Puppy/Rabies Shots - Page 1

I hear so many conflicting stories about when is the best time to give your puppies their first shots? I thought I'd pose this question here to those who are breeders. We have a litter here and my vet wants to give them their first shots between 5-6 weeks old. I heard the dam is still protecting the pups at this age and the puppy shot would be overridden by the dam's protective immunity. Also, I have a puppy that is 16 weeks old, a rescue, and my vet wants to give it its puppy shot and rabies at the same time. I'm worried as I have heard that the combination of both shots can cause problems for the poor animal later in life. I truly appreciate your suggestions. Arrakis

When the puppies are weening and are beginning to eat solid food and "stop" eating off of mama...then it's time to give the first set of shots...up until this time the puppies are being protected by mama and her milk...so your vet is correct in saying that this a good time to give the first shots...

Before giving vacs to 5 to 6 week old puppies, please read Dr. Jean Dodd's vaccination protocol - http://www.everythingsheltie.com/new_vaccprotocol.htm Not sure where you live and may have never heard of Dr. Dodd; in the US she is considered the foremost authority on vaccinating dogs. Her protocol is currently being recommended by all vet schools in the US. 5-6 weeks is too young. This URL will tell you why you should wait til 8 weeks. I hope this helps you make a decision that will be best for the puppies now and in the future.

I forgot to mention that Dr.Dodd recommends not giving rabies and the distemper/parvo combo vac at the same time; she suggests waiting at least 4 weeks between vacs. If you google "Jean Dodd" you can find a lot of very informative articles by her on vaccines, thyroid problems and other issues in dogs.

I always recommend giving first puppy shots at 7 to 7 1/2 weeks if there is a low risk of infection at the kennel. If Parvo has been a previous problem at the kennel (very persistent and can put following litters at risk), you can give separate puppy shots just for Parvo earlier. Pups should stay with the breeder at least 5 more days after the first vaccination to make sure the vaccination took and that there will be no reactions. Then repeat 2 more times, 4 weeks apart. Every pup should have a thorough health exam by the vet before vaccinations! Vaccinating a sick pup can have dire consequences, as well as the vaccine most likely not taking effect. We usually give Rabies at 16 weeks with the final vaccination in North America. In Germany at 12 weeks. When to give the first Rabies shot also depends on your local laws. With Lepto we usually recommend to wait until 6 months. That depends if there is a Lepto problem in your area or not though. I also recommend to worm about a week before the first and second vaccination. Start at 6 weeks, worm at least three times every 2 weeks. Make sure puppy owners keep the worming up to finish at least 3 wormings.

i have changed over the years , now i give parva -distemper at 7 - 8 weeks. rabies at 6 months peter cadman www.germanshepherddog.tv

DHPP i do 8 weeks for reasons above and then the 2nd one i did at 12 weeks. Rabies i wait until 5 months old. But you have to consider your environment as well. I dont live in the country, less risk of rabid animals coming into my double fenced yard... but doesnt mean my dogs are 100% safe from wild animals getting in. One of my males i didnt vaccinate him for Rabies til he was a year old because i had just lost a dog from side affects of the rabies shot so i was wicked paranoid. my vet wrote me a letter saying he was not able to have the shot because of skin rash going on etc... when it was time for his town license. one thing to remember, when you do the first rabies, MAKE SURE you go back before the ONE YEAR DATE ANNIV. of that shot to get your NEXT rabies shot as this will keep them safe for 3 years... when the immunity goes down after the first shot, the 2nd booster gives it a kick and lasts 3 years... its the same amount of cc's in the shot as a 1yr but they call it a 3yr vaccine because that is how long it will last now. so THEREFORE we can STOP over vaccinating our dogs when they dont need it. i never did this before KC because i thought a 3 yr vaccine was MORE cc's in the syringe and i didnt want that.. but then my vet told me no... she sat and explained how they did titers and alot of research and found this out with the booster done within the 1st year. she went to TUFTS Hope this helps Dawnmarie

Good vac protocol, Dawnmarie. I wish that the state governments would accept protective rabies titers rather than insisting on boosters every 1 to 3 years. We could cut way back on those vacs too. I understand that one of the vaccine manufacturers has recently revised it's re-vaccination time frame for distemper/parvo from annually to every 3 years. They are now claiming that the protective immunity from their vaccines lasts at least that long. I wonder how long they have know that. Humans don't get annual boosters from birth to death, why should dog?

Thanks for all your responses. Blitzen, I've copied the information from Dr.Dodd's site and will take it to my vet. DH, thanks too. Dawnmarie, that's horrible about your dog. Scares me to give these injections. I know when I was a baby my mom said that I about died after getting a pertussis shot. I had to go though hell getting though school. As my shot records were never complete and the schools would send me home for any outbreak of any virus that was looming the school. Thanks again, Arrakis

Dawnmarie, not looking to start any trouble but I believe that the state you live in REQUIRES a rabies at 3 months. I almost bought a 5 month old pup from a kennel in New Milford and it was made known to me that a rabies was required before purchase. I sincerely hope that your local authorities don't check up on you.