Jabs

Posted: Wed Apr 17, 2019 4:14 pm

Well it’s that time of year again when the girls get their health check and boosters. I have ALWAYS taken them but this year I am thinking of just the health check and maybe a titre test. They are 13 and 11 now and they have always been ok with the vaccines but with all the probs with the lepto one it has made me think.

Am I risking them by not having them or even by giving it ??? Confused

What do you guys think please ??

Posted: Wed Apr 17, 2019 7:37 pm

Mine have only had one puppy shot and nothing else, I titre every three years and they have always been fine. Sometimes one titre (usually adenovirus as it's so uncommon now) is low but the next titre it's up again.

My oldest (a spaniel) is sixteen now and has only had the puppy jab, I lost a beardie in 2016 at fifteen years and she was the same.

My last pup had a reaction to the lepto4 vaccine (it was reported by the vet) it has taken him 2 years to recover and we don't know what long term damage may have been done as it affected his kidneys. I would never give any dog of mine Lepto4 again. I've never liked the Lepto vaccine even when it was Lepto2 as it has the most adverse reactions. Mine have only had it when puppies never every year. I do use the Homeopathic nosode for Lepto as it has been proven to be effective.

If you do a titre test it will at least put your mind at rest, but bear in mind they can't titre for Lepto.

Posted: Thu Apr 18, 2019 7:46 am

I understand your dilemma Buddy, we had the same concerns regarding Mac and Tali. We eventually went for stopping Macs annual boosters (he was 3 years old) and when we got Tali, he had the puppy and first year booster only... after that, nothing.
Our Vet, agreed with our choice and suggested that after the age of 9 or 10, a dog that had been inoculated annually, would be sufficiently covered without further treatments anyway.
It's a difficult choice .. we always want to do the best, don't we ... and often we don't know what the "best" is Confused

Mxx

Friend for Life Joined: 09 Jan 2009 Posts: 19306

Doris hasn't had a jab since she was 2 and became autoimmune Crying or Very sad

Basil had the first round of puppy jabs but NO lepto at 12 weeks old and he was titre tested at 6 months which showed that he was vaccinated and didn't need anything Very Happy

Friend for Life Joined: 07 Jul 2010 Posts: 6729

Poppy to only had her puppy vacs which 99.9% convinced caused her illness. 12 months after illness was titre tested and after all the drugs, steroids etc was fully immune. Never had anything since or titre tested since 17 months old, she will be 9 yrs old in July. And in all these years has been wormed once as I do worm count.

Posted: Thu Apr 18, 2019 8:14 pm

I agree Kathryn vaccines are a main trigger of autoimmune diseases. I also wormcount and mine haven't needed worming since puppies.

Friend for Life Joined: 09 Jan 2009 Posts: 19306

I’m a wormcount fan too, great service and saves giving them drugs unless they actually need them Very Happy

Posted: Fri Apr 19, 2019 6:22 pm

Soooooo ... how does one worm count???

Posted: Fri Apr 19, 2019 8:45 pm

Gerrie wrote:

Soooooo ... how does one worm count???

https://wormcount.com/

Posted: Fri Apr 19, 2019 8:53 pm

Gertie....." One.....two......three......"
.......but you have to get up PRIIIIIIITTTTTY early....... Twisted Evil

Posted: Fri Apr 19, 2019 10:00 pm

I actually asked the vet if there was any need to have it done all the time, and she admitted there wasn't! Said it lasts for 3 yrs, if not forever. Hence the reason I've only ever had the first one done. Very Happy

Posted: Sat Apr 20, 2019 6:49 pm

Nice you had an honest vet Pam Very Happy

Posted: Sat Apr 20, 2019 10:04 pm

Jacquietwig wrote:

Nice you had an honest vet Pam Very Happy

Well it pays to ask sometimes, I don't believe in putting stuff into my dogs body that they don't need and yes, an honest vet helps. Rolling Eyes

Now we don't have any dogs. Crying or Very sad

Posted: Sun Apr 21, 2019 8:14 am

Aw Pam.....hugshugshugs.....xx

Posted: Mon Apr 22, 2019 8:41 am

Hugs from me and Jethro too Pam ... been there a while ago until Jethro and he'll be my last. xxx

Posted: Mon Apr 22, 2019 10:12 pm

Probably a good time to bring this up.

Monday morning of last week, a knock on my door and a girl walked in, announced her name and said a friend of mine had told her to come and see me if she was in our town. She breeds and shows Beardies, I'd never met her but if we ever got another one It would have been off her I knew her in that way.

Anyway, she went out and brought in her gorgeous brown boy, and I had all these lovely cuddles and it made my day!!!! Cool

Just such a LOVELY surprize, and thanks Penny.xxx such a lovely person, cried when she left. Crying or Very sad

Friend for Life Joined: 09 Jan 2009 Posts: 19306

Aw Pam, what a lovely surprise for you Very Happy

x

Posted: Tue Apr 23, 2019 8:21 am

Awwwwwwwwwww, Pam - how wonderful! What a super super surprise, even though it made you cry....good on that young woman! (hug) xx

Posted: Tue Apr 23, 2019 1:30 pm

Oh Pam, that's lovely. You've made my day.

xxx

Friend for Life Joined: 07 Jul 2010 Posts: 6729

Pam. How lovely for you to have a visit like that. With Beardie cuddles to xx
Very special x

Posted: Wed Apr 24, 2019 7:46 am

A big dilemma for me too, those jabs! Crying or Very sad

In October 2017 I decided to skip them, and last October my vet and I agreed to use the VacciCheck titre testing device to see whether my 2 girls needed a booster or not. The test (a long and expensive process, as well as a time-consuming one for my vet) showed that almost everything was fine except distemper which was low. But the thing is, you can't get separate vaccines, and Foxie and Miss You had to have the whole b...y cocktail injected although they were ok for all the other diseases! Evil or Very Mad

I think a 2-year frequency will be my routine now. Unfortunately I can't stop their jabs completely as long as we go to our dog club which demands up-to-date vaccines (they will accept a 2-year gap but not more), and if I still want to go to Beardie weekends which usually take place in campsites where we rent cabins, I have to show their health books there too if requested... Not much choice then!

Posted: Wed Apr 24, 2019 10:19 am

You do have a problem there Nina as you have to have something for your dog club. The thing is people don't understand that a low titre doesn't mean no protection any circulating antibodies shows there is immunity, there is also immune memory which although there are no circulating antibodies there is still the ability to mount a response it just takes a little longer. There will only be high antibodies circulating if the dog has recently met the challenge of the disease, after all it would be a waste of the bodies resources to keep all that high protection up when it's not needed. Distemper of course is uncommon now so your dogs are unlikely to have met the challenge.

A few years ago Triskel had a low titre for Adenovirus, for the same reason, it's very uncommon. However I did nothing because, as you say, you can't get the jabs individually. The next titre showed very high antibodies to Adenovirus, so she had obviousley met the challenge and fought it, resulting in a high titre.

I just wish people who make these rules would get themselves informed.

Posted: Wed Apr 24, 2019 10:46 am

Of course I totally agree with you, Jacquie, but there's not much I can do right now. Especially taking into account the fact that not only nosodes are not officially recognized here, but also you can only get them by ordering them from the UK... Of course the minute I stop going to the dog club (when my girls are too old for agility or dog walks...), they will not get jabs anymore.

My 2 cats Biba and Naïs, and it was the same for all the numerous cats who shared my life over the previous years), had their kitten jabs and got their yearly boosters until they were about 2 years old but after that... enough! Last year, after that dramatic episode when I adopted that poor little Siamese cross called Nam-Kha who arrived here already contaminated (unknown by me and by the shelter she came from) by typhus which killed her within 4 days after her arrival here, I was really worried about Biba being infected by that hugely infectious lethal virus although the 2 cats hadn't been in contact very much. My Biba hadn't had any jabs for the previous 4 years (she was 6 when Nam-Kha arrived here). I watched her for days, and was ready to take her to the vet's at the slightest sign of possible contamination. However... nothing happened to her. This goes to show that yes, vaccines go on protecting our animals for a long time.

Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2019 6:50 am

How awful and sad for you Nina, Poor wee cat. Crying or Very sad

Friend for Life Joined: 07 Jul 2010 Posts: 6729

Gerrie wrote:

Soooooo ... how does one worm count???

These are the results I've had back this week for Poppy. She is done every three months Gerrie.