Home vaccinations

[Saje]

I was wondering if anyoen vaccinates their dogs at home. I just found I can buy Vanguard 5/CV-L here http://www.petpharmacare.com/?go=searchresult

It's $150 for 25 doses. :eek: Obviously I can't use them all lol but would you vaccinate at home? I've done horses before but not dogs.

[elegy]

why would you want to? imo, even more important than the vaccine that your dog gets from the vet is the vet visit itself, the full physical exam that can reveal problems you weren't aware of.

[bittervanityx]

Yami gets done at home because I don't like taking him where other male dogs will be unless I actually have too, and stress from going their may interfere with the vaccines, causeing various side effects. My mom does it for Yami, because shes a RN. And vaccine giving is pretty much the same in humans and animals.

If your going to be giving a Rabies Vaccine you need to watch your dog carefully for a few hours after for an anaphylactic reaction. They can be fatal.

"The most serious short term problem which could happen is a strong allergic (anaphylactic) reaction. These reactions typically occur anywhere from 5 minutes to several hours after the vaccination is given. In dogs, this generally has one or more of the following symptoms: hives, extreme itchiness of the face and skin, red splotches on the skin, pale tongue and gums, difficulty breathing, and sudden weakness. Although an antihistamine may help slow down the reaction, if your dog has any of these signs it is very important to have him or her checked out as soon as possible. Cats rarely have this type of reaction, but it is possible and should be examined if noticed."

You can buy single doses at the right website. The only thing is depending on what state you live in you may need a vet prescription for the needed syringes.

why would you want to? imo, even more important than the vaccine that your dog gets from the vet is the vet visit itself, the full physical exam that can reveal problems you weren't aware of.


Just make sure you take your doggie to the vet to get check ups and things like that, because like elegy stated, you can never know.

[Saje]

Why would I want to? Because I have four large dogs and it's a handful to bring them all to the vet at once. I don't always have time to take them in separately plus I have to pay for each vet visit if I bring them in separately.

[Saje]

I'm in Canada and I don't think there will be a problem with syringes. I've given them to horses a lot and am comfortable with needles especially if my bf is there to help. I also, don't like to bring all of my dogs where they have contact with other dogs. Especially if I bring them all at once! It's stressful.

Yami gets done at home because I don't like taking him where other male dogs will be unless I actually have too. My mom does it for me because shes a RN. And vaccine giving is pretty much the same in humans and animals.

If your going to be giving a Rabies Vaccine you need to watch your dog carefully for a few hours after for an anaphylactic reaction. They can be fatal.

"The most serious short term problem which could happen is a strong allergic (anaphylactic) reaction. These reactions typically occur anywhere from 5 minutes to several hours after the vaccination is given. In dogs, this generally has one or more of the following symptoms: hives, extreme itchiness of the face and skin, red splotches on the skin, pale tongue and gums, difficulty breathing, and sudden weakness. Although an antihistamine may help slow down the reaction, if your dog has any of these signs it is very important to have him or her checked out as soon as possible. Cats rarely have this type of reaction, but it is possible and should be examined if noticed."



You can buy single doses at the right website. The only thing is depending on what state you live in you may need a vet prescription for the needed syringes.

[bittervanityx]

http://www.1800petmeds.com/all.asp?LV=15

you can buy single doses.

You need to get Overnight shipping or 2-day because they will either be in a cooler or on a refrigerated truck/plane.

[showpug]

I vaccinate all my dogs at home. I wouldn't have it any other way and my vet is fine with it. When you have a lot of dogs, it's just easier. It doesn't replace their regular veterinary care when they need it.

You can buy single doses as well...

[bubbatd]

I was torn when I had more than 3 , but vetted anyway . The vets have given me follow up shots to give at home ( I did horses too ) ....I was able to take all Goldens in at once , but know if I had trouble ( or was preggie ! ) I could leave 2 in the car and an assistant would help me switch .

[Saje]

Thanks guys. :) Do you know if there are any problems shipping to canada? I only know of the one in Canada that ships pet meds and they don't have single doses. I don't know if customs would have a problem with vaccines being shipped across the border. Somehow I think they will.

[showpug]

I have no idea who will ship to Canada, but here are some of the sites I order off of...

http://www.revivalanimal.com/default.asp
http://www.valleyvet.com/ct_pet.html
http://www.jefferspet.com/ssc/default.asp?CID=0&mscssid=KA1PLP2F151U9PM7NUP8C3UEL7NWEXM6

Keep in mind that a lot of livestock feed stores carry single dose canine vaccines as well that you can purchase.

[GlassOnion]

Vaccinate my animals at home too. I buy the stuff from our local feed store (it's the same stuff we use at the clinic I work at). It comes with a syringe, I go home, draw up the shots, coax over my dogs with coos and strange noises, poke them, and they're off.

[Red_ACD_for_me]

Even if I did do them at home I would still bring my dog to the vet "every" year for a checkup and to have a titer test done to see if he even needs them ;)

[Debi]

everybody here does their own. it's a big trip to the vet..any vet. mine is fine with it, just asks for dates, etc to mark on their chart. you can't give your own rabies here, tho...so it's off to the rabies clinic they hold annually at the fire department (which it's my vet, so it's great) for a whopping $6. then we do the check-ups at the vet's office annually. my old vet wouldn't accept anything you did yourself and would insist on it needing done again...no wonder he's my OLD vet. LOL

[DryCreek]

I don't think they allow the vaccines to be shipped over the border. We would get ours shipped to a friend in detroit and have him drive them over.

Are not the vaccines given to people IM? With dog shots they are given SQ. The most important step in giving a vaccine to a dog is to draw back on the syringe before injecting to make sure you have not hit any blood vessels. You can buy your syringes as your local co-op/feed store.

Our vet would come to the yard to do the rabies vaccine. Each dog would get a look over at the same time.

[DanL]

We've always given our own. The only thing we can't do is rabies. For Daisy we are vetting her because we don't want to give the 5 way or 7 way shots which is all we can get at the feed store. We're only going to vaccinate her for parvo and distemper, with 2 weeks between each shot, as recommended/required by her breeder.

None of our dogs are going to get booster shots, we'll do titers and then revaccinate if needed.

As far as routine vet care goes, once a year is all we do.

[Saje]

Yeah I don't want to give boosters every year. I don't think they need it and I've read too much about over vaccinating. How did you come to your decision not to give all the boosters Dan? Do you have any good resources?

[Rosefern]

Our rescue group does our own vaccinations.

Dogs:
-Rabies
-Bordatella ((Tracheobronchitis)(Commonly known as Canine Cough or Kennel Cough)
-DHPP (Distemper, Hepatitis, Parainfluenza, Parvo)(Commonly known as Canine Distemper)

Cats:
-Rabies
-FVRCP (Feline Viral Rhinotracheitis, Calicivirus, Panleukopenia)(Commonly known as Feline Distemper)

All of the vaccinations are done by one of the volunteers who is a CVT, except for rabies, which is done by the vet at the initial exam, only because the vet, because we're a rescue group, will do a reduced cost of the exam and the shot. It's easier to get it done there.

We also test for heartworm, FelineLuk, and FIV ourselves.

I would only recommend doing home vaccinations if you have been trained to give injections, and have the knowledge about vaccinations, only because so many things can go wrong.

-Rosefern

[showpug]

My vet only recommends vaccinating once every 2-3 years, so I generally follow that protocol at home...

[Saje]

Do you do rabies every year though or not?

[DanL]

Saje, just what was recommended by our breeder and other reading we've done on overvaccination. Of course if one of them shows low immnunity via a titer test, then we'll give a booster, but I really don't believe that yearly boosters are needed and in many cases are harmful. Things like corona or bordatella are completely unnecessary depending on where you live- why vaccinate for something that doesnt' exist in your area? Bordatella- if you board your dogs, then give it, if not, why?

Also the point about the 5 way or 7 way shots our breeder made was great- how many times do you get those diseases at the same time? Never. So the dog doesn't know what to fight against with the vaccination. That's why we're giving the one at a time shots.

Rabies- here, you get one at 6 months that is a 1 year, then after that you can get a 3 year which is what we do.

[Saje]

That sounds right. I'm not sure what I'm going to do but I do want them all to be on a similar schedule. Right now they are all over the place!!! I don't really do annual boosters regularly but I don't have a plan behind it either <sigh> Any thoughts on heartworm?

[DanL]

We were told a couple things about heartworm 1: the pills are good for 45 days, not 30 as they tell you. 2: it's transmitted by mosquito. No mosquitos, no risk. So we don't give it over the winter.

[Saje]

I've been wondering about that in Canada... we don't deworm our horses in the winter! Or get fleas really

[SharkyX]

Saje... in Alberta you'd probably only need to administer for 6 months of the year. I typically start at the beginning of may and go from there for a heartworm... I use Interceptor but different people like different things... that's simply the one my vet recomended.

Further to our conversations last night, alot of the vaccines say every 3 years (There is one 7 way vaccine that everyone recomends every 3 and not any more then that).
Find out from some of the american companies if they can ship to Canada, if not you'll have to find companies in Canada who supply these kinds of things. Unfortunately most everybody I know who does this lives in the states so I don't know how there experiences have been about crossing the border.

In some places you cannot give your own rabbies vac. Or if you do it won't be recognized by your vets office, animal control or border crossings if you ever need to go into the US.
Find out from your vet now or any local authority who would know as to whether you can administer your own rabbies vaccinations if thats one that you want to do.

[Saje]

Hm. maybe I should find a vet that is within walking distance of wherever we move :p

I'll email some of those companies and see what they say :)

[hbwright]

I'm so glad we have a mobile vet. I loved taking Cleo to the vet and she loved it too. She thought it was a real treat. Summer can't stand it. The car ride, vomiting, strange people, yuck to all of it. The mobile vet takes care of it all (aside from the nasty teeth cleaning we need to schedule).

BTW--Anybody know why a vet would only do one year rabies shots instead of 3 for adults? Cleo's old vet did this and I never understood.

[SharkyX]

Old vaccines and research demonstrated you needed to administer the vaccine once a year. Newer vaccines and more potent formulas and a better medical understanding overall have allowed to give a larger time frame in the vaccine.
Also our knowledge of over vaccinating has increased which is something that wasn't an issue as we didn't have any knowledge on the subject from years past.

The old vet may still have used an older formula or simply be stuck in there way in regards to vaccinating yearly.

[Lizmo]

I have thought about Vacs at home, in the future. Lots of good info here

Thanks for posting Saje! :)

[Saje]

I definitely don't think vaccinating at home would replace vet visits. ALL of my dogs have been to the vet in the last year outside of vaccinating. Maybe it's a worried mom thing lol but I always take them if i'm worried.

[SharkyX]

Well no as much home medical stuff as you can do, it's never as good as bringing your dog to the vet... unless you or somebody close to you happens to be a vet and can come to your home to have a look.

Vaccines don't cure things like ear infections, sprained wrists and so on :p

[Red_ACD_for_me]

Do you do rabies every year though or not?
Massachusetts where I live does every 3 years..............I know some states do every year.

[Angel Chicken]

I vaccinate at home as well..

Much cheaper, and easier on us, as Kona doesn't like the vet since she was spayed.

We still take her for her exams, and a rabies shot yearly, though :)

[Jynx]

I used to vac all mine at home, my vet also was fine with this, they still had their yearly check ups, and HW test thru the vet. Rabies had to be done by the vet.


Now I don't do any vac's only the rabies, I titer them. But vac'ing at home was much easier on the dogs stress wise.
diane

[Julie]

I vaccinate all my dogs at home. I only do it every two to three years though. With any pups I follow my vet reccomendations, but after that dog reaches two years, I don't follow the "every year" plan.

I get rabies shots at the local "rabies clinics" for about 5 or 6 dollars. That is every three years after the dog gets his second rabies shot as an adult.

I also do preventative dewormings at home.... They charge so much more at the vets for the same thing. And with multiple dogs it does save money to do some things for yourself. :)

I now have a great vet, that works with me, and actually recognizes the preventative treatments I give at home. I take the records I do with me, they just copy them, and put them in their folders.
My OLD vet wanted to "redo" all shots before he treated them, how is that for the animals best interest?

The boarding kennel I have used a couple times also recognizes the "home given" shots as long as you keep records and the labels from the shot bottles.

I also buy all flea meds online.

My dogs also go for checkups.... but usually there is no need for any extras that really send your bill to the stars.... :D

[Denaluvscorgis]

I did it once and found out that it was only a few dollars more to have the vet do it...and also benefit from the check up.