Vaccinations
by Danny Joe Seymore
After all of the puppy shots,then a year later what shots does he have to get? I think dogs are way over vaccinated. What are your thoughts please. thank you,Danny Joe
If lot of dogs in a certain area (or in a certain country) is un vaccinated and there is lot of diseases going on, to protect dogs by vaccination would demand more vaccinations in order to get protective antibody levels in the blood. The level of disease would be higher and it would be much more likely for a dog to be challenged from the virus (get in contact with a fellow dog having the virus). This would demand more frequent vaccinations or using a vaccine more efficient in getting high antibody levels in the body or/and keep the antibody level high for a longer time. High "dog density" (in a city) means more contact between dogs and higher risk of contamination of a disease. Low density (could be on the countryside) means less chance of meeting another dog and therefore less chance of getting infected. Many factors are important. But you can never stop completely vaccinate in a dog population. If you imagine that vaccination programs would stop - you would in a very short time see lot of sick dogs (as i did working in England). But - often you would be able to do less intense vaccination programs. In Sweden we did vaccinations every year. Now, in some situations it is recommended to do vaccinations every second or third year and still get the protection. This is because the percentage of vaccinated dogs is high and more efficient vaccines. What kind of vaccinations you would need to give where you live I don't know. Your local vet is the best to know. Ask him if vaccine recommendations is changed and adjusted recently. If not ...Why? Perhaps there is a good reason! Vaccinations should never been regarded as "no risk" medicine, but only used in the right way to make "dog life" more safe. Too much should be avoided! The statement I am hearing from some owner ..."I never vaccinated my dogs and the where perfectly healthy all the time" My reply would be... "No, you can say thank you to your neighbours, because the have been giving the shots and therefore made it less likely your dog get in contact with the disease" .....and then explaind kindly why and how vaccination work in a population of dogs. It is not easy to get the full picture ans you see..... I hope you not got more confused! DVM Per Schonbeck
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