Booster Vaccinations reference

[vicky payne]

There is evidence that for many dogs the Distemper, parvo and hepatitis part will last for at least three years IF the dog receives at least two puppy vaccinations and a booster a year later. Some drug companies have proven over 95% efficacy in laboratory dogs at 3years and are licenced for such use. They can't get a licence for further duration if only 90 or 80% are protected BUT you could check you own dogs level of cover by blood titre testing after the three years (and annually thereafter).

Leptospirosis is not found in some areas of the world but is found widely in the UK and Europe. This vaccine differs from the others in that laboratory testing shows a short duration of immunity, as such all vaccines are licenced to be repeated after 1year and a double re-start course will be required if it's been more than 18months since vaccination. Those concerned about annual lepto can also titre test but the test is more expensive. Titre tested 'real world' dogs often show higher than expected titres after 12months and this is thought to be due to meeting letpo in the field and naturally revaccinating themselves as the same results are not seen in lab dogs.

As far as reactions go all vaccines are not the same. The brand we use has a better safety profile due to differences in manufacture than some other brands but all are very safe. You will hear a lot about horrific reactions and deaths but that's because they are horrific for that owner....there are no 'my dog had his jabs and was fine' fb groups because we don't tend to talk about stuff that goes as planned! But these type of reactions are extremely rare, and certainly more rare than disease in unvaccinated dogs.

Not all unvaccinated dogs get ill, but they become more at risk the fewer dogs are vaccinated. If most dogs are vaccinated the disease is unlikely to spread to unvaccinated dogs but the more unvaccinated dogs there are the quicker it will spread. They call it herd immunity. In addition the more we vaccinate dogs the less risk there is of them re-vaccinating naturally so the more reliant they are on the vaccines.

The longer term stuff; cancers, autoimmune problems...well, I think vaccines have a role BUT so do wormers, flea treatments, a variety of medications, processed pet food, pollution, inbreeding...you get the picture!

Talk to your vet, if they aren't on a three year DHP/annual Lepto vaccine ask them why not! If your dogs have health concerns or history which make you concerned over vaccination just ask! Far from being evil the best drug companies are very helpful and often have data, which though not strong enough to be published or to make a data sheet claim, can help you and your vet make the best decision for your dog.

(Nb one company has just launched a new lepto vac which will cover 85% of the current important strains as opposed to the 35% in most vaccines. Lepto strains have changed over time and 10years of work has gone into this new vaccine. It will require all dogs to have two boosters for lepto, but it is the company with the safest jabs!)

[vicky payne]

I didn't mention Rabies; only needed if you want to travel outside UK. Two shots advised if <6m, one if over 6m and revaccinate every 3years unless you move to a country which still wants annual vaccination regardless of what the vaccine companies have proven as a duration of immunity!

And there's Kennel Cough, one off, annually if your dog is at risk (training, working , shows, kennels all very risky!)

[PrairieBoy]

Excellent summary Dr. Payne.

Just a footnote: Pups imported into Canada over 3 months of age must have been given a rabies shot. Pups cannot be exported from the UK under 3 months of age, so breeders must be aware of requirements if exporting to Canada.

[Tarimoor]

Link to the wsava guidelines for anyone wanting to read them:

http://www.wsava.org/sites/default/file ... es2010.pdf

Proffessor Ronald Schultz has done a lot of work on canine vaccinations, worth if anyone's interested in reading more.

[vicky payne]

Thanks for finding and pinning this! Saves my fingers

[Gundogs11]

This is a great post from Vicky Payne and the approach we have been taking to vaccinations.
Recently I have heard "horror stories" about the new Lepto 4 vaccination. Obviously there have been many dogs having no issues with the vaccination and this will only reflect a small percentage, but enough to make me think before getting the L4 vaccinations.

RE "(Nb one company has just launched a new lepto vac which will cover 85% of the current important strains as opposed to the 35% in most vaccines. Lepto strains have changed over time and 10years of work has gone into this new vaccine. It will require all dogs to have two boosters for lepto, but it is the company with the safest jabs!)"
do you know if this is the same company as the vaccination which is causing the problems?

[shamykebab]

Recently I have heard "horror stories" about the new Lepto 4 vaccination. Obviously there have been many dogs having no issues with the vaccination and this will only reflect a small percentage, but enough to make me think before getting the L4 vaccinations.

"Horror stories"...sigh.

Drugs have extensive, stringent testing and clinical trials to assess safety and efficacy before a license is granted for use and marketing. Stories on Facebook, the Daily Mail, word of mouth etc are just that: stories.

Some people don't seem to know the difference between sheer coincidence, correlation and a causal link. Have any of these dogs that "died because of Lepto 4" had a post mortem carried out? If the vaccination was indeed causing health problems the drug would be recalled.

Unverified scaremongering should not overrule facts and evidence-based medicine to the detriment of health.

[Gundogs11]

To be clear, I am not scaremongering, or advocating such, I was wondering if the vet who had posted such a fantastic post initially, had any updates on this 3 1/2 years later.
We all care about our pets/working dogs and all want to do the best by them, avoid risk where we can and make educated informed decisions.
I am currently trying to gather information to make an informed decision.
Obviously statistics can be used and manipulated as one sees fit. If you used the statistic that the L4 vaccine has an adverse affect on 6 in 10,000 dogs (Source: Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) July 2016) and leptospirosis was thought to have affected 13 dogs (one of which was vaccinated) in 2014, this could lead you to assume that the risk of the vaccine is higher than the risk of leptospirosis. This is obviously not necessarily the case as lepto is not a notifiable disease, and is thought to be underdiagnosed due to non-specific clinical signs.

[Judy]

Shamy is also a Vet I believe. All I can add is I am not, one of my dogs had the L4 with no ill effects!

[munstyman]

Recently I have heard "horror stories" about the new Lepto 4 vaccination. Obviously there have been many dogs having no issues with the vaccination and this will only reflect a small percentage, but enough to make me think before getting the L4 vaccinations.

"Horror stories"...sigh.

Drugs have extensive, stringent testing and clinical trials to assess safety and efficacy before a license is granted for use and marketing. Stories on Facebook, the Daily Mail, word of mouth etc are just that: stories.

Some people don't seem to know the difference between sheer coincidence, correlation and a causal link. Have any of these dogs that "died because of Lepto 4" had a post mortem carried out? If the vaccination was indeed causing health problems the drug would be recalled.

Unverified scaremongering should not overrule facts and evidence-based medicine to the detriment of health.

Hmm, Its all well and good blaming the general public for a lack of trust in the science and giving an ear to those `scare mongering' stories...but how long ago was the `profession' going along with the line of `annual' booster vaccinations for distemper, parvo and hepatitis ? Having lost a good young dog to a `reaction' to this booster policy, and then finding out that it was known at the time to be suspect, and then later the `three year' policy brought into practice, forgive me if I'm not so trusting of both sides of any debate regarding `safety issues' based on `current' thinking.
Having a new pup, I was naturally concerned about the L4 `scare stories', but I am well capable of doing my own research and sifting through the evidence from the FB hype. And I am lucky in that I have a good relationship with my vets practice and could have my concerns considered and I am not talked down to on such matters ( they wouldn't be my vets very long if they did ) I never take facts as facts till I look at their source, and any motivation behind those giving those `facts'. I can read too, so when I ask a professional for their opinion I want just that, their opinion...I don't want the sales blurb on the packaging from the company that's selling the product
ps. My pup was given the l4...and I'm happy with it....ask me in a years time whether I opt for a booster