Question regarding where to get vaccinations

[luvmyangels]

Ok. Back a few months ago I was at the vet for the annual vaccinations for all 3 dogs. At that time Knuckles was just getting over the demodex mange and they decided not to give him any further vaccinations at that time. The vaccinations were the lepto and lyme. So I decided to hold off on all 3 dogs and do it all at the same time. Well I called my vets office who informed me that a vet will need to see each one of them to examine them and give them the 1st vaccination on all. The vet visit for each dog will be $50 each just to walk in the door. I told the girl who answered the phone that I was just there and no one told me that I would have to pay for another office visit or otherwise I would have had the other two done at that time.

I contacted Petco to see what vaccines they gave and they only give the lepto because there are too many reactions to the lyme. Does anyone have any ideas??

[msvette2u]

We vaccinate ours at home except rabies which you have to get done at a vet office.
They are like 4.50 at a feed store.
You just pick up the skin (there's directions on the vaccine itself) and push the needle under and inject the stuff and you're done.
If I was closer I'd show you how.

[msvette2u]

BTW I've heard of alot of reactions to Lepto as well. Our local shelter and the one I ran, too, do not use Lepto. If you're going to do your own, it's a good idea to have some epinephrine on hand (we do). But we don't give Lepto.

[SpiritFngrz]

Drs. Foster & Smith?

[Miakoda]

One, if you buy your vaccines from a feed store, make sure it is a reputable facility that handles all vaccines properly & in a timely manner! Too many feed stores just let boxes sit for long periods of time before unpacking them, thus allowing vaccines inside to reach room temp. Once a vaccine reaches room temp, it has a life span of UNDER 72 hrs in which it is still effective! Of the majority of parvo (which we always have approx. 7-10 parvo dogs in the clinic at all times) & distemper cases, those dogs that were vaccinated were done so with vaccines bought from some random feed store.

Two, as far as lepto is concerned, yes it is the "main" vaccine thought to cause allergic reactions in dogs. HOWEVER, by people refusing to no longer vaccinate against it, 2005 was an OUTBREAK year for the virus in both dogs & HUMANS! (it's transmissible!). We see on average 5-10 documented/proven cases of leptospirosis yearly & so far we've been unable to save any of those dogs due to the extreme damge to the liver & kidneys. And so far this year, lepto is also on the rise in incidents especially in the northwest region. If you are determined that you dog will not get the vaccine, then make sure he stays away from all rodents & never goes swimming in a creek or pond........ever. And good luck with that task. If you want to vaccinate for it but are uncomfortable about a reaction (mind you less than 10% of all dogs have an allergic reaction to the 8in1 vaccine & not all of those are due to lepto), then give your dog some Diphenhydramine (aka Benadryl) about 1 hour before vaccinating & again 4 hours after vaccinating. (dosage is 1-2mg per lb of body weight).

[luvmyangels]

I definitely want to get the lepto vaccine and in fact the Petco by me is giving them for $19.00 this coming Sunday. I will just give them the Benadryl after.

But I just s/w my trainer regarding the lyme vaccine and she said that they are 30% effective. A few weeks ago I had posted about my sister who had gotten her dog the lyme vaccine and her dog ended up with it anyway. I was also told by the trainer they are extremely toxic. Depending on who you talk to if they are for against the vaccines some say they are good and others say they are bad.

I am now seeking out another vet.

I am taking Knuckles to a holistic vet in a few weeks because he is still having issues with his legs. Last night when I took him for a walk he looked off and when I got home he looked stiff in the front and back. I had him seen by my current vet a few months ago. There is a whole thread on this.

Did you ever feel like you are banging your head against the wall????

[Jesseca]

Drs. Foster & Smith?

That's who I use most of the time

[katiek0417]

Drs. Foster & Smith?

That's who I use most of the time

I also like Jeffers Pet

[luvmyangels]

Drs. Foster & Smith?

That's who I use most of the time

I also like Jeffers Pet

You get your vaccines from them? Without a script?

[Jesseca]

You don't need a script for vaccines. I vaccinate all my dogs, except for Rabies, because that has to be done by a vet

[luvmyangels]

BTW I've heard of alot of reactions to Lepto as well. Our local shelter and the one I ran, too, do not use Lepto. If you're going to do your own, it's a good idea to have some epinephrine on hand (we do). But we don't give Lepto.

I wish u were closer to me.

[SpiritFngrz]

I am now seeking out another vet.

I am taking Knuckles to a holistic vet in a few weeks because he is still having issues with his legs. Last night when I took him for a walk he looked off and when I got home he looked stiff in the front and back. I had him seen by my current vet a few months ago. There is a whole thread on this.

Did you ever feel like you are banging your head against the wall????

One of my professors at URI is a holistic vet- we had to spend some time in her office with her and she did acupuncture with dogs that had problems like this. The owners used to say that it actually did work for the dog. I didn't like watching her do it though

[luvmyangels]

You don't need a script for vaccines. I vaccinate all my dogs, except for Rabies, because that has to be done by a vet

So it isn't that hard then right???

[Jesseca]

Nope, not all at. In fact I just gave one to Dexter last night, I noticed he needed one more in his series.

[Miakoda]

But I just s/w my trainer regarding the lyme vaccine and she said that they are 30% effective

If even that. The Lyme vaccine has proven to not be very effective & very few vets encourage the administration of it. Rather, they encourage the strict use of Advantix or Frontline & keeping a diligent eye out for ticks.

I'm not sure where you live, but even though we don't have a huge tick problem, we use a 3-way heartworm test that tests for HWs, Erlichia, & Lyme disease all in 1 snap tests. I would suggest routinely testing (once yearly) if that worried, but I would decline on the lyme vaccine.

[turtle]

You don't need a script for vaccines. I vaccinate all my dogs, except for Rabies, because that has to be done by a vet

So it isn't that hard then right???

It's not hard at all. I do my own vaccinations and have done so for some years now. I also hold with the new protocol of only vaccinating grown dogs every 3 years, not every year.

KV Vet is another good mail order supplier.

[turtle]

One, if you buy your vaccines from a feed store, make sure it is a reputable facility that handles all vaccines properly & in a timely manner! Too many feed stores just let boxes sit for long periods of time before unpacking them, thus allowing vaccines inside to reach room temp. Once a vaccine reaches room temp, it has a life span of UNDER 72 hrs in which it is still effective! Of the majority of parvo (which we always have approx. 7-10 parvo dogs in the clinic at all times) & distemper cases, those dogs that were vaccinated were done so with vaccines bought from some random feed store.

Two, as far as lepto is concerned, yes it is the "main" vaccine thought to cause allergic reactions in dogs. HOWEVER, by people refusing to no longer vaccinate against it, 2005 was an OUTBREAK year for the virus in both dogs & HUMANS! (it's transmissible!). We see on average 5-10 documented/proven cases of leptospirosis yearly & so far we've been unable to save any of those dogs due to the extreme damge to the liver & kidneys. And so far this year, lepto is also on the rise in incidents especially in the northwest region. If you are determined that you dog will not get the vaccine, then make sure he stays away from all rodents & never goes swimming in a creek or pond........ever. And good luck with that task. If you want to vaccinate for it but are uncomfortable about a reaction (mind you less than 10% of all dogs have an allergic reaction to the 8in1 vaccine & not all of those are due to lepto), then give your dog some Diphenhydramine (aka Benadryl) about 1 hour before vaccinating & again 4 hours after vaccinating. (dosage is 1-2mg per lb of body weight).

Good post! And some excellent info!

Yes, I'd also heard that there has been more Lepto outbreaks in the Pacific Northwest. If I lived there, I'd take my chances with the shot.

[turtle]

If you want to vaccinate for it but are uncomfortable about a reaction (mind you less than 10% of all dogs have an allergic reaction to the 8in1 vaccine & not all of those are due to lepto), then give your dog some Diphenhydramine (aka Benadryl) about 1 hour before vaccinating & again 4 hours after vaccinating. (dosage is 1-2mg per lb of body weight).

Re-reading your post again, I saw this and thought I should bring it up again. I never knew that. Thanks for posting it!

[luvmyangels]

But I just s/w my trainer regarding the lyme vaccine and she said that they are 30% effective

If even that. The Lyme vaccine has proven to not be very effective & very few vets encourage the administration of it. Rather, they encourage the strict use of Advantix or Frontline & keeping a diligent eye out for ticks.

I'm not sure where you live, but even though we don't have a huge tick problem, we use a 3-way heartworm test that tests for HWs, Erlichia, & Lyme disease all in 1 snap tests. I would suggest routinely testing (once yearly) if that worried, but I would decline on the lyme vaccine.

I use frontline plus. The reason I am so worried about getting the other vaccines was because we are going to the Poconos area the beginning of next month and the place we stay is in the middle of the woods. There are creeks and waterfalls. I know I waited a while but I have been calling trying to get an appointment for over a month with my vets office and because my schedule is so tough it was hard for me to get in.

[luvmyangels]

If you want to vaccinate for it but are uncomfortable about a reaction (mind you less than 10% of all dogs have an allergic reaction to the 8in1 vaccine & not all of those are due to lepto), then give your dog some Diphenhydramine (aka Benadryl) about 1 hour before vaccinating & again 4 hours after vaccinating. (dosage is 1-2mg per lb of body weight).

Re-reading your post again, I saw this and thought I should bring it up again. I never knew that. Thanks for posting it!

It is great information. Thank you so much.