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vaccinations
I have 2 chihuahuas mix and they had their first set of vaccines at age 1 month 1/2 and they had another set done at 4 months, now my question is I think they suppose to get 3 sets of vaccines, my ex-roomate supposed to take them for their 2nd. set, I dont know if she did. so I told the nurse that was going to give them the shot it was going to be their last set of vaccines but not i couldn't find any record of the 2nd. set so they say that is ok for the dogs to walk outside but I'm not so sure. because is being so long in between they just gave them the last set. and they told me their ok for a year now, but my question is that ok?
Best Answer
You should not take a puppy out for at least 2 weeks after the last set of vaccinations have been given. The vet should have given you a card detailing the vaccinations administered and when they were given. If you haven't got this, ask for one, as it is an important record (particularly if you later want to place your dog in boarding kennels, as they should ask you to prove your dog has received all its vacciantions). The vaccination record should list vaccinations being given to protect against Parvovirus, Distemper, Hepatitis and Leptospirosis. There are also vaccinations most vets advise for Kennel Cough and (needed if traveling abroad) Rabies. Check with your vet that these have all been given in the 2 appointments your puppy attended. Tony
Hi Ghilly, my dogs have some kind of a cold, sounds like they have mucus on their nose, nothing is coming out they ( my pupps 4 months old chi) are snoring it in, I have try benadryl because thats what i give my older dogs when is allergy season, only not every day of the year, as soon as I gave those to my pupps they ok but I am worry that they have contracted some bacteria what do u think it could be ? my Vet is on vaccation and he doesnt come back til' tuesday, what should i do?
Azukar, that's great to hear! Thanks so much for the update! Have a great weekend, what's left of it anyway. :)
Ghilly
Ghilly
Hi Ghilly, I took to my pupps to the Dr. yesterday and yes, becacuse they have actually skip the second set of vaccines and they had the last once instead the Dr. told me that they look heathly and they a test to see how is their inmune system and is good so They Dr. recomended to wait a couple of weeks after the shots that they just took. and take them out, Because I have taken very good care of my dog, they inmune system is good they should be ok. thank you again for your answers.
Hi Ghilly. Yes, my reading on vaccinations and boosters has already brought me to that conclusion. Running titers is definitely my next instruction to my vet. Thanks for your wisdom and insight into this - it has completely changed my opinion on annual boosting. I have much more yet to read, but my goal after that will be to try and spread the word ... owners are generally so uninformed about this, certainly in the UK at least. Tony
Hi Tony. :)
Normally the hind leg is used. They grasp the leg and gently stretch it out behind the animal so that it kind of looks like he's trying to hold it out behind him and then they inject the vaccine into the lower part of the thigh muscle. By injecting it in this location, if a tumor does develop, there is enough leg above the injection site to be able to do an amputation and still have enough healthy tissue between the tumor and the point of amputation to make it possible to remove all of the cancer. Hopefully the tumor is found, diagnosed and the leg removed before it metastasizes because if that has happened, then no amount of amputation is going to really help.
Tony, if I were you, I'd have them run titers on my dogs before vaccinating them. You would be amazed at how many normal, healthy dogs with normal immune systems show a strong immunity to disease YEARS after receiving their first booster at a year old. Research has shown that if the puppy is given his puppy shots, followed by a booster at one year of age, he may NEVER need to be vaccinated again, or at least not until he is ready to go into his seniorhood. Sometimes if the immune response is found to be on the low side as a dog begins to age, it's wise to vaccinate and boost 21 days later just to beef up the immunity. At that point, however, after the second shot, it would probably be unnecessary to vaccinate again in his lifetime unless you find he'll be in a situation where he'll be heavily challenged, say, in a kennel situation should you need to board him if you go away and can't take him. Running titers is about the same cost as the vaccines themselves depending on what your vet's schedule of fees is like, and in some places it may cost a bit more, however it's worth it to save your dog from being unnecessarily overvaccinated and to remove the worry of injection site tumors from yearly shots.
Ghilly
Normally the hind leg is used. They grasp the leg and gently stretch it out behind the animal so that it kind of looks like he's trying to hold it out behind him and then they inject the vaccine into the lower part of the thigh muscle. By injecting it in this location, if a tumor does develop, there is enough leg above the injection site to be able to do an amputation and still have enough healthy tissue between the tumor and the point of amputation to make it possible to remove all of the cancer. Hopefully the tumor is found, diagnosed and the leg removed before it metastasizes because if that has happened, then no amount of amputation is going to really help.
Tony, if I were you, I'd have them run titers on my dogs before vaccinating them. You would be amazed at how many normal, healthy dogs with normal immune systems show a strong immunity to disease YEARS after receiving their first booster at a year old. Research has shown that if the puppy is given his puppy shots, followed by a booster at one year of age, he may NEVER need to be vaccinated again, or at least not until he is ready to go into his seniorhood. Sometimes if the immune response is found to be on the low side as a dog begins to age, it's wise to vaccinate and boost 21 days later just to beef up the immunity. At that point, however, after the second shot, it would probably be unnecessary to vaccinate again in his lifetime unless you find he'll be in a situation where he'll be heavily challenged, say, in a kennel situation should you need to board him if you go away and can't take him. Running titers is about the same cost as the vaccines themselves depending on what your vet's schedule of fees is like, and in some places it may cost a bit more, however it's worth it to save your dog from being unnecessarily overvaccinated and to remove the worry of injection site tumors from yearly shots.
Ghilly
Hi Ghilly. The point you make about the vaccination site is yet another element of vaccinating I hadn't thought of, even though it is obvious (once it's pointed out). From here onwards, any vaccinations my dogs receive will be in the leg. Just as a point of clarification, do you know which is best - front leg or hind leg? Tony
Thank you Ghilly, I actually been calling my ex-roomate but nothing. I Have and appt. next week for my puppys to get check out. I will keep you post it. thank God they are fine and didn't suffer any allergy to the last shots....
The first thing I would do is to ask your roommate where she took the puppies for the second shot. Even if she didn't take them to the vet they were supposed to go to, she or he MUST remember which vet clinic they took them to! If they say they don't remember, then I would take that as a sign that they didn't take them at all but lied to you about taking them. The next thing you can do is to call every clinic in your area and ask them if they have a record of your two puppies. NO vet clinic is going to give vaccinations to ANY pet without the owner first filling out a record card for them to keep on file. If none of your local vet clinics have a record of your puppies then that's another sign that your roommate wasn't being truthful that the pups were taken for their second shot. If you can find absolutely no evidence anywhere that these puppies were, indeed, vaccinated a second time in your absence then there are a couple of things you can do.
The first thing I would do would be to talk to a vet and explain the situation to them. See what THEY think would be a safe thing to do because you don't want them overvaccinated, but you CERTAINLY don't want them UNDERvaccinated either. Personally, I feel that the best thing to do would be to have the vet draw blood from the puppies and run titers to see what their levels of immunity are. If their immune response is high enough, then no matter how many shots they have received to this point they don't need any more. There has been some concern in recent years since it was discovered that dogs and cats who were vaccinated every year were developing cancerous tumors at the injection sites. Vaccine protocols have been changed in recent years to say that animals do not need to be vaccinated every year as long as they show an adequate immune response, and when they DO receive their vaccinations, they are to be given in the leg and not in the hip or the scruff of the neck. The reason for this is so that if a cancerous tumor does develop, the leg can be amputated and the life of the animal can be saved, where if the tumor is in the scruff of the neck or the hip, there is nothing more that can be done and the animal will be lost to the tumor.
Talk this out very carefully with your vet after you thoroughly question your roommate as to where the second set of vaccinations allegedly took place. If you can, in fact, verify through vet records that the puppies DID receive a second shot when your roommate said they did, then they are adequately covered at this point and need no further vaccinations at this time and you can discuss a one-year booster with your vet at the time the booster is needed. Again, however, if it were me, I would run titers because there just isn't a need to vaccinate again if the immune response is high enough. Why put them in danger of a possible injection site carcinoma if it's not necessary? Please post back and let us know what you find out.
Ghilly
The first thing I would do would be to talk to a vet and explain the situation to them. See what THEY think would be a safe thing to do because you don't want them overvaccinated, but you CERTAINLY don't want them UNDERvaccinated either. Personally, I feel that the best thing to do would be to have the vet draw blood from the puppies and run titers to see what their levels of immunity are. If their immune response is high enough, then no matter how many shots they have received to this point they don't need any more. There has been some concern in recent years since it was discovered that dogs and cats who were vaccinated every year were developing cancerous tumors at the injection sites. Vaccine protocols have been changed in recent years to say that animals do not need to be vaccinated every year as long as they show an adequate immune response, and when they DO receive their vaccinations, they are to be given in the leg and not in the hip or the scruff of the neck. The reason for this is so that if a cancerous tumor does develop, the leg can be amputated and the life of the animal can be saved, where if the tumor is in the scruff of the neck or the hip, there is nothing more that can be done and the animal will be lost to the tumor.
Talk this out very carefully with your vet after you thoroughly question your roommate as to where the second set of vaccinations allegedly took place. If you can, in fact, verify through vet records that the puppies DID receive a second shot when your roommate said they did, then they are adequately covered at this point and need no further vaccinations at this time and you can discuss a one-year booster with your vet at the time the booster is needed. Again, however, if it were me, I would run titers because there just isn't a need to vaccinate again if the immune response is high enough. Why put them in danger of a possible injection site carcinoma if it's not necessary? Please post back and let us know what you find out.
Ghilly
thank you for your answer, but they have the first set of vaccines and i think they skip the second( i wasn't here with them and my ex-roommate supposted to take them and she said she did but she took them to another place and she can find the info.) so when it was time for their third set the vet just gave it to them, but now i am wondering is they skip the second set how do i know that? i really don't think she took them anywhere? so can i still get the other shots? but if they did get it there is not prove.
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