Leptospirosis killed my dog - Page 2

"It's around and treatable w/Doxy. The vaccine is not too effective which is why many/most vets don't use it. It covers 2 strains, typically, and there are many many strains of Lepto. It also has one of the highest reaction rates to the vaccine, making it undesirable in most cases"

1. It's only treatable with doxycycline [and supportive therapy] if it's caught before it's done too much damage to the kidneys.
2. It's also a zoonotic disease--meaning it's transmissible to the pet's owners, if they come in contact with their pet's urine.  The spirochete that causes the disease can burrow through intact skin.
3. The vaccine is actually quite effective--it just doesn't provide a lengthy period of immunity.  If a dog is thought to be in a high-risk situation on a regular basis, the vaccine can be given every 6 months.
4. The old vaccine only covered two strains. The newer products cover multiple strains, and while it's not possible for any vaccine to cover all of the strains of lepto, they do cover the ones most commonly encountered and diagnosed in pets.
5. Regarding adverse reactions to the vaccine, it is true that more dogs seem to demonstrate hypersensitivity to this vaccine as opposed to the basic distemper or parvo vaccines, the decision of whether to use the lepto vaccine or not must be weighed carefully.  Chances are that if the dog cannot tolerate the vaccine, it's not likely to fare well in the face of an actual infection with the disease, either. When breeders decided that the solution to dogs with poorly-functioning immune systems having reactions to vaccines was to stop using the vaccines, instead of to stop breeding weak, compromised animals, an increase in such faulty immune systems followed shortly behind, and contiues to be perpetuated.  The easiest way to 'cull' weak offspring is to not only refuse to breed those animals, but to also stop breeding the stock that is consistently producing these results, and to stop finding new ways to adapt to these weaknesses by devising new supplementation, new feeding regimens, and so forth.  

The 'anti-lepto vaccination' proponants bear a good deal of responsibility for the dramatic increase in the disease in the past 10 years, because they've perpetuated a naive population that hasn't the sufficient resources to mount an effective defense against the organism when they are exposed to it. 


To the OP, you have my sincere sympathies on the loss of your dog to what should be a preventable disease.  I know your heart is broken, and you'll forever be thinking of where the disease might be lurking when you take your dogs anywhere... I'm so, so sorry for you and your dog.

In the past year, I know of 4 different young GSDs who were ultimately diagnosed with leptospirosis after they fell ill, and were thought to be in renal failure as a result of congenital defects or toxin exposures.  All four recovered eventually after their owners were unwilling to accept the hereditary defect or toxin diagnosis and doggedly searched for a more likely cause of the illnesses; those owners insisted the dogs be tested for lepto, and once the correct course of treatment was instituted the recoveries moved fairly swiftly.

I personally use Pfizer or Duramune vaccines.  Both are available with a combo vaccine including L4 or as a seperate L4 vaccine if you want to split them or if you vaccinate every 6 months in high risk areas.  My vet just orders a tray for me when I need it.  It does not matter if you live in town or out in the country, some of the highest incidences of Lepto occur in the inner cities ude to the high numbers of rodents.  It is transmisable to humans and children who never bother to wash their hands and are always putting their hands as well as other stuff in their mouths are at risk.

It is easy to hide your head in the sand if you have never dealt with his but once you do you do not want to do it again. 

Thanks for the info Judy, will be buying me a tray of vaccines to give all my furkids tomorrow!

Find it hard to think Why?  a bunch of vets would ever recommend their clients
shouldn't vaccinate against Lepto ...
The main problem with the vaccine is, as Hexe said, it only lasts 6-9 months,
unlike other vaccines which may well last much longer than one year;  but
everyone was keyed in to 'yearly boosters'  until ppl started asking questions.
So some dogs that did water-work or whatever and came into more frequent
contact with rat-infested areas got sick even tho' they'd been jabbed.

It will be interesting to see whether the new one covering 4 strains has any
more length of effectiveness ?

There's never ever been any excuse / reason not to complete the full course
of initial injections on baby puppies.

I lived in the country in the '60s and had an old septic tank that was used for wash water.  It seeped into the ground and my horse would stand in the soggy ground making small puddles.  One of my GSD pups loved to lay in the wet soggy puddles.  At 6 month of age she got sick.  I thought to worm the pup.  No improvement.  I have a book on dog health and the morning I was going to the vet I looked again and thought 'Lepto?  The symptoms fit.  Sure enought the Vet quickly diagnosed Lepto.  Three days at the vet's and she had pulled through.  The vet knew I could treat the pup at home, so I hand fed her with liver paste for about a week and then her appitite had improved to actually eating.  She died (I think) later in the year.  I don't remember of what.  But for about 6 months after I was paranoid about the soggy ground and buckets of water in which mice periodically committed suicide.  No more Lepto.  Shots were very primitive then but I made sure that my pups got lepto with the others.  Only recently did I hear that the first shot should not have lepto in it. After parvo came along my GSD pups got a DHLPP shot every 3 weeks, starting at 5 weeks of age for 5 shots with no problems  Parvo needed to be given until 4 months of age so lepto was included.  As I said no problems.  Many breeders and vets in the San Diego CA area don't worry about lepto but I remember and rats and mice are everywhere.  I read that sewer workers in NYC used to get lepto.  Frequent contact with rodent carring lepto urine is not good.  I hope shots will help.  Shepherds have very strong immune systems.  At least mine do.  Good luck  

thank you for all your comments i live in dublin ireland and the local fields and parks where i walked my dog are very much infested with rats my dog was yearly vaccinated so i didnt think it was anything along the lines of lepto at first he didnt seem to want his food and that wasnt like my dog then he was not willing to exersise so i brought him straight to the vet and told him his symtoms we tought it may be a blockage of the bowel within the next 2 days i got the phone call to say that my dog was failing and i need to get into him the vet said his liver and kidneys failed and needed to be put to sleep i went and said goodbye and gave him a hug hardest thing in my life and before the vet could give him the needle he died i believe he waited for me and then was happy to die at least thats what makes me happy to believe
but thank you all very much ive been giving a better insight to this and will never allow it to happen again its just a shame it had to happen like this    

So sorry for you to lose your dog like that. You have my deepest sympathies. 

Hexe, your post was excellent. 

Leptospirosis can cause infertility and abortion in female dogs, with the dog not apparently otherwise affected.

In areas where water from a body of wild water or stale water where animals like rats visited, other than from faucet, can accumulate, it is a real risk. 

The bacteria die when dehydrated or frozen, so in many areas the disease is seasonal and/or not a problem.

Yes indeed Hexe great post! The newer vaccines have 4 strains. The recommendation we were given was every 6 months. I think the first vaccines have to be given in sets of 2 a few weeks apart.
I also have read (not been told) that the reason for the adverse reactions to Lepto in a vaccine was not due to the Lepto but due to the sterile solution it was made in? Not the correct words but this is going back a bit probably when the new ones came out with the current strains seen in the environment. I think they have been out at least 5 years. so the myth that Lepto vaccines are useless is just that a myth!

I have not found any place that sells lepto only vaccine; it seems that the only thing to do is to throw away the rest of the component. A DHLPPC vaccine will have the DHPP part in a dry vail and the L (and C part I believe) in the wet vail.

The reason is due to the belief that yearly DPHH with MLV is excessive.