Bordetella?
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IMO no. I wouldn't give it at all if I didn't have to (my dog does go to daycare and they require it), but Bailey doesn't do all that well with vaccines generally.
I don't really understand why vets recommend KC vaccinations every six months for dogs that don't have all that much exposure to other dogs.
I don't really understand why vets recommend KC vaccinations every six months for dogs that don't have all that much exposure to other dogs.
I wouldn't do it in your case.
With us, we are at dog parks weekly, and in general constantly around other dogs and in public places. Jackson has gotten kennel cough twice now, both times were when he had NOT been vaccinated (I let it 'expire'). Whenever he gets the bordatella (up the nose) he never gets kennel cough. So I'm stuck getting it every 6 months, I guess, for now anyways. Kennel cough is annoying to deal with. I keep the rest of his vaccines very very minimal so I'm not extremely worried about it.
With us, we are at dog parks weekly, and in general constantly around other dogs and in public places. Jackson has gotten kennel cough twice now, both times were when he had NOT been vaccinated (I let it 'expire'). Whenever he gets the bordatella (up the nose) he never gets kennel cough. So I'm stuck getting it every 6 months, I guess, for now anyways. Kennel cough is annoying to deal with. I keep the rest of his vaccines very very minimal so I'm not extremely worried about it.
I work around dogs constantly, even go to shelters, and I don't do the bordetella vaccine with Luna. I'm pretty sure she has her own resistance to it by now, she's NEVER gotten kennel cough in the 6+ years I've had her.
We do, of course, give it to the service dogs at work every 6 months. We use an intranasal vaccine that we buy at a feed store, it's much cheaper than the vet.
We do, of course, give it to the service dogs at work every 6 months. We use an intranasal vaccine that we buy at a feed store, it's much cheaper than the vet.
Hrm, it's kind of a tough one.
Yes, your dog isn't likely to get it right now even if unvaccinated (the potential is always there though. It can be aersolized after all).
But, if we get enough people who stop vaccinating their dog for it, then you'll start to get more and more outbreaks and you won't be able to rely on the 'herd' immunity to protect your dog any more. People generally say to that "well I'll vaccinate them then" but that's kind of irresponsible IMO.
I don't really think they need it every 6 months though.
Additionally there's a school of thought (not sure how accurate it is, but just telling you what we learned in micro) that it's an opportunistic, commensal organism and that it can infect at any time if the dog is stressed enough. The thing I wonder then is, if that's true: why vaccinate at all? Because if your immune system is constantly fighting it off, it obviously knows what to do. The answer to that, I believe, is that it's not the immune system that holds it in check normally, but rather competition with other organisms in the dogs upper respiratory flora.
Gonna have to ask about that tomorrow.
Yes, your dog isn't likely to get it right now even if unvaccinated (the potential is always there though. It can be aersolized after all).
But, if we get enough people who stop vaccinating their dog for it, then you'll start to get more and more outbreaks and you won't be able to rely on the 'herd' immunity to protect your dog any more. People generally say to that "well I'll vaccinate them then" but that's kind of irresponsible IMO.
I don't really think they need it every 6 months though.
Additionally there's a school of thought (not sure how accurate it is, but just telling you what we learned in micro) that it's an opportunistic, commensal organism and that it can infect at any time if the dog is stressed enough. The thing I wonder then is, if that's true: why vaccinate at all? Because if your immune system is constantly fighting it off, it obviously knows what to do. The answer to that, I believe, is that it's not the immune system that holds it in check normally, but rather competition with other organisms in the dogs upper respiratory flora.
Gonna have to ask about that tomorrow.
I've never given my dogs bordetella and they get them bathed/groomed professionally every 6 weeks or so. I also had a foster that was recovering from kennel cough (not a severe case by any means - I think I heard him wheeze twice the three weeks I had him) and I had him around my girls. They didn't catch anything from him.
I was told by someone that giving a bordetella vaccine was like giving humans the flu vaccine. Sure, it might protect you...but it might not. (I have never once gotten a flu vaccine in my entire life, and I've never gotten the flu.) Don't know if that is really how bordetella works, but I don't even vaccinate my dogs for the major stuff after their puppy vaccs and yearly boosters, so I'm not going to vacc them for bordetella, either.
I was told by someone that giving a bordetella vaccine was like giving humans the flu vaccine. Sure, it might protect you...but it might not. (I have never once gotten a flu vaccine in my entire life, and I've never gotten the flu.) Don't know if that is really how bordetella works, but I don't even vaccinate my dogs for the major stuff after their puppy vaccs and yearly boosters, so I'm not going to vacc them for bordetella, either.
I don't worry about bordatella. It's not a dangerous illness. My dogs have had KC. They coughed for a couple weeks. They ran around, they played, they ate, they coughed. They got over it.
I've also known a lot of dogs who have gotten KC even though they were vaccinated for it. Which leaves me wondering why bother.
I've also known a lot of dogs who have gotten KC even though they were vaccinated for it. Which leaves me wondering why bother.
I don't bother with it even though my dogs are at training classes, dog trials, flyball tournaments, etc. I might end up getting burned, but for now, I'm willing to take that risk.
Luce did have kennel cough once when I brought Harv home from the shelter. I don't know if she got it at the meet-n-greet just from being in the shelter or if she got it from him even though he never showed symptoms. Mushroom didn't get it. Luce got over it fine on her own, though she did cough so hard she puked on my pillow once.
I vaccinated her once for it after that. She got kennel-coughy-sick from the vaccine. Not in a hurry to repeat that.
The only down side to not giving it regularly would be if I needed to emergency board dogs. Kennels require it. But I also figure I have enough people around me that I could rely on in the case of a true emergency, and I know that most of the kennels here will take a dog who was vaccinated that day, even though the vaccine isn't actually effective at that point.
Luce did have kennel cough once when I brought Harv home from the shelter. I don't know if she got it at the meet-n-greet just from being in the shelter or if she got it from him even though he never showed symptoms. Mushroom didn't get it. Luce got over it fine on her own, though she did cough so hard she puked on my pillow once.
I vaccinated her once for it after that. She got kennel-coughy-sick from the vaccine. Not in a hurry to repeat that.
The only down side to not giving it regularly would be if I needed to emergency board dogs. Kennels require it. But I also figure I have enough people around me that I could rely on in the case of a true emergency, and I know that most of the kennels here will take a dog who was vaccinated that day, even though the vaccine isn't actually effective at that point.
Enzo gets it because she comes to work with me five days out of the week and is exposed to literally hundreds of other dogs. And it's required where I work. Ozzy does not get it, because he doesn't come into contact with other dogs very frequently.
Enzo got kennel cough a week or so after being vaccinated for it the first time, but she hasn't gotten it since. So, I don't really know.
Enzo got kennel cough a week or so after being vaccinated for it the first time, but she hasn't gotten it since. So, I don't really know.
Yes, that's true. But what I meant to say (didn't articulate very well ) was that I was told that, just like the flu vaccine with humans, it may not even protect the dog from that "strain" of kennel cough. Rabies is rabies, but I was told that not all KC strains are equal (just like not all flu viruses are equal).
So when I say "if they are vaccinated with it they may still catch it", I mean that what they caught wasn't even what they were vaccinated for to begin with, because it is a different strain. See what I'm saying, or did that just come out as a big pile of mush?
) was that I was told that, just like the flu vaccine with humans, it may not even protect the dog from that "strain" of kennel cough. Rabies is rabies, but I was told that not all KC strains are equal (just like not all flu viruses are equal). So when I say "if they are vaccinated with it they may still catch it", I mean that what they caught wasn't even what they were vaccinated for to begin with, because it is a different strain. See what I'm saying, or did that just come out as a big pile of mush?
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I do not give it. I have dealt with kennel cough in 2 out of my 6 dogs. Teeny was the worst, but only for one day, coughing and puking every hour for 24 hours. Teeny had been vaccinated against it, Isis (who also had it) had not been. But at the same time that those dogs that contracted it were dealing with kennel cough none of my other dogs had been vaccinated for it and didn't come down with it (as Teeny is the ONLY dog I've ever vaccinated for it).
My vet is very conservative with vaccines, and I appreciate that greatly.
My vet is very conservative with vaccines, and I appreciate that greatly.