Lepto Vaccine Question - Page 1

When I took my 12 week puppy in for shots vet recommended lepto vaccine due to area (Southern US). He received shot #1 on August 29th. He was due for his second Lepto shot on Sept 29, but we were in the middle of moving (further south). When we got to our new area we got his 2nd lepto shot, but it was on October 5th. However, vet told us that the 2nd shot needs to be given within 4 weeks and since we missed that (by one week) they said to be sure he is protected we should get a third lepto shot. To me this seems like overkill. I don't want to give my dog a shot he doesn't need, but I also don't want him to not be protected. Should he get the third shot?

Thanks

Yes this is overkill. He doesn't need it again.

Really do not think one week either way is going to be crucial to the second half of any of the vaccines. I am sure the company producing the drug would disagree, but set that against all the years Big Pharma has insisted that all dogs needed all injections yearly for life ...!

Because this is for Lepto, you'll need to get it done again inside a year to be as safe as possible, due to the shorter term effect compared to Parvo etc. I would not do a third shot this time.

Of course, being cheerful, I have heard it isn't 100% effective anyway, some dogs get leptospirosis even having had vaccination against it, don't they ?

This is a 12 week old pup; the second vaccine's timing is necessary for two reasons: first, to ensure that the passive maternal immunity that might still be in play hasn't negated the pup's own immune system's response to the stimulation from the initial vaccination, and second, to re,-expose the pup within a window of time wherein its own immune system gets a sufficient imprint of the properties of the organism that causes the disease to permit it to respond effectively in the face of challenge by an active field strain.

Personally, I'd have the third booster done within the appropriate time frame after the second one, but that's just me--I'd never forgive myself if my pup were to be exposed and end up dying from the illness because he or she didn't have sufficient immunity to it. If you're more cautious, however, you could always opt to have the vet run a titer assay and see if the pup presently has sufficient immunity to handle an exposure to the disease.

Hundmutter, the duration of immunity for lepto vaccines is generally around 6 months, hence my preference to vax twice a year if my dogs are going to be traveling or living in an area where lepto is a significant risk. There are multiple strains of the disease, as with bordatella or influenza, however, so we vaccinate for the strains most likely to be encountered, and count on that to provide enough protection to at least lessen the effects of a field strain infection by one of the other strains. IOW, we do the best we can with what we have to work with.

Sorry Hexe - forgot to mention titre-testing. FWIW I still think it is likely that if tested, because there is only a week's delay for the 2nd jab, the immunity would be ok. JMHO

I have heard anything from 5 months to 9, to a year (or so), cited;  maybe that depends on the strain of lepto current in any given area at any given time. But given that this OP is likely to be asked to vaccinate his pup again before the year is up, I really believe a third boost at this time would be a burden for one so young;  the last thing you want to happen is some over-reaction to the vaccine to occur & make the littl'un sick. Or worse. Especially since this may be the newish Lepto 4 vaccination, where the time in regular use isn't so long yet that one can rely on the data fully. I have become VERY sceptical of the benefits as proclaimed by the drugs companies ... Of course I accept puppy vax have to be done; and some boosters at intervals, as the dog ages; but I have not done so on an annual basis for years now*. Not saying "don't vaccinate" (before anyone suggests that I am !), but do be careful and try not to overdo things.

*If I could have got Lepto vax SEPARATELY here, I might have  had that done more often, but that hasn't been possible with UK vets' I have used.

Hexe, this isn't a 12 week pup. He got his first L at 12 week, and 2nd L somewhere between 17-18 week.
Surely the mom's colostrum had stopped protecting by then? You need a series of puppy vaccines because the first milk MIGHT have killed the previous one. Otherwise, only one would have been sufficient. Even a completely unvaccinated dog doesn't need a series if he's 16 weeks or above, he only needs one.

I'm not talking about half yearly, yearly, every three years or lifetime immunity, that's another debate.

My apologies, I didn't do the math and thought the pup was presently 12 weeks. So this pup had been vaccinated prior to that with the usual distemper, parvo, etc., and only the lepto was given for the first time at 12 weeks?

I don't take chances when it comes to immunizations--it just doesn't make sense to me to risk losing my dog to a disease I could have at least reduced the severity of, if not prevented completely, for lack of an initial vaccination and a booster. Cases of lepto are quite often not diagnosed until the dog's condition is already severely compromised from the infection, which not only threatens the dog's life but places the people who live with the dog at risk as well because the disease is transmissible to humans. Intensive in-patient care for the treatment of leptospirosis isn't cheap.

If one is nervous about boostering a vaccine because of some nebulous 'danger' of 'vaccinosis', titering can be done to ensure the animal has sufficient antibodies to mount a defense if exposed to the disease, but that's not very economical either, and if the titer isn't sufficient the dog is going to need to be boostered anyway.

OTOH, an office visit, general physical and a booster vaccination are far less costly than either of the above. If it's my dog, I'll do the booster, and rest easier knowing my dog's immune system is better equipped to mount a defense in the face of exposure to the live organisms that cause the diseases.

I would check the website of Jean Dodds, DVM there is a magnitude of information of vaccines, over-vaccinations; all immunization ages, as well as other health recommendations, she has done the studies and documented. Most people I know in dogs don't even give the lepto any more. I am strictly going by the titer testing rather than taking the chance of over vaccinating my boy and Dodds has all the titer info also. Good luck Nan

 

www.homeopet/education or just go to Dr. Jean Dodds, DVM immunizations

You're right, most people in dogs don't do lepto.

Which is why lepto cases continue to increase, and why they're almost always not diagnosed until the dog is so ill it's hospitalized and going rapidly downhill. It is likely that many cases never even get diagnosed, because the animal is in such bad shape when the vet tells them the bloodwork indicates the animal is in acute kidney failure, the owners elect to euthanize.

I would bet that it goes significantly undiagnosed in humans as well--I know a large animal veterinarian who was finally diagnosed with lepto ~5 years ago; he became acutely ill and was sliding downhill into life support territory before someone thought to test him for zoonotic diseases. He eventually recovered, but he was out of commission for several months, too weak to do much more than walk from point A to point B.

My dogs will always be vaxed against lepto, as will my cows. There will always be carrier mice, rats and other small mammals that will spread the spirochete in their urine, and there will never be a fool-proof way to keep my dogs or cows from coming in contact with places those carrier animals have urinated. It's not a perfect vaccine, but it's more effective than none at all.

Just to clear things up, yes, he was 12 weeks when he got lepto shot #1 on Aug 29 and he got second lepto show Oct 5. I then received a note from the vet saying he was due for another lepto, and when I asked why they said the second shot (according to manufacturer) need to be given at 4 weeks and to be "safe" I should give him another shot. I read a lot of negative side effects with the lepto shot, so I was trying to compare benefits vs. risk. I appreciate all of the replies.