What vaccine does my dog need to visit elderly relative in care home

longwalks1

Our cavalier king Charles spaniel is almost 13, she’s still spritely and full of life.  She hasn’t ever been vaccinated apart from as a pup.  We’d like to take her to see my elderly mother in law (86) who’s in a care home but they’ve said she (our King Charles spaniel) needs to be fully vaccinated to be allowed in?

are there any dog diseases they can transmit to a human?  Just seemed a strange request.  When we asked the care home shift manager she just said she needs to be vaccinated, which wasn’t much help. 

born_again

Just take her to vets & get the annual vaccinations, that you really should have been doing for the last 13 years. 

sheramber

longwalks1 said:

Our cavalier king Charles spaniel is almost 13, she’s still spritely and full of life.  She hasn’t ever been vaccinated apart from as a pup.  We’d like to take her to see my elderly mother in law (86) who’s in a care home but they’ve said she (our King Charles spaniel) needs to be fully vaccinated to be allowed in?

are there any dog diseases they can transmit to a human?  Just seemed a strange request.  When we asked the care home shift manager she just said she needs to be vaccinated, which wasn’t much help. 

Did you ask why?

unforeseen

sheramber said:

longwalks1 said:

Our cavalier king Charles spaniel is almost 13, she’s still spritely and full of life.  She hasn’t ever been vaccinated apart from as a pup.  We’d like to take her to see my elderly mother in law (86) who’s in a care home but they’ve said she (our King Charles spaniel) needs to be fully vaccinated to be allowed in?

are there any dog diseases they can transmit to a human?  Just seemed a strange request.  When we asked the care home shift manager she just said she needs to be vaccinated, which wasn’t much help. 

Did you ask why?

Because that is the care home rule. There doesn't need to be any other reason.

sheramber

Their house, their rule.  Just like you can say what is allowed in your house. 

if they are part of a group you could contact the parent organisation to ask if they would give permission.  But it might be them that have put the rule in place.

Leptospirosis can be transferred to humans. While rare, an elderly person in a care home is likely to  have an reduced immune system and be more susceptible to infection.

While the other diseases cannot pass from dogs to humans it is possible for contamination to be passed form one dog to another by humans who have been in contact with an infected dog.

the care home owners are playing safe to avoid any problems.

Personally, I would not be vaccinating a 13 year old dog that has not been done annually.

Could you video the  dog to show her?  it is not the same but  might be a substitute.

elsien

I’ve taken my dog to a few care homes and no one has ever asked if he is vaccinated.
It’s clearly a care home specific rule, so it’s the care home who need to clarify what they are looking for. 

They probably don’t know themselves - it’s more than likely that someone has just decided that dogs need to be vaccinated without really knowing what they’re talking about. (I’ve challenged a few dodgy care home risk assessments during covid.) 
 

Is the person you’re visiting well enough to come outside in which case it might be easier just to take her for a  dog friendly coffee or say hello to the dog in an outside space. 

When people from care homes visit relatives who have dogs, no one is checking those dogs are vaccinated. So I don’t think they could  reasonably prevent you from the dog saying hello outside of the care home building. 

I’m with Sheramber. I wouldn’t be vaccinating a 13-year-old dog who had never had a vaccination. Have you had any  titre tests done that show immunity?

sheramber

Pets as Therapy state

Vaccination policy

Pets As Therapy regularly reviews its vaccination protocols as part of our ongoing duty of care to minimise any risk to our clients and be pro-active in infection control and disease prevention. We aim to provide the best and safest possible service to the people in every Establishment we visit, many of whom are children, elderly and immuno-compromised.

The Charity operates within strict and frequently updated agreements in partnership with NHS Trusts, education authorities and private long-term care establishments. Minimising the risk to patients and residents from zoonotic diseases which can be passed to humans from visiting animals is one of our highest priorities. Zoonotic diseases in dogs include leptospirosis, therefore all PAT Dogs must receive an initial course of inoculations against leptospirosis and booster vaccinations must then be administered annually.

A copy of your pet’s vaccination certificate must be forwarded to Head Office as part of the annual PAT Volunteer renewal process.

We also highly recommend that PAT Dogs should receive inoculations against distemper, hepatitis and parvovirus at the frequency recommended by your vet. Pets As Therapy does not accept homeopathic vacinations.

they are just covering their backs.

Sarahspangles

There’s a lady in a care home near us who walks her guide dog every day, maybe it’s for the canine residents’ protection as much as the human.

Pollycat

I think it's unreasonable for a care home to say dogs need vaccinations without being willing to specify what vaccinations are required.
Having said that, my cat always had the recommended vaccinations during his lifetime.

MalMonroe

What if other dogs also go in there and they are vaccinated but your dog isn't?  Your dog could maybe spread diseases which other dogs could catch even if they have been vaccinated. And even if they have left the building. (So to speak). And also, as the document that sheramber has reproduced, above, diseases could be passed to humans.

It doesn't seem worth bothering about really - why not take your dog to receive the vaccinations as requested? She'll probably need to have the full course, i.e. the initial vaccines and then a booster. If the care home is acting responsibly about the care of its residents, including your mother in law, that's something to be grateful for, as far as I can see.

Even if it seems daft and they won't give you a definitive answer, it doesn't matter if your dog won't be let in unless she's vaccinated.

longwalks1

sheramber said:

Did you ask why?

No we didn’t ask why, she was quite abrupt and it was evident it was a definite ‘no’ so came away a little shocked.  Will ask when we visit this week, just for clarity.

I do understand others comments on here saying it’s ‘their house their rules’ which we fully respect, just had no idea a small dog is considered a health risk to the elderly. 

We’ve never been challenged on our own vaccination status when entering, just never heard of a dog being challenged