What to do about vaccines?

[olla86]

the problem of vaccine is urgent for us! Thanks for help!

[showluver]

Originally Posted by neonle

don't forget to vaccine your dog twice a year because it may be affected any disease easily and don't forget to give rabies vaccine.

Every 6 months is not necesarry and is definitely over vaccinating.
Bad advice there IMO.

[FoxyWench]

every 6 months?! jeezus...talk about overkill! (and dangerous vaccinosis is horrible!)

i do puppy series but start lat (6, 8 and 12 wks and split everything up, they only get the absolute basics too, no lepto or bordatella. Rabies at 6 months, no earlier (i wait untill absolut last minute, as toy breeds are incredibly prone to serious rabies reaction in general)
then every 12 months titers for the nessicary stuff...

both ruby and jasper had nasty rabies reactions so they are to get rabies titers every 3 yrs and as long as it comes up clear no need ro re-vac for rabies in our current town, they will take titer results + a vets note stating sever reaction as "proof of rabies vac" for lisencing purposes.

i wont re-vac any of my dogs now unless i absolutly need to...titers all the way.

MOST immunities last a lifetime...
i dont see need to revacinate every yr-3 yrs for something there already fully immune to...especially in "sensitive" and small breeds who are more prone to serious vacine reactions.

[Brattina88]

The problem I am having is the vet says that with titers there is no definition of how much immunuty is enough I have to make a decision soon (got a post card stating Maddie is due for everything this month, of course) so I'm doing research, printing out as much information as I can.

Not to mention that I am getting bashed by people who think I am trying to "get out of vaccinating"

[GlassOnion]

I think the 6 month thing is because the IgG antibody (the specific antibodies produced in reaction to an infection) has a half life of 6 months. However, this is also a stupid recommendation because the body can always make more IgG from memory cells. But at least there's some line of thought there, just misguided.

The problem I am having is the vet says that with titers there is no definition of how much immunuty is enough

That's kind of true in some cases, but not all. What'd your vet say about it? Did you ask him why he says that?

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Here's a study done on vaccine reactions in cats. This is without benadryl or any other medication to help eliminate reactions:

Objective—To quantify incidence of vaccination practices, postvaccinal reactions, and vaccine site-associated sarcomas in cats.

Design—Epidemiologic survey.

Animals—31,671 cats vaccinated in the United States and Canada by veterinarians with World Wide Web access.

Procedure—Veterinarians used secure Web-based survey forms to report data regarding administered vaccines, postvaccinal inflammatory reactions, vaccine site-associated sarcomas, and detailed information and history on each sarcoma. Data were collected from Jan 1, 1998 to Dec 31, 2000, allowing a 1- to 3-year follow-up of vaccinated cats.

Results—Participants reported administering 61,747 doses of vaccine to 31,671 cats; postvaccinal inflammatory reactions developed in 73 cats (11.8 reactions/ 10,000 vaccine doses), and qualifying vaccine site-associated sarcomas developed in 2 cats (0.63 sarcomas/10,000 cats; 0.32 sarcomas/10,000 doses of all vaccines).

Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—These findings indicate that the incidence of vaccine site-associated sarcomas is low and is not increasing. Thoughtful consideration of the relative risks and benefits of specific vaccines remains the best means of reducing the incidence of sarcomas. It is not necessary to remove postvaccinal granulomas unless malignant behavior is apparent or they persist > 4 months. (J Am Vet Med Assoc 2002;220:1477–1482)

AVMA - Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association - 220(10):1477 - Abstract

[Brattina88]

Originally Posted by GlassOnion

That's kind of true in some cases, but not all. What'd your vet say about it? Did you ask him why he says that?

No -- to be honest, at the time I was clueless about the whole thing. But I am more prepared this time (hopefully), and will ask further details when I have my next appt

[Bailey08]

Apparently titers aren't the be all and end all, either.

I read these articles recently:
Dolittler: Titers versus vaccines for pets: On vaccine safety and what titers really mean
Titers and Canine Vaccination Decisions

My dog has a compromised immune system, so I probably wouldn't do boosters at all if he didn't go to daycare, where they're required. As it is, his homeopathic vet (who also didn't want to vax him) gave him reduced doses last week. We did rabies, DHP (distemper/hepatitis/parvovirus) and bordatella nose drops (blech). The rabies and DHP were each 3-year vaccines and we do kennel cough annually, thankfully.

ETA: Didn't realize that Christie Keith's article was already on the first page!

[Amanda885]

thank you for posting this..i feel as though vaccines are nothing to go about doing unless you are educated and figure out from all aspects what is best for your pup.