puppy vaccines

[Tessthepest]

has anyone ever bought vaccines online for their pups? i would like to give them their 1st shots myself and would like suggestions on good reputable sites where i could purchase them in canada. any suggestions?

[Jynx]

I have vac'd my dogs before, however, I never vac my puppies. I let the better equipped experts do that.

I guess my question to you would be, have you ever vac'd a dog(s) before? If not, it's not as easy as it sounds.

2nd, are you prepared to deal with a puppy if they have an adverse reaction to a vac?

In my opinion, it's much safer to allow your vet to do vac's especially on puppies, if you've never done them before.

good luck
diane

[bubbatd]

They were available when I had litters ( not through the internet of course ) but I felt safer going to the vet....I personally wouldn't take the chance unless it was a highly recommended company . Besides , I always wanted my pups vet checked and have follow-ups if neccessary .

[Tessthepest]

i went to college to be a vet assistant and worked in a clinic for a while, so i have experience there, and have given them before, i've just never purchased vaccines online before, so thats really only my main concern

[bubbatd]

Tess,, it's not the giving of shots , but the vaccine you get . Is it pure --- has it been controlled temperature wise ...etc etc. To me it's not worth the few $$ savings .

[Tessthepest]

thats why i was asking if anybody knew of any good reputable places to get them, and what there experiences were with doing that. i dont want to just get some cheap vaccines from some random site just to save a few bucks.

[AnimalLoverCatRescuer]

I rescue so I vaccinate myself, it saves a FORTUNE when you are doing multiples and it is simple to do as long as you know where to give it and how to do it. Since you have training (I am also in vet assistant school, but I have been doing it for a lot longer) so you shouldn't have any problems. I pick them up from local tractor supply stores or grain and feed stores. Is there anywhere near you like that?

[Tessthepest]

yeah but i don't think they sell vaccines... i'll call tomorrow and ask

[GlassOnion]

I buy mine at the local feed store. I've used them for a myriad of things in the past and I trust them to keep the vaccines fresh.

The only problem with the combo shots is if the dog has a reaction, it's hard to tell exactly which vaccine it was that it had a reaction to. But if no break out, no problem.

[bubbatd]

Is it worth the savings ??

[AnimalLoverCatRescuer]

In my opinion yes. I know what I am doing and how to vaccinate. I have done it many times. The vaccines are stored in the fridge at the feed store, I buy them and bring them home and they are kept in the fridge. Some people argue that you don't know how they were handled at the feed stores, but you don't see how they are handled at the vet either.

It is absolutely worth the savings IMO.

[Miakoda]

but you don't see how they are handled at the vet either.


Maybe not, but I can guarantee you that at our clinic as soon as those boxes arrive, they are immediately unpacked & all vaccines shelved in the appropriated refridgerators. If those boxes are on the floor longer than 5 minutes, 1 of our bosses (or both if you can a particularly bad day....both are vets) is going to have your ass for it. And any vaccines that come in warm are immediately sent back & the company is contacted. Most vaccines have a 72 hour shelf life after the vaccine has it room temperature. This means that the vaccine is still good for 3 days. However, it cannot be put back in the fridge once it already hits room temp as it does no good.

On the other hand, I've got a friend who worked at a local popular feed store for many years & she explained that all boxes received that day get put into the back until the end of the day or even until early morning of the next day. She has said herself that often times the vaccines were warm or iffy to her yet they were stocked & sold anyways.

But to each his own.

EDIT: I want to add that I am not against home vaccinations, but I do pressure people to buy from reputable sources & to learn how to properly do so before attempting on their own.

My favorite was when a guy came in with the powder portion of the vaccine & explained that he injected his dog with the liquid (the conjugate) but couldn't figure out how to get the powder part into the syrgine & wanted us to do it for him.

People need to understand that the rabies vaccines, canine 7in1s, 8in1s, etc. & the feline 4in1s, etc. are SUB-Q (subcutaneous) vaccines meaning they are meant to be given directly under the skin, not in the muscle tissue.

People need to be shown how to properly pull up the skin in the appropriate area so as to not have the needle go all the way through but rather under the skin in the desire location. Not to mention that many people stick themselves with the needle when not using the correct method.

[Tessthepest]

EDIT: I want to add that I am not against home vaccinations, but I do pressure people to buy from reputable sources & to learn how to properly do so before attempting on their own.

Which is exactly what i am trying to do, i know how, and have experience giving vaccines, its the buying them from a reputable source that i need help with... not having a lot of luck there...

[Jynx]

I will answer your first Q, when I purchased vac's (I no longer vac my dogs)
I got them from Foster & Smith, tho maybe a 'tad' higher than other sources out there, I felt (feel) Foster & Smith are a reputable company to deal with.
Diane

[MafiaPrincess]

My favorite was when a guy came in with the powder portion of the vaccine & explained that he injected his dog with the liquid (the conjugate) but couldn't figure out how to get the powder part into the syrgine & wanted us to do it for him.

Some one on a forum a month ago had a friend inject the dilute into the pups, and threw out the powder.. When I explained that the dogs need to be re vaccinated as they weren't vaccinated the first time she lurked and didn't reply. Hope she had it done properly after that..

[GlassOnion]

My favorite was when a guy came in with the powder portion of the vaccine & explained that he injected his dog with the liquid (the conjugate) but couldn't figure out how to get the powder part into the syrgine & wanted us to do it for him.

Lol that's pretty funny. Almost as good as the lady who asked me, while I'm holding a jar of alcohol and a heartworm infested heart, if the dog survived.


But really giving vaccines isn't rocket science. The only parts I can see a slightly educated person getting hung up on was what subcutaneous means (in terms of where to stick em) and that a cc is the same as a ml. But they'd know the latter if we weren't on the **** Imperial system.

I'm pretty sure that most vaccine combos even state, in the instructions, what you need to do to make the vaccine and some even have a diagram as to how to apply it.

[AnimalLoverCatRescuer]

People need to understand that the rabies vaccines, canine 7in1s, 8in1s, etc. & the feline 4in1s, etc. are SUB-Q (subcutaneous) vaccines meaning they are meant to be given directly under the skin, not in the muscle tissue.


Rabies vaccines are IM not SubQ, it goes directly into the muscle in the back of the leg. Believe me, I did a ton of them at the dog pound. You cannot order those yourself. It has to be done by a vet by law.

[GlassOnion]

Rabies can be done either way. We do them SC at the clinic I work at.

Some shots it makes a difference on. Rabies, it doesn't. Or not a big enough difference.

And yah rabies has to be done by the vet. People always ask why they can't do them or why we can't sell them a box of the rabies vaccines (we have tons of boxes full with the vaccines in the back fridge), etc and so forth.

Also the rabies requirement changes from place to place. A client (who had moved from up north) accused me of bold faced lying to her and scamming her out of money when I told her she had to get her dog vaccinated for rabies again only a "mere" year later. 3 years will swing it in some places, but SE Texas is not one of them.