Leptospirosis killed my dog - Page 4

Laura, you just sound very intelligent to me. I'll be happy to share my coffee with you,   

Unfortunately, Lepto kills a lot of dogs anually. Some variants are more deadly than others and these strains are often geographical. The older lepto vaccine did only get two variants...but the newer vaccine gets the 4 most common subspecies. Below is the vaccine that is used today. Fortunately, it does have less side effects when compared to the old models. Since it is a bacterin, and not a true vaccine, you are correct that the duration of immunity is more   limited.

Leptospira Canicola-grippotyphosa-icterohaemorrhagiae-pomona Bacterin

For a while I joined the band of 'no vaccinations'. My dogs went unvaccinated for 3 years.  One day I was reading some posts on here, discussing vaccinations and death from diseases that the vaccines were to prevent and I thought 'what the hell am I doing?'  I suddenly wondered why I was putting my dogs at risk. They had never had any reactions to the vaccines, but suddenly I had bought into the idea that they had acquired sufficient immunity.  Maybe they have, and I do think that at one time we over vaccinated. But the protocol now seems sensible to me,. Some are 3 yearly, and Lepto is annually here.  We take our dogs on canal holidays regularly, and where there are canals there are.....rats.

I came to my senses (at least that's how I see it) and I resumed their vaccinations. I suppose we mustn't allow vaccinations to lull us into a false sense of secuity, and remember vaccinations are not infallible, so we can't exclude the possibility of those diseases, even though we have vaccinated against them. Something for us all to remember, and to remind our vets of if the situation arises.

To the OP. How terribly sad and tragic for you. Sometimes we do everything right and life still kicks us in the teeth. I'm so sorry.

I am sorry for the OP but I don't think it is that black and white.

This is an interesting from an expert at NC State on the topic.

http://www.fvmace.org/FVMA_83rd_Annual_Conference/Proceedings/2012%20VACCINES%20&%20VACCINATION%20The%20FACTS%20vs%20The%20FICTION.html

I am still on the fence and my dog would be in the at risk population. Even so the vaccine does not protect against some of the servovars coming in from Europe such as bratislava, noted in a police K9 journal coming in some Czech imports.

The big concern (other than general concern with ongoing immunizations) is that the current vaccines (Except for the Merial) have no label claim to prevent infections AND shedding of spriochetes and that immunized dogs can have persistent subclinical and undiagnosed infections that can slowy do their damage.

Once a dog is vaccinated for lepto, diagnosing an infection becomes much more of a challenge.

Another concern is over the years I have had lepo vaccines and never had a vet follow the protocol of initial dosage followed in 3 to 4  weeks by second dosage which is apparently necessary  per all package inserts.


I may try to talk my vet  into getting the Merial product. The documentation on efficay of the Pfizer product is, as I understand, lacking. I had had many tell me the Fort Dodge product is one to avoid and I believe it is no longer being manufactured.

Yes, the two way shold be history and sadly is still around in combo-vaccines. Personally I would ONLY give lepto as a stand-alone vaccine and never in a "cocktail".

Wow, interesting info in this thread.

I always find this kind of thing tough as there are so many different opinions available on the web.

We just noticed that our girl was due for her Lepto annual a few days ago.  We were talking about whether or not to bother.

I'm going to bother now after reading some of the stuff here.

The Bortadella one is due as well.  More confusion...

Nancy

I don't believe anyone can say for certain what is right or what is wrong in terms of whether one should vaccinate their own dogs, oir whether that puts them at risk - that was my own perception of my situation. I really was quite convinced for a time that I should not vaccinate. For me, the realisation that I was risking everything for the sake of vaccinating when my dogs have never had any problems with vaccine reactions just hit me one day like a blinding flash. I had this thought that if my dog did die from one of these diseases that I could in all likelihood have prevented, I would never forgive myself.  But, I stress - my dogs have never had vaccine reactions, and have always had, and I hope always will have, very strong constitutions. There would be other situations where I would not vaccinate.

Years ago I had a GSD with AF and she was on cyclosporin, which suppresses the immune system. So I had a difficult choice to make, vaccinate when her immune system was down, or leave her open to these diseases with a lowered immune system. As she was getting on in years, I chose not to vaccinate. feeling that in her situation she was likely to have more problem with the vaccine than at risk from exposure to the diseases the vaccines covered. I was most careful as to where she went and what she did during the time she was on the drug.


All you can do is weigh the evidence, and make your own judgement call. Someone else's judgement call is the polar opposite.

This thread is a good example where people have different opinions on a topic but have chosen to respectfully disagree with one another. I've enjoyed learning about people's decision making processes for vaccinating or not vaccinating for lepto.

Beetree, it was a Lab/Golden cross, about 85lbs, and this happened about 4 years ago, if memory serves. She had a reaction to it previously, nearly died, and was not supposed to be revaccinated for it. A know-it-all vet who thought the owner was nuts and he knew better b/c he's a DVM decided what she (owner) didn't know wouldn't hurt her. Guess what? She figured it out when her dog acted the same way only didn't recover this time. 

Jenni that is sad.  problem is sometimes medical doctors are of the same opinion.  Patient rights are to often just put to the side.  these are decisions that each person has to decide for themselves and their dogs, but they need to do so with knowledge, not propaganda.