Hi, I'm new here but I've been reading anything and everything I can before we pick our yellow lab pup up in 3 weeks time. I was under the impression that puppies needed two injections before they could go out, but I have just booked our puppy in for his jabs and was told he would need to have three - one immediately at 8 weeks, another at 10, and then a final one at 12 weeks. Is this normal now or should I be looking elsewhere? I don't want to subject the poor pup to more injections than he needs.
Hi there and welcome to the forum from me and my two, Willow and Shadow. Mine only had two jabs, but from what I understand, it's getting more and more common to do three - and, in some cases, even four. I have to say, my pups aren't really fussed by injections, so I wouldn't worry about that. Just take lots of treats and try to make the vet surgery more positive than negative.
I have just phoned my vet and they do two injections, one at 10 weeks and one at 14 weeks. I think it is because your vet is doing the injection early that the puppy does indeed need the third one. I would phone around your local vets and see what they suggest.
Hi there, My pup just had two (8 weeks and 11 weeks) but it might be down to something specific to your area or the time of year. Our vet didn't vaccinate for kennel cough as it wasn't in her first round of injections that the breeder arranged but said we should do this before summer next year as there is usually a local flurry at that time of year. As snowbunny says, I wouldn't worry about the injections themselves. Tatti (my pup) is completely in love with our vet- he gets thoroughly licked even after he had injected her and micro-chipped her. She didn't seem to mind it at all. And what lab doesn't love a bit of extra attention Double check but I wouldn't be too worried Exciting times ahead enjoy x
Mine did Jake's first one at 9 weeks, and he's in for his second one on Saturday, he'll be 12 weeks then. They did say if the breeder had given him one at 7 or 8 weeks then they would still do 2 more, as they still have some of Mum's immunity at 8 weeks. I'd call around, but that's just me.
I don't think it's anything to do with the age; there's a new Leptospirosis vaccine which is more comprehensive than the previous one and requires three jabs. If you only need two, then your vet is using the old vaccine. The new one, L4, covers strains of Leptospirosis that have recently been found in dogs that were vaccinated with the old vaccine. There is more information here: http://www.highcroftvet.co.uk/FAQRetrieve.aspx?ID=51796 or just google "new leptospirosis vaccine" to read more of the same information on a number of vets' websites.
Hi ☺ Our girl Ella had three vaccinations, at 6 weeks, 10 weeks and 14 weeks (if the breeder had done the first one at 8 weeks it would have been 8,12 and 16 weeks instead). Our vet said that the some puppies can still have their mums antibodies in their system when you do the second vaccination so vaccine may not be effective. They said that you can test for antibodies at 14 weeks to determine if they need a booster but the general practice is to give the booster anyway as a precaution. But, as others have said, I'd go on the advice of your vet. Ella has never bothered about the needles either. The first time the vet put a pile of treats on the table and did it while she was eating but after that they just did the needle and gave her treats afterwards but she never jumped or yelped or anything so I wouldn't worry too much. Good luck and keep us updated on your new little boy ☺
Guide Dogs have three - 6 weeks, 12 weeks and 16 weeks. Mine don't even notice having them - it's a very thin needle
I will depend partly on where you are. Is there a Parvo outbreak? Distemper? Your Vet might be able to advise you, hopefully they keep track of the number of cases being reported. And it depends on the Vet's viewpoint on things. For instance mine recommended against Lepto and Lymes. All we did was DH2PP but Oban had shots at 8, 12 and 16 weeks and our Vet wanted him to wait till two weeks After the last one before going to dog intensive places. And we did and still do Rabies of course, it's the only one mandated by law where I am. I am now titreing for the rest but we did the puppy shots.
This has come up before - I'm not sure when the guidelines changed, but the WSAVA guidelines were changed to recommend a: Modification of puppy and kitten vaccination regimes to include a final vaccination at 14 to 16 weeks of age and a 12-month booster to ensure that all animals respond to core vaccination at a time when inhibitory levels of maternally derived antibody are no longer present.
Thanks so much for all of the advice and the link to the leptospirosis info. We've spoken to a couple of vets and I'm feeling much happier about it all now. I grew up with labs but this will be the first time I've had a puppy of my own and I'm feeling very much like I did when I was pregnant!
snowbunny Juno had to have a 2 part booster back in September due to the new vaccine and 3 weeks apart. As she loves our vet going there is no problem whether it's for vaccinations, x-rays, more x-rays .......
Absolute nightmare, who to believe these days. We have always had our puppies, vaccinated twice as pups and then the annual booster. And then annually, but is this correct? Have a read of this, http://www.doglistener.co.uk/depth-annual-dog-vaccination-dangers
I think that it is straightforward to believe the World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA). This article explains what changed, why, and how the expert groups came up with the new recommendations. http://www.wsava.org/sites/default/files/2011_VetRecord_EditorialVaccination.pdf The recommendations are: Consideration of vaccines as core (essential for all dogs and cats) or non-core (may be used in certain animals, dependent upon their infectious disease exposure risk, geographical location, and lifestyle and travel history). The canine and feline core and non-core vaccines are summarised in Table 1. [ see link above ] Administration of core vaccines triennially to adult animals that were fully vaccinated as puppies or kittens. Modification of puppy and kitten vaccination regimes to include a final vaccination at 14 to 16 weeks of age and a 12-month booster to ensure that all animals respond to core vaccination at a time when inhibitory levels of maternally derived antibody are no longer present. The consideration of vaccination as a medical procedure, tailored to the individual animal and presented to clients as one part of an ‘annual health check’ that considers the overall health and wellbeing of that animal.
Ahhh that good feeling when you realise that your vet's recommendation and explanation are in line with the the world recommendations ☺☺☺
I think I am the only one to mention titres in this thread. I wouldn't say titreing on my side of the pond (Canada) is common by any means but to have it not mentionned at all by anyone else makes me wonder, not a consideration for the rest of you?
My dogs go into kennels and they don't accept titre tests otherwise I would probably go down that route.
Agree with Barbara, if you need to use kennels, or catteries, you have no choice but to vaccinate. That said I've always followed the advice of my vet as to what is and isn't appropriate for the animal concerned.
Yes, Charlie will have a titre test before he is vaccinated (if necessary) for the first time after his 12 month boosters for core vaccines. The article I linked to above also supports this.
I like the idea of titre tests but we can't renew our training club membership without our vaccination certificate each year. I might ask if the titre test results could be used as evidence instead but I don't like my chances
