shots - Page 2

Titers?  I am sorry, I am clueless.

thanks

It is a way to send blood in and test to see if antibodies are still present for a disease and, therefore, a shot is not needed.  The link I posted inidcates which immunity can be tested by titers and which is not worth it.  Immunity to lepto (the shot most concerning, is only about a year but the immunity to some of the other diseases can be for life. 

The used to give most of the shots every year, but now the AAHA recommendation is every 3 years.

Tell you what - I went back to grad school after my kids were in school.  They wanted me to take a measles shot but I told them I already had measles as a child - both types.  I knew the measles shot was bad news for someone who had already had the disease and went and had a blood test that prooved immunity. 

nancy--

Did you get the link to work?  I just tried from the message and it was good.  It is a pdf file>>>>>>>>>>>>>.

its prob just my stupid comp.......

OK...im going to get the the rabies shot this weekend....i know i should have gotten it a long time ago but i had thought it was part of that seven-in-one....just found out it was'nt so that when i started wondering>>what was the shot actually for.??.....

also, i was told that he needed to get the 8-in-1 shot now.....can i give that when i get the rabies shot?...will it be bad to do them both at the same time?.....if it is i will just give the rabies and wait a month or two for the other....

thanks for lettin us know what titers are.....i was just about to ask....

Here is another link.  You can see only a few are considered as "core" and the rest are not recommended unless there are certain circumstances that make it necessary. 

Most of these shots will need boosters .  This link is a high level summary of the PDF file I sent you

If you decide to give all the shots it is better to give them spaced apart than all at once (easier on your dog)

I never give any shots while getting the rabies shot. 

How often you get rabies is mandated by state law. Make sure the adenovirus (if you give it) only has CAV-2 and not CAV-1 as CAV-1 (I don't know if they even sell it anymore) can cause "blue eye" and blindness

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=2&cat=1648&articleid=950

thanks a ton nancy, very helpful link...

If a training club requires more than a rabies,  the reason is to protect them in the event your dog contracts a disease while at class.  I myself would rather sign a hold harmless agreement with the club than subject my dog to vacs I feel are not needed.

I no longer vaccinate against kennel cough since an intranasal vac was probably the cause of an allergic reaction that led to a chronic bacterial sinusitis of 4 years duration in my first GSD. I've had dogs for almost 40 years, took most of them to all sorts ot training classes and dog shows from the time they were 10 weeks old. NEVER had one come down with full blown kennel cough. Any suspected of being in the early stages of kennel cough were simply treated with an OTC cough syrup. I will not vaccinate against any disease that is not lifethreatening in accordance with the age of the dog. For example, while parvo is often fatal in puppies, it is not in adults.  No lyme vacs for my dogs either. Vaccinations  challenge  the immune system to make antibodies; they stimulate the immune system, not depress it although the end result is often the same - an animal that has been overaccinated to the point that is is not longer able to make antibodies and is an immune cripple..

The to vaccinate or not controversy will never end as long as vets push annual vacs making owners feel as if they are irresponsible if they don't vaccinate for every disease for which here are vaccinations. You don't vaccinate your kids every year, why your dogs? I follow Jean Dodd's recommendations and protocol which is the prototype for the  AVMA's guideline in the link pasted above by Nancy.  It till the AVMA severl eyars to adopt Dodd's recommendations and I believe the vet school here at Penn was the first to endores her protocol. Still many vets, incuuding my own, a Penn grad BTW who should know better,  are pushing annual vaccinations and many set  the prices of titers so high that most just relent and order the vaccinations instead. Considering each 7 way and rabies vac costs your vet well  under one dollar, yes, ONE dollar incuding the syringe, you do the math.

If you feel you must challenge your dog with multiple vacs, please do not allow more than one to be given at a time. They should be spaced about one month apart.

I will add that my own vet is VERY mainline and conservaitve .................................

She knows my two dogs are working dogs and in the woods and on the lakes and ponds and in some very undesirable neighborhoods and still only reommends distemper, hepatitis, and parvo along with rabies.  On a three year cycle.

I am going to challenge her about rabies on my oldest dog and see if we can run a titer.  He has not had a rabies reaction per se but is 3 years post successful surgery for perianal fistulas and has numerous skin problems.  I am terrified of assaulting his immune system.  He does not "get out" anymore like my others - he is 11 year old and is a house dog - he goes for walks and is in our suburban fenced yard (which everybody keeps pretty clear of critters) .   I absoluitely support the vaccines for the other two as we have encountered sick wildlife and I know darned well dogs like to "sample" scat from other animals in the woods.

She does not think there is a relation between PF and the rabies shot but I really really really don't want them to come back - at his age it would be the end...............and he still plays fetch twice a day and is otherwise pretty active for his age.

Blitzen...........If you feel you must challenge your dog with multiple vacs>>>>>>>>>>>.

i havent talked to any clubs yet...i just assumed some vacs would be mandatory..............so i take it ony the rabies vac is...right?

actually, i would rather give him as little vacs as possiable...thats why i need to know what he MUST have....

so since i gave him the 7-in-1 when he was 9 weeks, should i not give the 8-in-1? does he not need it?  or does the 8-in-1 protect against things that the 7-in-1 did not cover?

if he does NOT NEED the 8-in-1, id rather not give it at all...

actually, i would rather give him as little vacs as possiable...thats why i need to know what he MUST have....

I don't know what they will require, iluvmygsd, but rabies seem logical since it is a law in all states as far as I know and if someonedoes gets bitten, the dog won't have to be destroyed or confiscated. The other vacs should be optional IMO.

If a rabies shot is good for 3 years, why are my dogs' shots expired after a year? If I want to take them across the border or fly them to Germany they still need one every year according to those regulations.

Please correct me if I am wrong! I am rather new to this and am still in the process of decided which vaccines I will do and which I will not. I do not believe in over-vaccinating myself. So I think, why should my dogs be vaccinated for what they don't need?

The vaccination protocol link was very informative and helpful! Thank you!