Vaccinations for your dog - annual?

Once puppy shots are done I give a booster at 1 year, and then titer every few years. My dogs only get distemper/parvo if the titer comes back low, and then they only get the low titer. I never give Lepto. Rabies is required by law and I push that to max, every 3 years in my state. I've only ever given Bordatella once, and will never give it again, it's unneccessary. Like someone said earlier only a couple strains of it are covered. Bordatella is the equivalent of a human cold. The only reason kennels require it is for their own liability, so that if your dog does come down with it after boarding they can say and you'll believe it didn't come from there since they were vaccinated. Over vaccination can wreak havoc on the dog's immune system, and the more they're vaccinated the more the risk of having a reaction to them goes up. Vaccinating a dog that already has a high titer doesn't increase immunity at all. I find it disturbing that as far back as 30 years ago changes were being recommended against yearly vaccination, yet many vets still push for doing it yearly. Here's an interesting article that talks about vaccines, it also includes an interesting study by Banfield. That study shows in increase in disease, Banfield's conclusion was that it was because of fewer vet visits. I don't buy that reason at all, more likely causes are over vaccination, improper diets, and lack of owner education.http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/yearly-vaccination-banfield-report/ Another interesting article about Bordatella, which finds that dogs vaccinated for this can actually shed the disease and infect unvaccinated dogs, and more, that article is scary. http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/bordatella-vaccination-dogs/ Be sure to also check out the information posted about Dr. Jean Dodds she's an expert in the field, and a great to talk to as well. Very friendly and helpful lady. :) ETA: Just came across this article about a Purdue study this morning http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/purdue-vaccination-studies/

Most areas only require a rabies vaccine every 3 years after the first year. Other vaccines are at your discretion. We do full puppy vaccinations, then rabies at 1 year, 2 years and then every 3 years. We do Lepto and distemper yearly as recommended by our vet for our area. There are titer tests which can measure your dogs antibody levels if you are concerned about overvaccinating.

Dr. Jean Dodds of Hemopet research in california is the utmost authority when it comes to vaccination. Here is the vaccination schedule she recommends; http://www.itsfortheanimals.com/DODDS-CHG-VACC-PROTOCOLS.HTM

The standard now in general is every 3 years. This is for adult dogs that have had all their puppy vaccinations. The exception is bordetella if you are taking your dog to places where there is a lot of interaction with other dogs. some boarding kennels are still demanding yearly vaccinations. Many people and vets now feel that the dogs have enough antibodies to last at least 3 years between vaccinations. There are side affects to these medications including possible serious anaphylactic or immune reactions. Mostly it is over kill.

Other vaccinations are useless after the first time. The vaccinations create antibodies in your dog for the entirety of their lifespan. Any vet telling you that you need to get all shots done annually is lying to you. It won't hurt the dog, but it doesn't help anything either. Rabies on the other hand, needs an annual vaccination, so keep doing that one.

For vaccines I follow dr jean dodds advice recommending Rabies as required by law, and three rounds of parvo and distemper shots the last one being optional starting at 9 to 10 weeks, then 14 weeks and last 16 to 18 weeks of age. Given again at 1 year, then titer testing every three years after. All distemper and parvo shots are modified live vaccines. Rabies is not given before 20 weeks of age, but preferably as late as the current law will allow. A rabies 3 year is given at 1 year and will be given every three years till the law changes to require longer time frames between shots or exemptions. Rabies shots are always killed vaccines. I am currently planning on using fort dodge owned by wyeth, which is owned by pfizer, RabVac3 TF(mercury free) in 2013 to see if my dog reacts. If there is another reaction, this will be his last vaccination even if I have to move. That specific vaccine is also aluminum free and that is the only reason I am using fort dodge given their poor reputation in the vaccine/drug world even if they have been bought out by pfizer for years. Bordatella is given only as needed for boarding. Kennel cough is the common cold for dogs and need not be vaccinated against. There are 8 strains and only two are covered in the vaccine so either way, your dog will likely come down with it at some point. And those vaccinated generally get worse symptoms from the infection. Kennel cough is viral and while many vets prescribe antibiotics with kennel cough, the only time they will be effective and not creating drug resistant bugs is if a secondary bacterial infection like pneumonia develops. There are many yahoo groups on vaccines for dogs and other pets if you are interested. jstsayno2vaccs beyondvax There are more groups, but those are the two I follow mostly. I never do combo shots as such an invasion would likely kill a developing immune system. And the combo shots include vaccines I would never need to vaccinate for like lepto, which also has the highest reaction rates for a vaccine and again doesn't protect against active serovars out there. http://www.labbies.com/lepto.htm What kind of research are you looking for? as in rabies challenge fund? Look up the cost difference your vet charges you vs what he/she gets it for. There is a major mark up for one vaccine that likely cost him or her 15 to 20 cents depending on if a person like me walks in and request an order for a specific vaccine or just walks in and gets the vaccine the vet deems needed. I also do rabies 3 to 4 weeks apart from the other vaccine always. I'd rather know what caused my dogs reactions without any confusion on what other vaccine could've cause it.

There have been literally hundreds of studies on dog vaccines and the canine immune system since the 1970s. In all it shows dogs have an active immune system and that other than the bordatella (9 months protection) and rabies (3 to 5 yr) virus they keep the immunity to vaccinated diseases anywhere from 5 to 9 years (distemper, parvo, corona, lepto, etc). So to vaccinate every year after the puppy series and first years booster is an excessive amount and causes more harm than good (look at the increase of canine cancers and diseases since the vaccination issues started). I only vaccinate my dogs after their first year every 3 years when they go in for a rabies shot. I only vaccinate this often because I foster many sick puppies.

I don't waste money to keep vets fat. Do *you* get vaccinated yearly? Rabies only need re-doing to license.

i vaccinate my dogs every 12 months at home.