Question re: 7 in 1 dog vaccine

I don't believe in over vaccinations. Titers will tell you what you need to know. I have heard that some states are considering titers be considered on required vaccines not sure how true that is though.

Years ago they did find a connection to the lepto combo shot causing HOD in Great Danes. No not a scientific study by the gov but one person spent years compiling information and showed a direct link to it.

If you have ever seen a puppy live with and ultimately die from the severe pain of HOD you'd think twice about combos and 7 in 1 shots of anything.:(

I think it is laziness and perhaps the idea of it being less expensive on the part of the owner to have all the shots done at one time. Which the companies are well aware of which is why they come up with these combo's.

I have since switched to a toy breed and Dr.Doug is absolutely correct about being vigilant and informed when it comes to vaccinating and meds with toy breeds.

Almost lost my MinPin to a rabies shot. Albeit that was most likely from the carrier not the vaccine itself. But when they are that small you can loose them from a reaction in a heartbeat. Unlike the larger breeds that can take a punch better from shear body size.

Most medications have a effective dose in terms of body weight of the animal; smaller animals get less drug. This is not the case for vaccines and may very well be an issue for some small animals.

X2
The same vaccine given to my Danes is the exact same one given to my 4 lb Min Pin.

I vaccinate my own dogs & cats. Except for rabies - that has to be a licensed vet.

When they're babies they get the full series, usually 3 shots. After that, it's hit or miss if they're ever vaccinated again. Maybe in 3 years, maybe 5.....

I just lost my 16+ year old cat last month. Never sick a day in his life. Another dog lived till 14 1/2. Had pets to the vet for scratched eyes, dog attack, cut paw -- but never for distemper, lepto, etc. This is since '74 when I started vaccinating them myself.

Just my experience.

Most medications have a effective dose in terms of body weight of the animal; smaller animals get less drug. This is not the case for vaccines and may very well be an issue for some small animals.

I'm not sure about the totality of evidence, but my experiences have been that very small dogs (not so much cats) seem to have a greater reaction to multiple vaccinations. Not serious, life threatening but pain and ADR (ain't doin' right :) ). It's common enough that we usually split vaccines by a couple of weeks in very small breed puppies.

Mark is totally correct in that there are several things in the vaccine component that can cause reaction.

The whole situation that started re-evaluation of vaccine protocol in veterinary medicine was the "vaccine induced sarcoma" in cats. It turns out that it's not just vaccine, it's any injection (or tissue trauma) and there is a genetic component - most cats do fine with and never develop cancer.

The point here is to minimize the number of injections, thus Mark's protocol.

The point here is that NO injection (or medication for that matter) is an innocuous procedure. It needs to be discussed and decisions made based on the risks/rewards for each individual.

Doug, DVM

Crowe wrote:
You're pushing your protocol in the same manner the raw-diet zealots push their agenda.

It is good you found a means around adverse reactions while still being able to vaccinate.

But to be honest, the public's jump to the conclusion that having multiple antigens in a vaccine is the cause of adverse reactions reminds me of the conclusion that vaccines cause Autism.

Many things changed by going from one multivalent vaccine to several single valent vaccines; any one of which could have been the cause of eliminating an adverse reaction.

Camp woof wrote:
Well my min pin got sick for a couple days after vet gave a couple of shots at once. So, this couldn't have be an all in one, but my poor little min pin just laid in a corner for a few days. My neighbor commented he'd never seen my dog so sad looking.

Certainly one of the shots could have been a combo vaccine. It's common for a combo vaccine to be given along with rabies or other single vaccines.

Well my min pin got sick for a couple days after vet gave a couple of shots at once. So, this couldn't have be an all in one, but my poor little min pin just laid in a corner for a few days. My neighbor commented he'd never seen my dog so sad looking.

Bottom line is YOU choose what you are comfortable with. If you want a three year schedule, that's what it should be. If you choose to vaccinate only for rabies, that's your right.

I have never heard of a dog with lepto issues in our part of the world, so that is the first thing I'd research. Not saying it does not happen and we certainly have plenty of parvo and distemper issues in some areas. But I've never heard of it.

I am not pushing my protocol. I am only trying to expose people to the other potential sources of vaccinosis than simply the number of antigens in each vaccine. Choosing to vaccinate singly may simply be reducing one possible source of vaccinosis while increasing another possible source.

So how do you know the issue was the multiple antigens vs. that manufacturer's vaccine?

I don't but honestly I don't care. It's easy enough to spread vaccines so this is a non-issue to me. You're pushing your protocol in the same manner the raw-diet zealots push their agenda. Shouldn't matter to you.