Vets and Vaccinations! What a headache...

[voidecho]

Seriously, the date (make it no earlier than the 16 week mark, just tell your vet your schedule is such that you can't get in before then) that your vet wants to administer that last distemper/parvo shot insist on a titer instead (you may really have to insist, don't let them bully you) and have them do the rabies shot then. It'll take a good week or longer to get the titer results back, so if it turns out that his antibiody levels AREN'T high enough (which honestly would surprise me), you can easily push that out another couple weeks so that the vaccines aren't on top of each other.

Ok, that vaccine I don't have a problem with (well, I DO, but not the same way), I was worried it was the DHLPP version though, which is basically that Spectra 5 AND the lepto vaccine all in one and I was going to tell you to hit the roof if they'd done that without warning you....

I'll find out exactly what the vet game him Tuesday too. They won't do the rabies shot even a day earlier than 16 weeks here because the county/city won't issue a license then.

He had shots at six weeks and now nine weeks. He's scheduled for another round at 12 and then 15-16. Think I should push the 12 week one another week, doing it at 13 weeks then do a titer at 16 weeks?

I have no plans of taking him out in public until a week after his rabies shot, with the exception of possibly taking him to a puppy training and socialization class. They'll require he's up to date on shots I'm sure.

 

[ruthcatrin]

Exactly what happened was the very confused tech who kept calling Mac a "she", thought he was getting the 15-18 week ahshots. When I went to check out the information wasnt even entered right for the receptionist to bill me. The tech had to leave and come back. Then she just vaguely mentioned she thought he was here for 15-18wk shots when reviewing what shots he would have to return for. Which is when I mentioned I didn't want him having more of the parvo/distemper. When I called back the receptionist checked his records twice and kept repeating that he only got the bordetella and dA2pp and there should've only been one shot, then put me on hold. I'm fairly sure the tech had no intention of telling anyone of her mistake had I not called.

yah.....I'd be an unhappy puppy parent. To put it mildly. The issues with gender, well everyone does that sometimes, but with the records being screwy, AND the mixed up shots....I'd be heading back to get my copy of the rabies stuff, a FULL copy of his medical records and finding a new vet. If you don't feel you have any better options in the area then just be VERY carefull and moniter EVERYthing they do with him...

He had shots at six weeks and now nine weeks. He's scheduled for another round at 12 and then 15-16. Think I should push the 12 week one another week, doing it at 13 weeks then do a titer at 16 weeks?

I have no plans of taking him out in public until a week after his rabies shot, with the exception of possibly taking him to a puppy training and socialization class. They'll require he's up to date on shots I'm sure.

I like that schedule, I personally prefer a minimum of 4 weeks between shots. Maybe its an arbitrary time span, but it does seem to help and I'm not the only one who thinks so.

The taking the pup out in public before all the shots are done is a bit controversial. Most puppy classes here don't require the pup to have had rabies yet, but do require him to have had at least one set of distemper/parvo, but here you can find puppy classes for pups as young as 10 weeks. Personally IMO once they've had a 2nd set of distemper/parvo, SOME public is ok, but still avoid dog parks, petstores, parks/grassy areas with large random dog populations, and other places where there are likely to be large numbers of unknown dogs moving through. I'm of the opinion that the pup NEEDS that experience, the car rides through the drivethru's, the play time with KNOWN HEALTHY dogs in carefully chosen places, strange people exposure, that sort of things. Which isn't to say not to be extra extra carefull lol.

 

[raechiemay]

I haven't read through all the comments yet, so I apologize for any double information I might be giving you. I'd highly suggest finding a new vet. I worked for 2 different vet clinics over the past 9 years. The last clinic I worked for, I just left there about 2 months ago, had 4 veterinarians working there. They all recommended vaccinating a puppy until they reached the age of 16 weeks, 3-4 weeks apart. They would give 3 DHPPs, 2 bordetellas, 2 leptos & rabies at 16 weeks. Most vets I've met will want to wait until the pup is at least 16 weeks before giving rabies, but I have heard of some giving rabies as early as 12 weeks. I have heard some pros & cons about breeders vaccinating puppies, but I honestly feel that its better that the pups get at least 1, maybe 2 (depending on when breeders allow them to go to new homes) distemper/parvo combo shots. And definitely deworming!! We had a lab/chow puppy we rescued last December who came down with parvo. The rescue group claimed they vaccinated her with 1 set & that they dewormed her but when I look back, I don't think they did either. Besides almost dying from parvo she was so heavily infested with roundworms that it took 2 rounds (3 doses each round) of dewormers in a 10 day period to get her parasite free. We really worried about the possibility of Duchess contracting parvo before we brought her home, but luckily we got her from a decent breeder that did give vaccines & dewormed properly. And we cleaned the house really well & bleached everything we could.

The clinic we take Duchess to is very small, maybe 2 vets on staff. The main vet (owner) has been the vet Duchess has seen the most. We take her every 2 weeks. Now with that being said I'm glad we do it that way. She isn't getting the same shots every 2 weeks, one visit she will get distemper/parvo & corona, 2 weeks later she'll get bordetella & lepto. And they alternate until her last visit where she'll get her rabies vaccine. In total she will have gotten 3 dhpps, 3 coronas, 2 bordetellas, 2 leptos, & 1 rabies. However, the one thing I don't agree with is his suggesting to get her spayed at 4 months. I'd honestly like to wait until she's between 6-7 months.

 

[Smart_Family]

I haven't read through all the comments yet, so I apologize for any double information I might be giving you. I'd highly suggest finding a new vet. I worked for 2 different vet clinics over the past 9 years. The last clinic I worked for, I just left there about 2 months ago, had 4 veterinarians working there. They all recommended vaccinating a puppy until they reached the age of 16 weeks, 3-4 weeks apart. They would give 3 DHPPs, 2 bordetellas, 2 leptos & rabies at 16 weeks. Most vets I've met will want to wait until the pup is at least 16 weeks before giving rabies, but I have heard of some giving rabies as early as 12 weeks. I have heard some pros & cons about breeders vaccinating puppies, but I honestly feel that its better that the pups get at least 1, maybe 2 (depending on when breeders allow them to go to new homes) distemper/parvo combo shots. And definitely deworming!! We had a lab/chow puppy we rescued last December who came down with parvo. The rescue group claimed they vaccinated her with 1 set & that they dewormed her but when I look back, I don't think they did either. Besides almost dying from parvo she was so heavily infested with roundworms that it took 2 rounds (3 doses each round) of dewormers in a 10 day period to get her parasite free. We really worried about the possibility of Duchess contracting parvo before we brought her home, but luckily we got her from a decent breeder that did give vaccines & dewormed properly. And we cleaned the house really well & bleached everything we could.

The clinic we take Duchess to is very small, maybe 2 vets on staff. The main vet (owner) has been the vet Duchess has seen the most. We take her every 2 weeks. Now with that being said I'm glad we do it that way. She isn't getting the same shots every 2 weeks, one visit she will get distemper/parvo & corona, 2 weeks later she'll get bordetella & lepto. And they alternate until her last visit where she'll get her rabies vaccine. In total she will have gotten 3 dhpps, 3 coronas, 2 bordetellas, 2 leptos, & 1 rabies. However, the one thing I don't agree with is his suggesting to get her spayed at 4 months. I'd honestly like to wait until she's between 6-7 months.

It's really recommended to wait until at least 18 months to spay a giant breed female. Spaying before then can cause stunted growth, bone and joint issues and a higher likelihood of incontinence.

 

[raechiemay]

Really? I honestly did not know that I was just reading another post.

We spayed our 1st EM at 6 months & she was incontinent. Explains a lot!!

 

[Smart_Family]

Really? I honestly did not know that I was just reading another post.

We spayed our 1st EM at 6 months & she was incontinent. Explains a lot!!

Yea 2 years is ideal but at the very earliest 18 months. The giant breeds don't stop growing until at least 2 years so removing the hormones they need to grow before they are done growing can cause weak bones, joints, and stunted growth. I know several people who didn't wait to get their female mastiffs fixed and they suffered from incontinence for most of their lives.

 

[raechiemay]

Yea 2 years is ideal but at the very earliest 18 months. The giant breeds don't stop growing until at least 2 years so removing the hormones they need to grow before they are done growing can cause weak bones, joints, and stunted growth. I know several people who didn't wait to get their female mastiffs fixed and they suffered from incontinence for most of their lives.

Wow. I'm glad I joined this forum as I probably wouldn't have ever learned that. She was diagnosed with hip dysplasia at 9 months & I believe was having issues with incontinence well before her 1st birthday. We will most definitely wait to spay Duchess until at least 18 months of age. Thank you!

 

[Smart_Family]

You're welcome!

 

[voidecho]

@Ruth - checked the write up from our vet. Lincoln was given Influenza, Bordetella, DA2P-Pv, Drontal Plus, Sentin, & Frontline. Also had a fecal test. Some of the ones they mention they want to do (next visit maybe) include adenovirus-2, lepto and rabies (at 16 weeks).

 

[ruthcatrin]

Unless he's going to have regular access to ponds/streams/rodents I'd seriously suggest putting off the lepto till he's over a year (or just out right skipping it all together). If you decide to go ahead with it now anyway DO NOT do it at the same time as anything else. Please. You should be able to do it as a tech visit which usually costs less than a true vet visit.

My two catch rodents for fun(at least they don't try to bring them inside), plus we're kinda rural so streams etc are all over. So Apollo got his lepto 6weeks after his 1yr rabies booster. I plan to do the same with Arty once he's a year old.

The adenovirus should be the A in the DA2P-Pv, and I'm pretty sure the titer for distemper/parvo also tests for it (it may depend on the lab doing the bloodwork, but I know Cornell includes it).

If you read my post on puppy shots you already know my opinion of the canine flu and kennel cough vaccines (influenza and bordetella, just in case that wasn't clear). Infact, I'm pretty sure that one of the P's in that shot IS the influenza, did they give a seperate shot for that?

---------- Post added at 10:39 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:35 PM ----------

The Drontal is a wormer, thats normal for pups, I don't understand why its normal, but its a normal thing given at newpup visits. It ought to be dependant on a fecal test results, but they never do. Sentin doesn't ring a bell, I'll have to look that one up.

 

[ruthcatrin]

The Drontal is a wormer, thats normal for pups, I don't understand why its normal, but its a normal thing given at newpup visits. It ought to be dependant on a fecal test results, but they never do. Sentin doesn't ring a bell, I'll have to look that one up.

 

[voidecho]

Just looked it up and parainfluenza is one of the P's in DA2P-Pv. They listed a separate charge for Influenza. Hmmmm......

 

[ruthcatrin]

Ask. No harm done for asking, I would like to know their answer though.

 

[voidecho]

I think it's Sentinal for Heartworms.

 

[ruthcatrin]

Edited, never mind lol

 

[voidecho]

As for the Lepto, we do have rats in our town (I've only seen one) and we've had at least one mouse in our house. We also have the Carquinez straight just down the road from me with two dog beaches. The water is a combo of salt and fresh as it's basically a river running into the SF Bay. I'm Lincoln will be down in that water, but not sure if it's "bad" water.

 

[ruthcatrin]

In that case the Lepto vaccine may not be a bad idea. Lepto is carried in the urine of rodents and other infected animals, o idea if it would survive in salt water or not. Just please do the lepto sepereate from everything else.

 

[voidecho]

Thanks for the info. I re-read your big post on vaccines before I head back to the vet.

 

[ruthcatrin]

No problem. All I ask is for the educated choice lol. If you decide he needs this or that vaccine after all, then thats fine, as long as you did your research first!

 

[raechiemay]

I think it's Sentinal for Heartworms.

Sentinel is a once a month pill given orally to prevent heartworms & intestinal parasites. It also has a flea sterilization in it. However, we usually had to tell people that Sentinel would not kill fleas, it just prevents them from reproducing. We use Frontline Plus also to help control fleas.

---------- Post added at 09:23 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:17 AM ----------

Unless he's going to have regular access to ponds/streams/rodents I'd seriously suggest putting off the lepto till he's over a year (or just out right skipping it all together). If you decide to go ahead with it now anyway DO NOT do it at the same time as anything else. Please. You should be able to do it as a tech visit which usually costs less than a true vet visit.

My two catch rodents for fun(at least they don't try to bring them inside), plus we're kinda rural so streams etc are all over. So Apollo got his lepto 6weeks after his 1yr rabies booster. I plan to do the same with Arty once he's a year old.

The adenovirus should be the A in the DA2P-Pv, and I'm pretty sure the titer for distemper/parvo also tests for it (it may depend on the lab doing the bloodwork, but I know Cornell includes it).

If you read my post on puppy shots you already know my opinion of the canine flu and kennel cough vaccines (influenza and bordetella, just in case that wasn't clear). Infact, I'm pretty sure that one of the P's in that shot IS the influenza, did they give a seperate shot for that?

---------- Post added at 10:39 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:35 PM ----------

The Drontal is a wormer, thats normal for pups, I don't understand why its normal, but its a normal thing given at newpup visits. It ought to be dependant on a fecal test results, but they never do. Sentin doesn't ring a bell, I'll have to look that one up.

I haven't had a chance to go read your post about vaccines, I will do that now, but is there some kind of higher reaction risk with mastiffs that I don't know about? I know when I started working in the field the vet that took care of my other dog (dachshund/yorkie mix) said she was totally against vaccinating dachshund & dachshund mixes with the lepto vaccine as they were proven reactors. I know the make up of the vaccine has changed over the years & the vets I used to work for more recently said it was relatively safe but it scared me. I take my little dog, Daisy, with me when I go to Wisconsin in November & I recently, as of last year, decided to have her vaccinated for lepto & lymes disease as my dad's dog passed away due to lymes disease. The lepto vaccine still scares me & when I had Daisy initially vaccinated for it I made them give her a benadryl (???) injection prior to giving the vaccine. She did fine. She did have a little tenderness to the injection site, but that went away within 24-48 hours.