Vaccinating your litter

[msvette2u]

FWIW I know several puppies from a litter of 6 month old puppies belonging to a totally "holistic breeder" (raw fed, no vaccines for anyone, no conventional vet care at all) who just came down with parvo and had it not been for extensive conventional vet care,

We had a rescue litter, we kept them in a totally separate area of the house because we had a stray brought to us with severe parvo.
No contact at all, sick pup in ISO, foot washing, etc. Spraying it all down with Trifectant, and bleach. Careful to the max, every precaution.
One of the other litter came down with it - after leaving our home but within the time frame to have gotten it here - which is why I say flies do carry it and can spread it. It had to be a fly (or flies) because we were so careful and everyone ISO'ed. It was fall and flies were bad at that time.
That particular strain was a very bad one and we almost lost the stray (purebred Vizsla) due to it. The puppy who did come down with it after leaving our home did pass away from it, but primarily because the new owner did not take it in for three whole days after the puppy had symptoms Parvo kills by dehydration but also a systemic bacterial infection from the ulceration and loss of protective mucous in the digestive tract and this puppy (from what the vet said) died of the resultant sepsis.
Had she been treated from the first symptom (and yes we do educate the new owners but not all "listen" very well) she might have survived.

[AgileGSD]

I think there is a lot of misunderstanding about how vaccines work or don't work too.

Puppy Shots

Revaccination


There is risk of vaccination of course but for me, I've known far more dogs who had Parvo than dogs who had reactions to Parvo vaccines, let alone fatal or nearly fatal reactions.

My puppies had to have gotten Parvo from it being carried into our yard or home by someone or something. I had read that flies could carry it and certainly wondered if that was a possibility. I'll never know but the experience has certainly changed the way I raise my puppies.

[msvette2u]

In 10yrs. of doing rescue/shelter/rescue, and vaccinating hundreds of dogs/puppies per year, I have seen one possible reaction to a 5-way.

I say possible because she was in our yard and it could have been a bee sting. She had no breathing compromise, just swelling which a Benadryl took care of.

[selzer]

I am too afraid of parvo/distemper to not vaccinate the litter before they leave, and to ensure that the owners know when to get the next set of vaccines. I give the health record with the puppy, along with the wormer, and I usually do the vaccines early enough that I can mark any possible side effects, that any of the pup's might have. At the same time, I think 6 weeks is probably money down the drain, as I expect the pups are probably working under their mother's immunity, and if not, they are not near any other dogs at that point. So, I figure we are ok to seven weeks.

[dawnandjr]

Thanks for the links...AgileGSD...interesting reading

[dawnandjr]

Originally Posted by msvette2u

In 10yrs. of doing rescue/shelter/rescue, and vaccinating hundreds of dogs/puppies per year, I have seen one possible reaction to a 5-way.

I say possible because she was in our yard and it could have been a bee sting. She had no breathing compromise, just swelling which a Benadryl took care of.

The reason we are not vaccinating (over vaccinating) is not about reactions. It is the adverse side affects later in life. Dogs and cats getting cancers, shortened life span, etc. And I know several people will say their dog/cat was vaccinated every year and lived to be 20. Each animal is an individual and should be treated as such. You have to do what is best for that particular animal. There are exceptions.

Also, rescues may or may not have as tight a gene pool as a breeders dogs would.

[AgileGSD]

Originally Posted by dawnandjr

The reason we are not vaccinating (over vaccinating) is not about reactions. It is the adverse side affects later in life. Dogs and cats getting cancers, shortened life span, etc. And I know several people will say their dog/cat was vaccinated every year and lived to be 20. Each animal is an individual and should be treated as such. You have to do what is best for that particular animal. There are exceptions.

Also, rescues may or may not have as tight a gene pool as a breeders dogs would.

Cancers and shortened lifespan are genetic issues in some breeds.

Like I said, I think over vaccination can be an issue. But Parvo is also a very real threat to puppies. And getting Parvo could cause further helath issues as well.

Originally Posted by selzer

At the same time, I think 6 weeks is probably money down the drain, as I expect the pups are probably working under their mother's immunity, and if not, they are not near any other dogs at that point. So, I figure we are ok to seven weeks.

That is the age my litter developed Parvo and they never left home. There's also a lot of misconceptions about how Parvo is and is not spread. Puppies can get Parvo having never seen another dog and having never left their home.

The high titer vaccines are supposed to be able to override the mother's immunity, according to their label.

[VonKromeHaus]

With my litter, we vaccinated at 7 weeks for Parvo and Distemper and then again at 9 weeks when the puppies went to the vet before going to their new homes. I wanted them to have at least 2 shots before going to their new homes. I don't do vaccinations on my dogs unless they are required by law...which is Rabies here. I do Titre tests every year and check immunity, so far no one has needed vaccines since I switched to this way 3 years ago.

My litter has been reported to be very healthy. A few of them are holistic minded people and follow along the same thinking as I do. Others will vaccinate every 3 years and that's that. I don't care which path they choose as long as the dogs are being treated right and are happy and healthy!

[Billie]

IMO, its irresponsible for a breeder to not vaccinate a litter , and worse for them to reccomend the puppies NOT get vaccinations....
At my vet, the majority of pups that come in with parvo- have NOT BEEN VACCINATED or not on proper schedule...
My (lab) litters are vaccinated with NEO-PAR (parvo only) at 5-6 weeks. I reccomend starting the vet shots at 8 weeks, and following vet protocol from there. But not stopping prior to 4 mos.
Maybe for some reason GSDs are different than labs in terms of needing vaccination?, but I know with my GSD pup coming, she will be vaccinated- why risk it, without it....?

[northwoodsGSD]

Billie,
Labs are not any different from most other dogs when it comes to what they need/don't need for vaccinations.
I've involved with Labs for over 30yrs & did limited vacs before it was "cool" & I now follow Dr. Dodd's protocol for all my dogs/puppies.