help with dog vaccination fees

[monkee12]

Maybe so, however something that is advised by my vet I will do, if the doctor recommends I have a yearly vaccination then I will (probably pass out however as scared of needles lol) it's up to others what they do but for me, I would worry to much lol x

 

[~RedLily~]

My two old dogs only had the ones as puppies as well. Unless they are going to go to kennels I won't bother, they never leave the farm so don't think it's necessary. If I lived in a city where I was walking them on the streets I would look into vaccines more.

 

[midori1999]

It is extremely irresponsible to simply not vaccinate your dog. There are some very serious outbreaks of parvo in the UK at the moment and dogs can easily die from this.

I do not agree with over vaccinating, but you cannot simply just assume that your dog is immune. If you do not want to over vaccinate or vaccinate unnecessarily, then the responsible thing to do is to get a titre test done to see if your dog is immune and only vaccinate if they are not.

My own dogs haven't been vaccinated for years as they haven't needed to be. However, I still blood test each year to check, I'm not prepared to put my pets at risk either from unnecessary vaccinations or allowing them to contract diseases they could be vaccinated against.

 

[monkee12]

It is extremely irresponsible to simply not vaccinate your dog. There are some very serious outbreaks of parvo in the UK at the moment and dogs can easily die from this.

I do not agree with over vaccinating, but you cannot simply just assume that your dog is immune. If you do not want to over vaccinate or vaccinate unnecessarily, then the responsible thing to do is to get a titre test done to see if your dog is immune and only vaccinate if they are not.

My own dogs haven't been vaccinated for years as they haven't needed to be. However, I still blood test each year to check, I'm not prepared to put my pets at risk either from unnecessary vaccinations or allowing them to contract diseases they could be vaccinated against.

Good points, however yearly boosters wouldn't be recommended if dangerous, my cousin has a labrador who has never been vaccinated and is perfectly fine (age 11 now I think) yet my vet and breeder (accredited by KC) recommend having them done, if my breeder didn't recommend them then I would probably not bother, however she has nothing to gain from me doing them or not. What dogs do you have if you don't mind me asking? x

 

[midori1999]

It is extremely irresponsible to simply not vaccinate your dog. There are some very serious outbreaks of parvo in the UK at the moment and dogs can easily die from this.

I do not agree with over vaccinating, but you cannot simply just assume that your dog is immune. If you do not want to over vaccinate or vaccinate unnecessarily, then the responsible thing to do is to get a titre test done to see if your dog is immune and only vaccinate if they are not.

My own dogs haven't been vaccinated for years as they haven't needed to be. However, I still blood test each year to check, I'm not prepared to put my pets at risk either from unnecessary vaccinations or allowing them to contract diseases they could be vaccinated against.

Good points, however yearly boosters wouldn't be recommended if dangerous, my cousin has a labrador who has never been vaccinated and is perfectly fine (age 11 now I think) yet my vet and breeder (accredited by KC) recommend having them done, if my breeder didn't recommend them then I would probably not bother, however she has nothing to gain from me doing them or not. What dogs do you have if you don't mind me asking? x

I have Golden Retrievers, I show/breed/work them, although not so much working these days.

The chances of an adverse vaccine reaction are pretty low. However, they can and do happen. Of course, vets and vaccine manufacturers want people to continue vaccinating yearly, it makes them money! However, most vaccine manufacturers are now recommending 3 yearly vaccines in most cases. Vaccine manufacturers and plenty of vets too in fact, recognise that yearly blood testing for immunity and only vaccinating when needed is the ideal scenario. However, you can see from this thread why they are reluctant to recommend this as people then start to think they simply don't need to vaccinate their pets and so incidences of things such as parvo begin to increase again.

Some vaccines are less effective than others. For example, Kennel Cough only protects against a couple of the many strains, as does lepto. (in fact some of the lepto vaccines protect against strains we don't even have in the UK!) Plus, the lepto vaccine lasts for up to a year, but many dogs will not be protected by it well before then and that could be for half of every year, since lepto is boosted yearly.

Plus, a percentage (around 5%) of dogs that are vaccinated will not actually become immune, which is one of the reasons we hear of vaccinated dogs contracting the diseases they were vaccinated against. This is why when you have a rabies vaccine in the UK in order to travel abroad with your dog you must have a blood test to insure the dog became immune before being allowed back in the UK.

 

[monkee12]

Aww, yeah my dog has a yearly blood test included in the PHC we have, she's also had kennel cough (had to go in a kennel) and has had rabies since we are in the army. Personally though, I would never not vaccinate.

 

[midori1999]

The blood test the tests for immunity is specific and wouldn't be tested for in a normal blood test.

If your dog is titre tested immune, it's pointless to vaccinate. The dog's immune, it can't become more immune, so the dog is then put at risk for no reason.

 

[monkee12]

Good luck with what ever choice you make OP, maybe speak to vets and see if they will do a payment plan or speak to R.S.P.C.A and see if they can help I will always vaccinate my pets however until advised not to by a vet x