Is your dogs booster jab necessary

[Sid_Wolf]

TBH, I am responsible for these animals, and i would feel bloody awful if i decided to not have them vaccinated and they then fell ill with parvo.

Unfortunately titre testing is still damn expensive here, my vet quoted me £30 for the blood test, then £25 to test immunity for EACH disease, so thats at least £130, if they then need the vaccs thats another £30ish.

Sorry but im not made of money, I simply cant afford to spend £400 a year on testing immunity, then pay for any needed vaccines (i have insurance for vet bills before anyone says anything)

My vet doesnt give all vaccines annually anyway, some are 3 yearly, lepto is yearly. We dont do kennel cough.

[ThomasKai]

TBH, I am responsible for these animals, and i would feel bloody awful if i decided to not have them vaccinated and they then fell ill with parvo.

Unfortunately titre testing is still damn expensive here, my vet quoted me £30 for the blood test, then £25 to test immunity for EACH disease, so thats at least £130, if they then need the vaccs thats another £30ish.

Sorry but im not made of money, I simply cant afford to spend £400 a year on testing immunity, then pay for any needed vaccines (i have insurance for vet bills before anyone says anything)

My vet doesnt give all vaccines annually anyway, some are 3 yearly, lepto is yearly. We dont do kennel cough.

Titre testing is done once and even if it shows the smallest amounts of titres in the blood then that states the particular dog has immunologic memory for life.

[ericrdj]

In my case, I'd rather give my dog boosters than not. Missing out on something is almost like a nightmare to me.

I love my dog as if he was my kid.

[Sid_Wolf]

yes but it would need to be done every year for insurance and kenneling

[ThomasKai]

yes but it would need to be done every year for insurance and kenneling

Only because the insurance and kenneling havent caught up with the times yet.

Vaccs is big money business

I have studied this in every way shape or form for my 7 huskies here in the uk and my 7 huskies in the USA

[Sid_Wolf]

Only because the insurance and kenneling havent caught up with the times yet.

Vaccs is big money business

I have studied this in every way shape or form for my 7 huskies here in the uk and my 7 huskies in the USA

well until the insurance does I will be vaccinating yearly, in fact probably even after that, rather that than them dying of parvo

[davidjk]

imho its not worth the risk not getting them vaccinated.

animals immune systems vary animal to animal.

so to make sure everyone is covered they do it yearly.

the benefits far outweigh the risk.

years ago people panicked about an autism link with the mmr jab for kids, and a few years ago there was an increase in mumps measles and rubella, and some of the kids died.

and the mmr scare that started it all was 1 scientists faulty data.

i had a cat that died from parvo, the cat was a rescue, and was due its injections but got sick before it had them. the parvo virus can live for a year on surfaces, so we had to replace a large carpet

it suffered until it was put down.

if you can afford to heave your animal tested to see if it is immune still then by all means do. but do not stop the injections.

[BingBlaze n Skyla]

There is alot of different views, it's hard to know who's right , i think a booster every year is abit much, but kira comes to work with me and to stay in the kennels there she has to have her boosters. Also my mum forgot to book her terrier in for his booster and remembered a few weeks after, they said she would have have the first vaccinations all over again!

thats odd - my vet said it can last for an extra 4 months - cuz bings n blaze were due in january but they arent getting them done till next week

Thats not a good comparison, the Cervical jab is only available to those of a certain age group that have had only certain amount of partners.

I should know, I was a year too old when it finally came out on the NHS.

Also if that should be the case for boosters, why do humans not have annual jabs for all the bad bad viruses like mumps, measels, rubella, polio (in drops), shingles....and before you say it flu jabs are a different strain of virus every year.

Somebody find that article from Nix's magazine STAT!!! LOL....

ill have a look after ive walked Bings in abit n type it up - i have 2 copys of the mag lol

[SaraB]

http://www.dogs4dogs.com/

I got all their puppy shots and their 1yr rabies. Then their 3yr rabies and a booster when they were a year old. After that, I'm only getting their 3yr rabies, cause it's required by law. I will probably get them titer tested after a few years to make sure they are still protected.

[davidjk]

Titre testing is done once and even if it shows the smallest amounts of titres in the blood then that states the particular dog has immunologic memory for life.

interesting, where is this information from. because as i understand from my years at college, immunity is not always finite

some illnesses it is, and some it isn't.

in people the mmr jab is a one off for men but not for girls they get the rubella jab later on

but tetanus is a 10 yearly thing.

pneumonia is a 5 year jab

but you can get chicken pocks more than once, the second time it usually hits in the form of shingles(my son had chicken pocks at 3 and shingles at 6, and boy was he ill.

one of my responsibilities when i worked for defra in animal sciences was to test to see if an animals immunity to rabies had taken, and we used to check their titres.

the animals inoculation used to last up to 2 years, but they have to be vaccinated every year, and tested 6 months later

as a result we had to be inoculated against rabies. we where titre tested every 6 months, and on average the inoculation lasted between 1 and 4 years.

[Staceybob]

Surely you would need the titer tests regularly anyway if the levels can change? I thought that was the point in having the test done - as a regular to check to see that they dont need a vaccine?

I'm with Sid on this one.

We maybe considered as behind with the times, but until things in our country change about it I'm happy to continue as I'm doing, like I said before, never had a problem with them before.

Stacey xxx

[davidjk]

http://www.dogs4dogs.com/

I got all their puppy shots and their 1yr rabies. Then their 3yr rabies and a booster when they were a year old. After that, I'm only getting their 3yr rabies, cause it's required by law. I will probably get them titer tested after a few years to make sure they are still protected.

i hope dogs cope better with the rabies inoculation than i did.

i had to have 3 jabs, the first jab felt like i was repeatedly punched in the arm hard, the second jab left me feeling like i had an apple in my arm pit and it was being forced shut, by the time i had the third i was so ill, but then i developed a very high titre. i was given 2 weeks off of work to recover.

one of the girls i worked with, her arm swelled up massive and leaked a pinkish/clear fluid.

the rabies inoculation jab is nasty in people, but its better than death.

[Bec]

TBH, I am responsible for these animals, and i would feel bloody awful if i decided to not have them vaccinated and they then fell ill with parvo.

But don't you feel awful that you could be compromising their immune system by over vaccinating them?

imho its not worth the risk not getting them vaccinated.

Well the Australian Veterinary Association disagrees with you, as do many vets throughout the world. Once again no one is saying NOT to vaccinate at all. Just that science proves yearly vaccinations are almost always unnecessary in the majority of canines and yearly vaccination can do more harm than good.

Immunity doesn't just run out every 365 days like clock work. Show me the scientific research that proves yearly vaccinations are necessary for all the diseases we vaccinate our dogs against? There's plenty out there that proves it isn't.

The problem I am seeing in this thread is the general fear that has been instilled into many of us that if you don't vaccinate yearly your dog is somehow hugely at risk and that they are 'missing out' on something if they aren't vaccinated like clockwork every 365 days a year. Do you know the reason we started vaccinating yearly in the first place? Because a group of vets in the USA decided that would be the best way to get clients to come in for yearly check ups. It is not based on scientific research. And yet so many people fail to question it and ignore all the research that's been out there for years - this isn't a group of hippies trying to scare everyone away from vaccinating, it is FACT. And if you live in a country where the majority of vets are refusing to stay up to date on the latest vaccination protocols accepted in many countries world wide then get angry about it! Don't just accept it. It is not always the best thing for your dog to vaccinate every year. Before the AVA changed their vacc protocols I had to search for a vet that didn't vaccinate yearly. I questioned the vets that told me I had to vaccinate yearly. Vets that understand immunity and offer titre testing as a regular alternative to vaccs don't over charge for it - titre testing here will set you back about $60, which is often less than an annual vaccination.

Now that the AVA have changed their recommending protocols more and more vets have made sure they are up to date with vaccination protocols, but change doesn't happen on its own, and if you feel strongly about your animals health then be proactive about it instead of just accepting things the way they are.

[Sid_Wolf]

As I said above, most of the vaccines are 2 or 3 yearly, they just rotate which ones they give each year, as least thats what my vets do, so im pretty happy that in not over vaccinating anyway.

WTF is the point in yearly check ups anyway, all my vet does is stick em on the scales, listen to their heartbeat (which is normally pounding as they've just had a 40 minute walk to the vets,and have then gone mad at the cat in the waiting room) and a simple healthy check which i do at home anyway

[Elyse]

Yes but, a lot of people (not me) don't do simple health checks on the dogs. And, plus, you can't take a blood sample or a stool sample by yourself when your doggies get older to test for organ health or to detect early cancers.

[Sid_Wolf]

thats true, mine are only young so havent got to the stage where they need samples taken yet, hmmm cant wait to be scooping up poop into a jar

[Tan J P]

My vets are doing half price boosters this month.........yeh!!

As ive always done them i dont think i'm going to stop,having said that my old man mini-dash who went to the bridge last sept made it to the grand old age of 17 yrs 11mths with only his initial puppy vacs.

[cookiemonster]

Well the Australian Veterinary Association disagrees with you, as do many vets throughout the world. Once again no one is saying NOT to vaccinate at all. Just that science proves yearly vaccinations are almost always unnecessary in the majority of canines and yearly vaccination can do more harm than good.

Immunity doesn't just run out every 365 days like clock work. Show me the scientific research that proves yearly vaccinations are necessary for all the diseases we vaccinate our dogs against? There's plenty out there that proves it isn't.

The problem I am seeing in this thread is the general fear that has been instilled into many of us that if you don't vaccinate yearly your dog is somehow hugely at risk and that they are 'missing out' on something if they aren't vaccinated like clockwork every 365 days a year. Do you know the reason we started vaccinating yearly in the first place? Because a group of vets in the USA decided that would be the best way to get clients to come in for yearly check ups. It is not based on scientific research. And yet so many people fail to question it and ignore all the research that's been out there for years - this isn't a group of hippies trying to scare everyone away from vaccinating, it is FACT. And if you live in a country where the majority of vets are refusing to stay up to date on the latest vaccination protocols accepted in many countries world wide then get angry about it! Don't just accept it. It is not always the best thing for your dog to vaccinate every year. Before the AVA changed their vacc protocols I had to search for a vet that didn't vaccinate yearly. I questioned the vets that told me I had to vaccinate yearly. Vets that understand immunity and offer titre testing as a regular alternative to vaccs don't over charge for it - titre testing here will set you back about $60, which is often less than an annual vaccination.

Now that the AVA have changed their recommending protocols more and more vets have made sure they are up to date with vaccination protocols, but change doesn't happen on its own, and if you feel strongly about your animals health then be proactive about it instead of just accepting things the way they are.

Now we are talking, havent seen the thread for a bit so sorry for not responding, think what Becs has said here sums it up 100%

continuing to vaccinate yearly because thats what everyone else does is very ignorant, in fact its down right dumb, take some time to search for the FACTS and theres no way you would continue to do so.

[Dazzlin]

Interesting stuff

Milo is booked in for his booster next friday, also hes having the kennel cough done too. I must admit 6 months or so here in Swindon there was a bad out brake of Parvo which killed a lot of dogs, i think it was about 25 in total and a high percentage of these were vaxinated.

I know it costs a lot of money, im looking at a bill of about £80, hes having his nails done too but to be honest i wont ever risk not having his jabs and i wont invalidate his insurance.

Prevention is better than a cure and it happens once a year i can find £100 for his vaxinations but i cant find £2000 which is what his insurance paid out when he wasnt well and i wont risk my dog hes my little baby (well not so little)

[Tan J P]

Interesting stuff

Milo is booked in for his booster next friday, also hes having the kennel cough done too. I must admit 6 months or so here in Swindon there was a bad out brake of Parvo which killed a lot of dogs, i think it was about 25 in total and a high percentage of these were vaxinated.

I know it costs a lot of money, im looking at a bill of about £80, hes having his nails done too but to be honest i wont ever risk not having his jabs and i wont invalidate his insurance.

Prevention is better than a cure and it happens once a year i can find £100 for his vaxinations but i cant find £2000 which is what his insurance paid out when he wasnt well and i wont risk my dog hes my little baby (well not so little)

That seems expensive Darren, a booster and k/cough would be about half that here.....maybe thats the north/south divide!

surely they dont charge you to do nails aswell.

[Dazzlin]

£5 charge to do the nails lol

I could go back home to Leeds and get it done for half the price but when you add fuel and a 3.5 hour car journey it's not cost effective.

Also a reason why I will pay it is that my house mates ex missus is a veterinary nurse and when milo ingested pain killers she was at my house making him sick and was consulting the poisons unit regarding the drugs he had eaten, she save my dog that day and 2k later the fee seems acceptable. Don't get me wrong I'm not loaded were all suffering from hiked prices for everything I go with out so my dog gets the best foods he's wants for nothing and people may say I'm an idiot for paying the £££ for boosters I see it as a small price to pay for the love affection he gives me every day

[davidjk]

there is no doubt that pets are a big bussiness

[SaraB]

I forget where I read it, but there was some study to see how long dogs were protected from rabies after getting the shot. They titer tested the dogs yearly and found it lasted 7yrs, but possibly longer since the experiment was over after 7yrs. Wish I could find the study again.