Vaccinations - Are annual boosters necessary?

I have just skimmed throught the 'are we over-vaccinating' article, which is something I have thought for a long time, and just wondered what thoughts people have on this topic.

I don't understand why Vets ask for animals to have a booster annually. Is it a guarenteed money earner for them?

I have a confession to make. Ozzy (cat) and Bodhi have both had vaccinations as we have had them from Kitten and Puppy. My older cat JessPuss has never had a booster since I have owned her. I acquired her as an adult stray, and she has never had any health problems, and as far as I can remember, only been to the vets once or twice. She is perfectly healthy, although gaining in years, so she will be paying a visit to the vets sometime soon for a check up.

So....

Are annual boosters necessary? In my limited knowledge, I would say no. We don't have annual boosters.. Once the anti-bodies are formed, they are there for a long time, surely?

I don't want to unecessarily give my dog meds, but I don't want to risk her health either...

Opinions?

china is due for her vaccinations and am thinking the same,

our previous dog didnt have boosters and she was fine! not sure what to do...

Both dogs have had both first injections and all boosters.

My Cat had her first injections, and has had nothing since then, and she is 16 years old.

Hi Bodhi if you put the word vaccinations into the search feature at the top of the page you will find lots of threads about it

All the dogs we have had have only ever had their puppy vaccinations an no others whatsoever and they all lived very healthy lives. My sister has never had any of her dogs boostered either and they are nearly 10 now and perfectly healthy. I suppose its up to the individual really. We have also had 3 cats and they never had a vaccination in their lives and were healthy although this was going back a few years.

A lot of vets now only vaccinate with the full vaccine every 3 years and with a lepto vaccine yearly

Mine do that Carole, strange tho seeing as they have different vaccines every year the price never changes

my two boys went for there booster today it cost me £42.86 for both injections medical check up and flea and worm injection i thought this was pretty good

More vets are now offering the three year Intervet option and if yours doesn't ask for it

This is taken from the Intervet site...there is also a link to a special section on Vaccinations

In 2004, Intervet obtained a licence for a dog vaccine with a three year duration of immunity against parvovirus, hepatitis and distemper. Vets using this vaccine - Nobivac® DHPPi - are now able to protect dogs using far fewer vaccine components,
Please note that protection against leptospirosis still requires an annual vaccination with Nobivac® Lepto 2 or equivalent.

http://www.future-of-vaccination.co.uk/index.asp

NB Some people do not agree with vaccinations at all ..read all you can on both points of view then decide what is best for you and your pets. The choice is yours

In a word..... nope Links below might give you something to think about

http://www.truthaboutvaccines.org/
http://www.freewebs.com/novaxx/
http://www.bogartsdaddy.com/bouvier/...oncerns-uk.htm
http://duke.usask.ca/~misra/virology...9vac/home.html
http://www.dogsadversereactions.com/index.html
http://www.imbaliridgebacks.co.uk/healthissues.html
http://www.charlesloopsdvm.com/Vaccinosis.htm