The Zim Family Cocker Spaniel Forum

Zoey has to go back to the vet to follow up on her back vs tick borne disease and is "due for da2ppv and lepto and kennel cough. I see titers for distemper and parvo but what about lepto and parainfluenza ect.....I hate to do kennel cough but groomers wont take her without it.....lepto though I wonder about because we do have alot of wildlife (deer,coyotes,turkeys and rabbits) in the area but Zoey doesn't go out unsupervised or off leash so what are the risks? If i ask vet I'm sure they'll want to vaccinate....any advice would be appreciated.

Becky,

I don't know what to tell you... this is such a personal decision. You have to make it using you gut and any information you have researched. Only you can make that final decision. I have chosen to not give Bordetella or DHLPP. I titered Chessie for Parvo and Distemper. I am confident that her immunity to those two are at good levels for protection. As for Lepto. that's a hard one... you must weight your odds of exposure against the value of the vaccine. I would find out if cases of Leptospirosis are common in your area. If it is prevalent then I might consider the injection... but otherwise I personally don't vaccinate for it.

Here is a web site that I find helpful when looking for techical information.... just type DHLPP in the search box. Don't be scared off by the opening information... read on and you'll realize that even if you get the Lepto vaccine... it doesn't cover all strains of the disease... same with Bordetella. (it's kinda like getting a flu shot)

http://veterinarypartners.com/

Good luck with your decision!

I don't vaccinate, we titer Max for everything and his immunities are good. We don't give bordatella since it's kind-of like a flu shot and there are so many different strains of KC that mutate. We considered a groomer that wanted bordatella...we don't use him.

Becky

I think you are off by a year. Zoey was born in 2009, should have had her puppy series, then a year later in 2010 had her adult booster, then 3 years later she would be due for her 3 yr booster, which would be 2013.

Anyway, instead of vaccinating I strongly urge you to have her titered. I have my dogs on a schedule of adult vaccinations age 1 yr, titers and rabies at age 4, 7, 10, etc. So when they turn those ages I know I need to do rabies and titer instead of DHLPP boosters. I just had Casey titered and he has good protective immunity, the numbers were 3-4 times the ratio, but not as high as Callie-she was off the charts. I will post the numbers when I get them, vet just called me today with the results. I already did the research on labs, prices, etc. I sent mine to Michigan-they do parvo, distemper and adeno, my vet charged me $79, which considering his out of pocket costs were $47, I though that quite a markup.

viewtopic.php?f=35&t=6330&p=75456&hilit=titer+michigan#p75456

As far as lepto, lepto is contracted usually when an animal drinks from a puddle that has been contaminated by wildlife urine. I do not do lepto, as I am pretty confident I can prevent my crew from drinking out of puddles, as they are always supervised by me and do not get out, and when we walk I do not let them drink from anything.

Well they want to vaccinate for distemper combo and kc .....but vet will titer but price is 109.50. She thinks is good idea but not " cost effective" and titer every 3 years.when she saw a hollistic vet they couldn't believe how much they vaccinated a puppy.

The lepto vaccination only lasts 3 - 6 months, hence why there is no point in titre testing it (I did once just out of curiosity and it did indeed come back as having no antibodies). So although my guys get titre tested for all other diseases, they do get a yearly lepto vaccination in about May to cover them for the summer when they will go into the water and drink from puddles in our country park.

With regard to lepto, it's not just drinking from a puddle that can cause exposure. If your dog walks through a contaminated area and then licks the paws or has an open wound on a paw, they can get it that way. Lepto bacteria can survive as long as it's in a moist environment.

Because we had an abnormally warm winter in the Mid-South, and I live in a woodsy area, we're going to vaccinate for lepto in the next week or so. I know from my vet tech friends that nearby clinics are seeing some cases of lepto, and I know we've got wildlife (including rats despite the best efforts of the feral cats next door) up near the house. I'm worried about vaccine reactions, especially with Mocha given her IBD and history of reactions, but after discussing this with both of my vets, we've all agreed that the risk of getting lepto this year is too great not to vaccinate.

Everyone's situation will be different, so it's important to do your research both on the vaccine and whether or not your local vets are seeing dogs come in with lepto (or suspected lepto).