Vaccinations?

I have just had Bruce's reminder through for his vaccinations. He is 14 months old.
There seems to be a difference of opinion if the vaccinations are necessary or not.
Do you vaccinate or not?

Thanks, Chris

I vaccinate every year and my dog is now 13. However, I have heard that in most dogs it is only necessary every 3 years. Also that the majority of dogs who get the diseases are dogs who never had their first injections as a pup. How true that is I dont know.

Mine was in contact with a lot of dogs through out his life by going to different training clubs and walking with family and friends dogs, I never wanted to risk it. I dont think I would be able to live with myself if I didnt get his booster and then he got one of these diseases.

He also doesnt seem to be effected by boosters like some dogs are. And if you leave his booster for the 3 years then the vet will want to start from the beginning again, i.e the 1st injections puppies get.

So really I guess you just have to decide for yourself what you want to do, I dont suppose that helped

We vaccinate for the first 8-9 years of life then unless there is a compelling case we stop.
By then I think they have enough immunity of their own - I think you can get a blood test done to test that perhaps others can advise ?

There is a difference of opinions on the necessity of continuous vaccinations, and from a personal view point , i feel its not necessary......BUT, you need to ask yourself this question will you use boarding kennels for your dog in the future, and if the answer is yes, you will have to continue to have regular vaccinations.

oh also if you dog is insured then read the small print as some companies wont insure your dog unless they are regularly vaccinated, or your policy maybe nil and void if your already insured and dont keep up with vaccinations.

I went in to chat to my vet the other day about vaccinations - my lot are due and I only want lepto updated. Apparantly, my vets do it on a rotational basis so it's lepto one year, full vaccs the next and so on (they have only been doing this for around 18 months). My lot are due their full boosters but I still feel every 2 years is too much.

In the end I still forgot to ask if it was possible to just have lepto instead of a full booster, prices are apparantly the same at my vets no matter what you have.

Our insurance company will cover an un-vaccinated dog - they just won't cover any treatment caused by the diseases that the vaccines cover.

Many vaccine manufacturers now claim their vaccines provide immunity for at least 3 years.

I use kennels and one of mine has lapsed, he went over by 8 weeks and they were insisting he needed a full double dose so I've put it off until just before he goes into kennels again. The only problem will be if he needed to be kennelled in an emergency but I'd just make other arrangements for him.

You can get a tite test, I think its called which is a blood test which gives the vet an idea about the anti bodies present in the blood. These are more expensive than vaccinations though.

It's a tricky issue. I do not let Dexter have any vaccinations at all. Firstly because he tends to react intensely to any medical treatment, even anti biotics and anti inflammatories.

Secondly, many of the vaccs don't last a year anyway. And with Lepto, I believe there are different strains? So if your dog is not vaccinated against the specific one active in your area, they have no immunity.

Thirdly, I don't recall my previous dog ever needing yearly vaccs; not ever. It seems to be a more recent thing - who recommended it? Was it the companies who produce the vaccinations....?!