It is coming round to shot time again and......

Mel Blacke

Well-Known Member
it is time to do battle with my shot happy vet who is a firm believer in a more traditional shot protocol. He asked for proof and I sent him to Dr Jean Dodd's website when he wanted proof. For anyone interested, here is a link to an article about titer tests in the whole dog journal:

Titer Tests, and Preventing Overvaccination | Whole Dog Journal

I was thrilled that Fiona's breeder knew and practiced Dr Dodd's protocol. She was a retired nurse as well as a hobby breeder and was very much up on the specifics of dog health.

Anyway, I am offering up this topic to see what you guys think.
 
I've heard of this B4, and it makes sense to me. I've wondered if it's the same for horses and goats. As it is, I have people try to give me flack over my deworming program-or apparent lack thereof. Most people give their horses wormer paste every few weeks. I do it 2x a year, and if I did fecals, could probably do it less. After all, my horses are by themselves and I clean up after them.
 
I have heard of intelligent worming in horses and know of one person who owns two horses that never leave the property and no one around has any other stock so this person uses a lighter worming schedule.
 
I like the idea of doing titers as opposed to frequent boosters. I agree there's a possibility of harm from over vaccinating and too many unknowns. Doing titers isn't cheap though and more time consuming.
 
Should only cost around $35, there is a specific lab that the sample can be sent to. Of course you have to play for the blood draw and the office visit.
 
I asked about this yesterday when mine were in. The cost for doing the titers was $120 each!
 
An update on shot protocols: Fiona had her 3 year rabies booster. She needs a kennel cough vaccine but I won't allow a vaccine more than every 90 days. The vet tried yet again to give her another one of those combo shots and I pointed out that she had her final combo shot a year ago at the beginning of last summer so now we can run titers to check for immunity. He stopped pressuring me when I whipped out a copy of her shot record from their office and showed him. It was buried in the vet record and hard to see apparently. We drew the blood for the titers and a heartworm check. The titer test cost $80 for all three tests. If the titers for one of those diseases falls short of the desired level, then she will only be re-vaccinated for that particular disease....no more combo shots!! That means that I will be hunting up a vet that will give only a single inoculation because this particular vet office does not offer single innoculations.
 
You think they would try to accommodate you. If it's not the vet then it's the drug company trying to make money and force you into choices you don't want.
 
In fairness, I don't think that he is motivated purely by profit motive--he has probably witnessed countless dogs get really sick and/or die because of some of these diseases and that is the protocol that he has been given to follow with his medical training. My local pharmacist takes her dogs to this guy and she thinks he is an excellent vet: He is a believer in shots to prevent disease...that is what they teach in school. He also does not mind me asking questions and quizzing him. I have heard of vets dropping you for not following the prescribed shot protocols they recommend because they consider you to be non compliant--so this guy is at least willing to entertain the notion that I am motivated by looking out for my dogs. He actually asked me what I was doing to prevent yeast problems in my dog's ears (the ears are looked at every time Fiona is in there to see him---and I always ask whether they look dirty or clean--or if it looks like trouble is brewing down there and I insist on occasionally doing a culture---just to be sure--some of the vets will say that it isn't necessary and I say, "oh yes....yes it is"). This is a huge practice with many vets which means that there is always someone available to see my dogs when they are sick---even on a Sunday--that to me is priceless. My other vet was a great vet but he was a one man practice. When I call to say my dog is limping or throwing up or was stung by a bee, and they say that the vet can see her a week from this coming Tuesday----Uhmmm...NOPE!!.
 
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