Do you vaccinate your dog/dogs?

[rleng616]

Hey!

Thanks for all the info. I'm a newbie and learn a lot from you folks!!

[debbiebrown]

my senior dog is 11 years, and he has alot of health problems, i made the concious dicision this year not to vaccinte him anymore, as i do not want to aggrivate his ammune system further.
he has had regular shots his whole life, and if he is not immune now to all the stuff he's been given boosters for then he never will be.
he doesn't go to many places anymore. he's pretty much a house dog except for rides, and walks in the neighborhood.
debbie.. [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[Tom & Jake]

Jake gets all his shots, and our previous dog got all her shots and lived 16 years so I'll stick with what works.

[dogangel]

We give our babies all the shots the vet suggests (which is basically all of them). And this is not because we're paranoid (which in fact we are when it comes to our puppers), but our vet is a friend of ours, and we know he doesn't do it just for the sake of money, but because he really believes all these shots are necessary.

[ILGHAUS]

My chow will now only get a rabies shot. She is 9 years old. The boys are going on a new schedule. My county requires a rabies shot every year though I have heard that they are thinking of a two year shot--yeah we have to be different than everyone else. I will probably do a parvo every 2-3 years since it is so bad in our area.

I was reading that most of the larger vet schools are now going to fewer shots. Does anyone have any links on these reports. I have misplaced mine.

[GSDBESTK9]

Originally posted by Tom & Jake:
Jake gets all his shots, and our previous dog got all her shots and lived 16 years so I'll stick with what works.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Well, guess what, my grandparents dog NEVER had any shots and lived to be 20 years, and no I am NOT KIDDING. They had to put him down because the poor thing was blind, deaf and could hardly get up but the darn dog would not die on his own!!! [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img]

[gsdsar]

I ma so weird about this to be honest. Mine get vaccinated every 3 years. My cats just get rabies shots and the new kitten i got just got the series and then will go for a while before revaccinating.

There is anecdotal evidence for both sides of the story though. For example my vet has a dog that just turned 17 she is vaccinated for everything every year and has been fed 'Fit and Trim' for most of her adult life. And then theres the Ridgeback that was only vaccinated as a puppy and dies of a brain tumor 2 weeks ago at the young age of 6 years.

There is yet to be any scientific proof as to the benfits or risks of either endevour, so when asked, I tell people to do what they feel comfortable with. The avergae life span of pets has dramically increased with all the advancements in the medical field in the last 20 years. Talk to any vet that has been in business for 20 years or more and they will tell you that just 10 years ago a lot more dogs were dieing of Distemper and Parvo then they are today, because of the vaccines. So is your dog really healthier because they are not getting the Distemper vaccine? Or because 95% of the other dogs ARE, so yours just have not come in contact with the virus? I dont know? I ma not sure anyone does.

Just do what makes you comfortable, I dont think either side is right or wrong, but int eh end it will be you seocnd guessing your choice if your dog gets Distemper or parvo because of not being vaccinated or cancer or Auto immune isses from being over vaccinated. Weigh each side carefully and do what feels right.

[Shenzi]

Heidi gets rabies, distemper and whatever else the vet thinks she needs but not Bordatella since we never board her.. she either comes with us or stays home. Shenzi however gets the whole lot of them, she gets boarded when we leave so she has to have the distemper.

[Shenzi]

Originally posted by Shenzi:
Shenzi however gets the whole lot of them, she gets boarded when we leave so she has to have the distemper.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">** I mean the bordatella, its hard keeping track of all these shots they get and which years they need them!

[dantesmom]

I only vaccinated Dante with the puppy shots and the first year rabies when he was six months old. Since I go to a holistic veterinary, we will do titers from now on. The vet told me that German Shepherd's livers cannot handle the toxins that the vaccinations produce. When Dante got the rabies vaccine, it was followed by a thuja.

J.Lynn and Dante