Hi,

Hoping I can get some advise, I have a 10 year old Dog and his annual booster is now due, last year when he had his booster as we left the Vets he clapsed in the carpark with a reaction the Vet had to rush out and give him an adrenalin booster to make sure he was ok.
Therefore I really don't want him to have this Vaccine this year or going forward but my Vet is bein insistant that Dogs MUST have them every year, which contradicts what my friends vet told her, she was told that by the time her dog was 8 it would have immunity for life so no more vaccinations were required. and also some forums on the web say a dog needs no more than 3 in a life time.
I feel I'm being given a lot of contrdicting Info and the only concern is the ongoing Health and well being of my Dog.
My vet couldn't assure me the reaction wouldn't happen again but said they could try a different manufacturer (more expensive!!) and be on hand with the adrenalin but I feel this is all very unnecessary,
Please can I have some honest advise to keep my Dog in best possable heath

Thank you

Vicki

Hi

There is indeed a wide difference of opinion about how often a dog needs vaccinations. It also depends of what the local conditions are in terms of risk and what parts of the vaccine we are talking about. In our area there is incidence of parvovirus outbreaks, and occasionally we see leptospirosis. There is a canal running through the town, and anywhere that rats hang out is considered a high risk for causing leptospirosis to dogs. It is generally considered that a leptospirosis vaccine only gives one year immunity but the other elements of the vaccine provide longer protection. Problem is its hard to prove how long an immunity a dog has so we encourage annual vaccination. You can have blood tests taken to measure the dogs 'titre' or level of immunity against the various vaccine disease elements. I doubt that's cleared things up for you but at least you see why the different opinions exist. I could understand why you might want then to use a different manufacturers vaccine or use a smaller vaccine fraction, maybe just the lepto part this year.

Cathy Wickenden BVet Med MRCVS
Barton Lodge Veterinary Centre
1 Midland Road, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP2 5BH
Tel: 01442 216048 24 hours
[www.bartonlodgevets.co.uk]