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Old February 11th, 2008, 05:18 PM
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angelinazzz angelinazzz is offline
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Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Montreal Quebec
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how often do u vaccine?

I have a little daschund whos due to be vaccine this july..Im asking you how often do u vaccine? yearly? each 2 years?

Seams like the protocol have changed in certain clinics and others didnt.
and also do u give the heartworm medicine?if so..which one

tx for your answers!
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Old February 11th, 2008, 05:58 PM
SnowDancer SnowDancer is offline
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Location: Toronto
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Yes, we vaccinate as per Toronto, Ontario requirements. Your profile does not provide your location details. Our last Dachshund died in June 2004 and yes, he and our other Dachshunds received Heartworm treatment - first in chewable and then topical - not hard to apply on a short-haired dog. We now have an American Eskimo and he gets Sentinal chewable - the topical application was kind of iffy due to his extremely thick neck fur - unless you shave it, can't be sure of proper penetration unless your technique is a lot better than ours. You may find with current vaccines that your vet might want you to leave your Dachshund at the clinic to monitor the vaccines - a lot of small dogs (in stature - Dachshunds are BIG dogs in all other respects as I am sure you know) were having hyper-like reactions to vaccines and so needed to have Benedryl administered - but only if required. Fortunately my last guy could tolerate Benedryl - and he did get hyper - sadly I get hyper FROM Benedryl.
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Old February 11th, 2008, 08:13 PM
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ancientgirl ancientgirl is offline
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I just finished vaccinating my kittens. Now I think I only have to vaccinate all of them yearly and every other year for certain things. What I like about my vet is whenever I take one of them in, the invoice always has the date when they are up for their next vaccine.
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Old February 11th, 2008, 09:45 PM
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cmt489 cmt489 is offline
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Location: Vancouver, BC
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For dogs, you can titer test every year to find out what vaccines your dog needs which allows you to be sure not you are not over vaccinating. While you have to pay a little for the test, you are not having to vaccinate every year and you are sure your dog is protected. The only exception is rabies which you need to do every one or three years depending on which vaccine you gave your dog the last time. I am not sure about heart worm vaccinations since we don't have heart worm issues here in BC.

My Shiba is 4 1/2 years old now and, other than his rabies, titer testing has shown that he has not needed anything else.

Unfortunately, they do not have a similar test for cats yet but my vet is now recommending every second year. BTW, many vets will still say every year since it is an old habit that dies hard (plus keeps revenue coming in). If your vet gives you this automatic response, don't be afraid to question them about alternatives. With this being said, still make sure to take your critters in for their yearly check-ups!

Last edited by cmt489; February 11th, 2008 at 09:48 PM.
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Old February 12th, 2008, 12:35 AM
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BigRover BigRover is offline
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Location: Toronto
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Once your puppy went through the original full series, you likely don't need to vaccinate your dog for quite some time. That is with exception of the rabies shot which is required by law (check your local regulations) either every 1 or 3 years.

The move against over vaccinating our pets is growing and more and more vets are becoming educated about the issues. As mentioned, you can opt to do titers which is essentially a test that checks your dog's immunity for a given disease. There are many issues however related to this. One major one being that there are no set and reliable guidelines on what values are acceptable under what conditions for what dogs. They can also become expensive and in my opinion unnecessary.

I remember reading a study in which dogs were given their puppy shots and then no consecutive innoculations. They were shown to have immunity to common diseases for as long as 7 years!!! Think about that. If one series can last a dog for most of his adult life, what are we doing to them with the anual vacs!

Altimately it's up to you. Do your research, read up, and do what altimately you are most comfortable with.
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