Vaccinations for 16 month old! - Page 1

I see many of you do not like to give all vaccinations at once.   How far apart do you recommend to spread out the vaccinations?  My girl is due for her annual and I don't like the idea of giving so many at one time.  If I do the 3 year rabies when should she get the rest?

Here's a link that may be helpful to you:  http://www.itsfortheanimals.com/DODDS-CHG-VACC-PROTOCOLS.HTM

Scroll down for Dr. Jean Dodds vaccination protocol.

You can wait about a week. I have always given mine all at once but when they get a certain age I only give what is required by law(rabies) when it is due and the others I skip a year. The 1 yr rabies is the same as 3 year....it is a marketing thing. Pretty crappy of them to do that. I wouldn't suggest getting a giardia shot or anything that is more then what it needs. It is like going to the Dr and they say that they want to give you a shot for milaria even though you aren't going to any place that has it. What is the point? If you are in an area that lepto or west nile etc...then fine get the vax for that.
Hope that helps
~L~

It's more expensive where I am to get titers done than to get the shots, so I don't do titers.  Since 2 of mine are registered therapy dogs they must be vaccinated every year - Therapy Dog association rules, so I have to comply.  And rabies I will NOT mess with.  Most protocols for that are to get 1 rabies shot, 1 more one year later, then you can switch to the 3 year, but the first 2 should be one year apart, not 3.

I used to not vaccinate every single year, but now that distemper is on the rise, in raccoons and foxes, as well as domestic dogs, and I do a lot of hiking with my dogs I'm back on a once a year schedule.  Better safe than sorry considering how much time we spend in the woods and fields.       

I'd say separate vaccinations by 2-3 weeks.  However, I have to admit that when I round up all the rescue cats and the beagles and take them to the humane society clinic I've had the distemper and the rabies given the same day and (knock on wood) never, ever, ever had any problems whatsover, and I've had pets for over 40 years.

Here's another link, FWIW just as additional information to read and compare with what else you're finding:  http://www.positivedogs.com/vaccinations.html

I'm a terrible owner and do them at once (DHLPP and rabies), but rabies not every year.  Just at 4 months, then a year after that, then every 3 years (would maybe do 5 but 3 or less is required by law and I do have my dogs out and about).  My dogs are healthy, have no allergies or supressed immune system, and have never had a reaction or problem with a vaccine.

The problem with vaccinosis is that it often manifests itself in ways that you don't link to the shots you gave a month or two or six ago.

There is NO medical basis for revaccination yearly. Not one. If you don't believe me, look it up. Note I said MEDICAL- not legal.

My personal belief is that if I need to do something to my dog for him/her to be a part of a certain group, like therapy dogs, SAR, etc...too bad. Then I guess they won't be part of it. I had to give up on SAR in my area because I wouldn't comply with the requirements. I should check again; I know more and more are waking up to the fact that annual vaccination is preposterous.

I would wait a minimum of a month between shots if you are inclined to give more than what is legally required. I also feel that the older they are when the first are given, the better, as mother's antibodies typically override and render useless most vaccine protocols that conventional vets have in place.

"The problem with vaccinosis is that it often manifests itself in ways that you don't link to the shots you gave a month or two or six ago."

Right, and what I'm saying is that (again, knock on wood) my dogs & cats are extremely healthy with no problems of any kind, so there's nothing to blame on the vaccines.   The ones that get yearly vaxes are fine, the ones that get them less often are fine, the ones that get them all together are fine.

Coming at it from this angle, I see things differently.  It's like the people who have picky eater GSDs - if i have a dog who has to have some super-special diet because his coat is crap on the same food the others thrive on, and he will only eat some super-special diet, welll, in my mind, that's not a dog whose lines I'm going to continue.  But that's me.

And as I said, it's either titers or shots, and as long as the titers are much more expensive than the shots, they'll get the shots.  My vet tells me that from their experience, titers show that vaccinations can be effective up to SEVEN years, so don't vax every year other than what your state mandates (rabies).

Tess, I wasn't addressing you particularly. I'm talking about the people who can't understand why their 7yr old dog who has had every shot known to man every year for its entire life has just about every auto-immune problem there is- thyroid, certain kinds of arthritis, Cushing's, Addison's, cancer, etc. There is NO benefit to trying to overstimulate the immune sytem. You either have immunity, or you don't. A booster shot doesn't make them "more immune." In fact, it invites trouble. Even the AVMA states this clearly, and they are hardly a holistic resource.

I agree to a certain extent about POS dogs, to be blunt. Dogs w/every kind of issue they could possibly have, no matter what you  do for them. But by the same token, you can't say it's always the dog because there are all sorts of variables- timing, stresses beyond anyone's control, BAD vaccine batches (yes, it happens!), etc. We bombard dogs with things we would never do to a child or human of any age, really. To say a dog who has a vaccine reaction is not a dog whose lines need to be continued is painting with too wide of a brush, IMO.

I firmly believe it catches up in one way or another, and while it may not be obvious and may be chalked up to "aging," as long as I have the ability to keep mine barely within legal parameters in terms of vaccines, that's what I'll do. I think when you have as many animals as I do and they are literally never sick (and they're not all young), then there is more than coincidence going on. I also believe food plays a huge role in the immune system in general. Immunity and health are multi-faceted issues that are nowhere near as simple as "feed this" and "do this" or "don't do that."