.com Forum · Real Show Dogs

Does anyone administer vaccinations themselves? I would really prefer to do this because the vets charge so much. I would still have the dogs go in for rabies shots but would it be easier just to do the DHPP combo and Bordetella at home? Of course I have a friend who's experienced and would be able to help me I just want to be safe.

Also a quick question. Does the Para Influenza prevent kennel cough? If so then do I really need to give the Bordatella? I'd prefer not to with my Boston because most of it won't go down through the nose anyways he'll just get the reverse sneezes.

Thanks for the help!
Clover

They make an injectible form of the Bordetella vaccine. It's a great option both for our brachycephalic breeds and "bad dogs" that won't let you near their noses.

We administer the bordatella ourselves....

I think my dad gave our cat a rabies shot before he was hit by a car... you can get vaccines from the co-op, methinks.

-Middie

You should really continue to bring in your dog for it's yearly check-up even if you do go the route of giving vaccinations yourself. Dogs have to be healthy before they are given a vaccination, and it is a really good preventative to get a health check each year.

I take my dogs in for their rabies vaccinations and yearly check-up, but I give my own dogs regular vaccinations (after the vet health check) and I do give my young pups their first vaccination before going to the vet for the first time just because there is lots of disease at the vet clinic and I don't want them to go unprotected.

The nasal vaccination is more effective then the IM/sub q vaccination for kennel cough, but it only lasts 6 months vs. 1 year (depending on the vacc) for the IM/subq vaccination. The nasal vaccination also gives protection more quickly, usually within 5 to 7 days.

Parainflenza covers one or 2 kinds of kennel cough, but the kennel cough vaccine covers more although it still doesn't cover all of the strains. It actually only covers a few strains overall. I still find it is very effective and I would not show a dog that didn't have a nasel kennel cough vaccination.

I do the distemper combo shot for all my dogs. My dogs have a 3 year rabies vaccine, so they don't have to go into the vet as often for shots. BUT... my dogs aren't "normal" pets. They don't have to go in for shots every year, but they are in the vets office very often for other matters- echocardiograms, teeth cleanings, constant check ups for my diabetic dog, etc... and that's if none of them get sick/hurt. Doing the vaccines myself just gets me out of taking them in an extra time, nothing else. Last year I spent over $4,000 at the vet, but not having to pay to have vaccines done DID help.

Just let me say one thing on this subject.

go ahead and do your own vaccines if you want. By getting your vaccinations at a vet it helps build a realationship with that vet.
When the time comes and you have an emergency. Our emergency clinic is NOT cheap it is more than 4 times what we charge. I am sure you can figure out where you will be sent. Also, your dog may need an expensive surgery. If don't have a realtionship with that vet then they are less likely to make payment arrangements. You think you are saving money but are you really???? I think there is more value in building a realtionship with yearly vaccination rather than just going to the vet for a rabies shot.

Cashious Clay is right. Sad but true. Most clinics will only take thier clients who keep apointments and and bring thier pets in for multi services, in an Emergency "pay later" situation.

But...I have done 5-way shots for puppies at home. It's easy, cheaper (though not by much) and less stressful for your pets. Im not sure on the laws out of the State of Maine. But only a Licened Vet may administer the Rabies Vac.

Most companies that sell vacs require you to buy in bulk. As this is the way most large breeders chose. Our Clinic does not sell vacs for home use.

~Mandy

In my state (MA) I think only vets are allowed to administer the rabies vaccine...

Also consider how many vaccinations you dogs really need - immunity is immunity and if you try to boost it too high, not only is it no more effective, but there is a greater risk of the dog actually becoming sick. At least that's how I understand it to work.

Charlie had the full series of vaccinations as a puppy, with the last set around 6 months. At 18 months I had him titered and this is what the results said:

- titers of <1:2 indicate lack of immunity
- 1:2 - 1:16 indicate limited protection
- 1:32+ indicate probable protective immunity, the higher the number the more protection

A year after his puppy shots, Charlie is still at 1:512 - and the notice says he needs another booster? I don't think so!


I'd recomend not vaccinating more than every few years (you can have them titered if you are unsure), but make sure you take them to the vet's for rabies. (I know that's your plan anyways)

What other people are saying is true about getting the annual check-up, but personally I don't take my dogs in unless they need rabies/testing. All the vet tells me is they have clean teeth (I brush/scale them), clean ears (I pluck/clean them), healthy coats (I brush/clip/bathe them often), great weight (I monitor their diets closely), and excellent muscle tone (I exercise them daily). Many of the questions I have asked the vets have not been able to answer (about supplements etc. for even better health - 'the dogs not sick, why bother?')... I have a friendly relationship with vets a couple of different clinics, but there is no point to bring my dogs in annually.

-Jillian

This is a very dangerous forum post as you have everyday people making medical recommendations:

QUOTE
I'd recomend not vaccinating more than every few years (you can have them titered if you are unsure), but make sure you take them to the vet's for rabies. (I know that's your plan anyways)

This discussion should be between you and your vet not some online internet game.

Also STDPoodle, how are you going to know when your dog's titer drops below recommeded levels????? Are you going to titer test him every month. I am a technician and I will tell you there is no way to know unless you do titer every single month, this is why you got the recommendation, FROM A LICENSED STAFF VETERINARIAN AT THE LAB, to booster your pet. But you feel you don't need to because your dog's titer is 1.5............ You do NOT have the medical degree to be making any suggestion in this area, and you should listen closely to your vet's recommendations, they are they medical professionals, not you or any person posting on here. Someone may claim they are a vet on here but you don't really know so..........

People People people, please talk to your vet and make a plan both of you can live with. Trust them, there is just too much mistrust and false information given on her, it concerns me soooo much.

Leslie

QUOTE
What other people are saying is true about getting the annual check-up, but personally I don't take my dogs in unless they need rabies/testing. All the vet tells me is they have clean teeth (I brush/scale them), clean ears (I pluck/clean them), healthy coats (I brush/clip/bathe them often), great weight (I monitor their diets closely), and excellent muscle tone (I exercise them daily). Many of the questions I have asked the vets have not been able to answer (about supplements etc. for even better health - 'the dogs not sick, why bother?')... I have a friendly relationship with vets a couple of different clinics, but there is no point to bring my dogs in annually.


You are going against your vet, do you think you know more than them??? Your dogs will eventually begin having problems, if you don't trust them now with basic care, how on earth will you trust them with a serious medical condition. If you cannot trust your vet then you need to look for a new one.

And one last time, DO NOT give medical advice when you have no medical degree, this is serious business and it concerns someone's beloved pet.

Leslie

ARGgggg = (

as for the main post:

If you don't already know the answer to those questions, you should not be doing your own vaccinations. I am a technician and I don't even do my own shots. It is much more delicate that you think. If the vaccine is not at the correct temp then it is ineffective. Some lots are sold to companies that fall well below the FDA standard and that is what you may be buying how are you going to know that it has been properly handled before you even bought it. Good luck, in my opinion, my dog's health is way more important than a dollar bill, and if you feel your vet is too expensive then shop around, no one forces you to see a specific vet.
Take the time you use here to ask questions to untrained people and invest that time in finding a vet you trust and can discuss your concerns. You should even discuss with your vet about your thoughts to give your own DHLPP etc.....

If you have to ask about giving vaccinations yourself, you have no business doing it. Take the dog to the vet and have them done for you. It's usually cheaper in the long run anyway, as most vaccines and syringes are sold in large quantities. Also, keep the following in mind:

- most boarding kennels, training classes, and dog parks will not accept 'home given' vaccines as proof of vaccination. If your animal were ever to be boarded, you would have to revaccinate with a vet-- no money saved, and your dog is exposed to unnecessary risk of overvaccinating.

- some dogs suffer disastrous, immediate reactions to vaccines, even those they have received before without difficulty. Having your animal at the clinic already can mean the difference between a dead dog and a live one.

- Many veterinarians will turn you away for emergency services and/or refuse to work with you on payment options for expensive procedures if you are not doing all vet work with them. Many also charge a higher fee for any work you DO have done with them if you are vaccinating elsewhere or doing it yourself. You may very well find yourself paying a lot more for that checkup and rabies shot than you thought...

-Building a relationship with a vet you trust is important. This won't happen if you vaccinate at your home.

-Generally, its best to have vaccinations done by a licensed vet unless you are a breeder with a lifetime of experience. These folks also spend a lot of income at the vet's anyway, so the vet will know and trust them to give puppy shots correctly and on time. For a regular dog owner with only a few animals, it's really not worth it.

I agree that for the most part people should trust their vet. When ever I am in doubt I go to the vet (I have 6 different vets depending on what it is for.)

That being said, I also know my dogs, and I do not take them to the vet every year. I am against over vaccination, and I feed a raw diet, which some vets are against.

My point, each person needs to do what they feel is best for their pets.

I also agree that people should not make decissions for their pets based on what they read on message boards. Sure, it is helpfull sometimes to get opionions and hear about other experiences, but ultimatley it is a personal decission.

And when in doubt, ask someone who has gone to med. school!

Well I will enter into this conversation. First off if you have a vet supply company in your area, you can buy single dose vaccinations for your dog for around $1-$10 per shot depending on the vaccine. No they are not accepted by boarding facilities, however I have never had them not accepted at obedience class. Rabies should ALWAYS be given by a vet.

It is possible to build a relationship with your vet even if you don't have the shots done by him. For instance my vet charges $20 office visit per animal, and $12 per vaccine, for me to go to the vet for annual exam and vaccines for both dogs and the cat it would total $132, that does not include heartguard and flea protection which would add up to about $200 for all , totaling $332.

So instead I still take my animals for the yearly exam and rabies shot just to guarentee they are healthy (I had a dog that was diagnosed with a heart murmur and needed meds, never would have known if I had missed the annual)With the office visit and rabies the total comes too $96. Then I buy the vaccines myself, I pay roughly $5 per booster vaccine, so total is about $15. Then since my husband is military I buy heartguard and frontline at the military vet clinic at a discount (don't trust those vets for actual care of my animals)since it is discounted heartguard and frontline for 6 months runs me about $80. So my grand total comes to around $191, that is a big difference compared to the $332 I would pay at the vet for everything. My vet is not bothered at all by the fact that I don't buy my vaccines, heartguard or frontline from him...he knows my animals are healthy and well cared for, and he is glad that I can save a penny. I have a good relationship with him because he knows I will be coming in for the yearly, and he knows that if I have any emergencies or illnesses I will be coming to him,he knows I will be coming to him for all OFA xrays and all prenatal appts etc, and he knows I will be recommending him to anyone who asks me about vet services in the area.


With all that being said I would not recommend giving your own vaccines unless you have an experienced person to teach you how, and unless you have a good vet supply in your area, the effectiveness of a vaccine depends very heavily on how it is shipped, stored and refridgerated.


RogueV

Thanks for all the posts guys I appreciate the input.

First of all I really don't like my vet's office. I never get the same person or same answers. One thought my dog was a Bulldog another cleaned his ears to roughly.

The only shots my dogs have to have for 4-H is rabies but of course I want to protect them. I'm not going to go completely by what some people over the internet I don't even know have to say. I have a good friend who I will talk to before I will make any decisions I just wanted some input.

Clover

Hi Clover,
If you don't like your vet, why don't you try looking for another one? My vet is wonderful, and without him, I don't know what I would do. I actually work with 3 different vet clinics. One is my main clinic that does all of the surgerys, etc. the other vet is a repro vet that I have minor things done and repro stuff and the 3rd vet is the back-up vet in case the first 2 vets are unavailable (or if I don't like the vet on call). I spend thousands a year at those clinics (probably close to $4000 just for this part of the year so far). Building a relationship with your vet is a key part of pet ownership that will help you for years in the future should you need emergency help, or just help with answering questions.

Thanks Sunbrite you've been a big help. It's mostly that I've found a disliking to my dogs vet around last year when I took Rocky there for puppy shots for his first months with me. I like the puppy package they had that included neutering but I feel like they were trying to press unecessary and more costly products for my dogs.

There aren't really many vets in my area but I'll look around some more. Sometimes change is a good thing

Clover

If you decide to vaccinate your own dogs be extremely careful where you get your vaccines! If the vaccines aren't shipped properly (cold enough) they may not work. We have seen dogs that were vaccinated at home come in with things like parvo because the vaccines they purchased were bad. Vets know that if the shipment comes in warm it is bad and they send it back. How many of the other places know or care?

Brandy
Doubletake Samoyeds

I've seen vaccines sitting out on the shelf at tractor supply- not refrigerated at all. Needless to say, I do not buy my vaccines from them.

I never done vaccines prior to being taught how to give shots. To be honest, I was terrified of handling needles or having injections since I was a kid (bad experience). Then one of my dogs was diagnosed with diabetes and the day after her diagnosis, my vet had me start injecting her in the exam room with saline. These injections were just to get ME more comfortable with giving the shots. It was one of the hardest fears I have ever had to get over, especially since I had to do it so quickly.

I have to give my diabetic dog shots twice a day, so I am now very familiar with working with syringes and delicate medication (insulin). My vet is comfortable with me doing the distemper combo myself, and they still give me discounts on other things I have done at their facility. The vet I use is a more expensive than most others in the area, but he is the heart specialist here, and it's well worth paying a little more for his knowledge (I have 2 with heart problems).

If you're considering doing this for the first time without supervision from someone who knows what they are doing.. think again. I would talk to your vet and see if they could guide you through it like mine did with the saline injections.

quote

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You are going against your vet, do you think you know more than them???

---

In some areas, definitely. And when I have an issue in their area, I go to them.

I've been very active in various parts of the dog world for the past 1/3 of my life, and know a lot about keeping dogs healthy and happy for the show ring, performance, and assistance work (way above the level of a healthy pet).
The only times that any of my vets can help is to fix a (rarely occuring) problem.

I agree with Naiad - I know my dogs better than anyone, and don't appreciate when the vet is amazed at how healthy my dog is, then is mortified to hear I occasionally feed raw meat and tells me to change diets imediately (apparently a group of vets conducted a study which prooves raw diets kill dogs, but she never told me the source...). She's a nice person, but nutrition was not part of her training.

Like many of the other topics discussed in this forum, Clover was looking for input from others who have an opinion on the subject. Nothing that she said implies that with a stranger's 'OK' she'd run out and buy the vaccines and try to do it all herself.

-Jillian

PS 'What other people are saying is true about getting the annual check-up, but personally I don't...' wasn't telling others not to go to the vet, but rather telling my story of what happened at the time when I was taking my dogs to the vet annually. In my case there was no need to spend $70 a year for that, so I now have a larger fund in case of an emergency, or for fun events, or more equipment, or...

Jillian- you are a child so 1/3 of your life does not carry much weight. You are still in high school. You DID use the words "I recommend", next time use "What I do....."
You do NOT know more than your vet, yes maybe they we not trained indepthly about the multiple array of diets but they do know how molecules are broken down and used to fuel different parts of the system, don't even pretend to know this. So, you know the combined ingredience of commercial foods, that does not mean you are right or wrong about what you are feeding. Do what you want with your pets but don't pretend to be an expert and influence someone else. And.....that does not mean you know more than your vet. I find it incredible that you would even say you know more. Do you even realize that 95% of the pets that vets see DO NOT care for their pet as indethly as you, so YES they are surprised. Show breeders are very small percentage/makeup of their clientel.