How Often to Vaccinate
I have two conflicting views from two seperate vets on how often to vaccinate for the Parvo/Distemper vacination. After the dogs had their puppy shots, six months and then one year, one vet said they only need to have this vaccination once every three years. The other vet said that they have to have it every year as there is not a reliable three year vaccination. They agree on rabies every three years and kennel cough every year. We do not have heart worm in our area. My dogs come in contact with other dogs daily at the dog park. Do you think you need to vaccinate Parvo/Distember yearly or every three years? |
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| Just found a post at top of this forum, oops. Probably there is not a definate answer one way of the other. If I know they will be perfectly okay with the three years vaccination then I would prefer this. May be the better question is, has anyone's dog had the three year parvo/distemper vaccination and contracted one of these diseases? |
| My dogs have always been on the 3 yr vaccinations (besides the puppy set) and they have always been fine. |
| Gads, mine haven't had a Parvo/Dist in years! There is growing conern about all the vax's given dogs and their developing reactions and other health problems. If you dogs are stay at homes, don't mingle with others, aren't exposed to coyotes and wolves, then the less vax's the better. Rabies vax is the law, the others are....pretty much up to your good judgement. |
| Susan - spot on. Though I will say I do minimal vaccinations and my dogs go to training, trialing, herding, shows, hiking and so are exposed to all kinds of things and I still go the minimal route. So my sense is it's not so much about exposure risk, as the fact that the immunity conferred from these (core) vaccinations lasts much, much longer than we were taught to believe. Kristine |
| Since we discovered Oscar's autoimmune disorder six years ago, we no longer automatically vaccinate. Instead, my vets test Oscar's blood for the antibodies to the distemper and parvo, to see if he holds enough immunity to protect him from those diseases. This is called titer testing. In the last six years, Oscar has never required another vaccine. Up until last year (Oscar is now 8 years old), we would give Oscar the three-year rabies vaccine. Last year, Oscar was very ill when his vaccine was due (autoimmune pancreatitis, MRSA infection). Based upon his health and his age, my vets decided to titer test him for rabies as well, even though there isn't a definitive level of antibodies that would confer immunity. My vets used an immunity level determined for humans as a guide. (Due to their jobs as vets, they have to get their antibodies for rabies tested yearly, as they have a higher risk of being exposed.) Oscar's level was high enough that we did not vaccinate. If Oscar did not have this autoimmune issue, I would titer test for distemper and parvo, and still give the three-year rabies vaccine. If we ever get another puppy, I would give all required shots and boosters for the first two years, but I would space out the vaccines and not give them all in one visit. It costs more, as you have to pay for extra visits, but I think it helps to not overload the immune system, and also helps determine the specific vaccine if a dog has a reaction. At two years of age, I would start titer testing for distemper/parvo, but would get the three-year rabies vaccine, as we have a high risk here for rabies exposure. (Live on a golf course, surrounded by hundreds of acres of farmland and forest preserve, where coyotes and raccoons routinely wander into our backyard.) Just my two cents, for whatever that is worth (well, duh, 2 cents  )....Laurie and Oscar |
| I go the less is better route too. As more vaccine studies are being done, research is showing that we are needlessly vaccinating most of the time. That in fact our pets have retained immunity from the core vaccines they get when they are young. Sometimes it is many years or even lifetime immunity. For the "annual" vaccines (DHPP-CV, etc), I do the core vaccines (series of 3 as a puppy)...and then once every several years they get a booster. I could do the titre and likely find out they don't need it yet...but it is just my compromise to doing an annual vaccine vs. waiting too long in case their immunity has in fact expired. For rabies, I do the initial vaccine as a puppy, then booster at one year and then every 3 years thereafter. |
| I get the ones necessary for my dog to be boarded (like bordetella) since we always end up boarding. Otherwise, I'd just get rabies. |
| I got Eevee all her puppy shots, and I don't plan on doing any more after that unless they are required, like rabies. |
| In addition to potential over-vaccination, there are also negative consequences to under-vaccinating, besides the risk of a healthy dog contracting a horrible disease like distemper that could have been avoided with vaccination. The reason a sick dog like Oscar can get by without certain vaccinations is because of the high level of vaccination in the population at large. This is called herd immunity. If folks with healthy dogs stop vaccinating, there is a greater risk of the larger population getting these diseases, putting a dog like Oscar at even more risk. We are seeing this already in the human population with the rise of whooping cough, as folks forgo regular vaccines for their children. I know this is a controversial issue, and folks are going to decide for themselves what they think is best. When Oscar was first diagnosed with his autoimmune disorder, my gut reaction was that I would do things differently with a new puppy down the line. After having lengthy conversations with my vets, and doing research, I have a different opinion. I am following the best scientific data available. I also would not forgo vaccines without titer testing first. If Oscar's rabies level had come back as under the human level required for immunity, I would have vaccinated him. Laurie and Oscar |
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