - if indeed it isn't needed - are not helping.

krlyr

Lots of the vaccines have a grace period of about 6 months, so you can go 18 months from the first vaccine and still just need the booster. Some vaccines don't even need to be given yearly, just every 3 years. Whether the vet will be willing to administer just a booster will depend though, but you may want to consider phoning other local vets to see what they think. If you have a vaccination card from last year you could always ask to try a different brand of vaccinations to see if he reacts less to them.
Definately check your insurance policy, some may say the pet has to have yearly vaccinations, some say "up to date" which could be the 3 years as per the manufacturer's recommendation.

Caroline_a

Just wanted to add (slightly off topic) please don't forget the kennel cough vaccine too. It appears to be rife in the South East at least, and not nice for dogs at all.

Paradigm

picklepick wrote: »

Is he insured? It's a clause of my insurance policy that my cat has up to date vaccinations so i guess having out of date boosters would invalidate it?

Out of date vaccinations would only (quite rightly) invalidate a claim if that claim was for treatment of a disease that could have been prevented by vaccination.

However, to dismiss a claim for a broken leg on the grounds that vaccinations were not up to date would be unfair & would be seriously frowned on by the FSA!

As has been posted, research into the effectiveness of dog vaccines in the USA have shown that protection can last for many years or even the lifetime of the dog for some diseases. As a contrast the leptospirosis vaccine is advised annually but research has shown that it's effectiveness may not even last 6 months.

The vet is driven by the drug companys advice & has to follow said companys policy when using it's drugs.

Unfortunately the UK lags behind when it comes to this area of dog medicine.

Infectious core vaccines are not only highly effective, they also
provide the longest DOI, extending from 5 yr up to the life of the

dog. A

3 yr interval is currently recommended for revaccinating

adult dogs with infectious viral core vaccines. In contrast, revaccination
of dogs with infectious bacterial vaccines (speci

[FONT=AdvOT77db9845+fb][FONT=AdvOT77db9845+fb]fi[/FONT][/FONT]cally IN

Bb vaccine) is recommended annually. The

3 yr recommendation

for core vaccines is made on the basis of minimum DOI
studies over the past 30 yr for canine vaccines. These studies were
done by all of the major vaccine companies, as well as by independent

researchers.