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Just wondering what everyone's thoughts are on the lepto vaccine. I have an 8 month old working line GSD puppy who is constantly in the tracking field, swimming in the lake/ponds, mucky water etc. I know he's at pretty high risk for contracting lepto but I did hear once that the vaccine had a high fatality rate. I tried to research it but couldn't find anything that proved that to be true.

Has anyone had any experience with it? Given it to their young dogs? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you
britti

apperantly it doesn't give imunity for a full year but its better than nothing in my opyion.

It has a higher rate of reactions than other vaccines, the risk is highest for small dogs and puppies.

That said, the risk of Lepto for a dog like yours takes precedence- he's at high risk for exposure, and Lepto is not something that is easily diagnoses- often by the time they figure out it IS lepto, it's too late.

I would not hesitate if I had a large breed dog. As it is, I own a small breed dog, and she gets the lepto vaccine as well, because we are often out hiking etc. She's 13 now, and this is a vaccine I plan to continue giving.

There are things you can do to lower the risk- give the vaccine separately from the other vaccines- both NOT in a combo vax, but also at a completely different time. My dog gets her other vaccines in the fall (and on the AAHA schedule- and alternating- rabies one year, distemper/parvo the next, then an off year).

But we give Lepto in the spring- for two reasons. First, it splits it up so it is separate from the others. Second, Lepto is bacterial, and as such immunity does not last as long as it does for viral diseases. Where I live, we have very cold, hard winters, and so most of our outdoors time is in the spring/summer, and fall. This ensures she is well protected during those seasons, and it's less of a big deal if immunity wanes in the winter. I believe in some areas, it is advised to vaccinate for Lepto twice a year...

You can, and should for at least the first few time, arrange to wait at, or near the vet's office for a period of time after the vaccine in case of a reaction. Anaphylaxis can come on quick, and if you are there, they will be able to treat it much faster. For this reason we also schedule this vaccine for earlier in the day, instead of near closing time.

Some people, especially if their dog has reacted before, will pre-treat with something like benadryl, but it isn't necessary in most cases, and you would DEFINITELY want to discuss that with your vet first- I'm unsure if it reduces the effectiveness of the vaccine.

Everything Lilliput said!

I work as a technician in Texas and we started seeing cases of it very specific to our area so everyone gets it- even the little guys.
The rate of reaction is still higher than your DHPP or Rabies. However the rate is much slimmer now than in the past, I can think of only one dog I have seen have a reaction to it, but when given a diphenhydramine injection for the booster she did just fine.

If you call your vet they'll give you a diphenhydramine(Benadryl) dose to give your dog beforehand if there is any concern- and with my clinic at least, we will keep dogs for a couple hours if the owner is concerned about reaction- although you should always plan to be with your dog for 30m-1hr after any vaccine, even if given in the past- reactions occur more frequently at the time of booster than when given initially due to the way in which our body's process these reactions (basically its the body's way of saying- I recognize this, and it attacks and reacts)