Click on title for previous posts in this series:
Disclaimer: I want to make one thing clear: I am not against vaccinating your pets. I will be sharing our experiences, as well as information I have learned through research and from our own veterinarian. My intent is only to share information that might be important for pet families to know. You should always consult your own trusted vet when it comes to the care and safety of your own pets’ health.
Core vaccines are those recommended for all dogs, non-core vaccines are special vaccines that are recommended based on lifestyle and exposure to certain diseases. Most non-core vaccines only last for one year. The most common ones are Bordetella (kennel cough), Lyme, Leptospirosis, and Canine Influenza (a hot topic in some areas of the country right now).
Today we will cover Bordetella and Leptospirosis. In Part 5B we’ll cover Lyme and Canine Influenza.
Kennel cough is a contagious respiratory ailment commonly contracted in boarding kennels and other situations where dogs are in close proximity, and is also known as infectious tracheal bronchitis. A dry, hacking cough and vomiting are common symptoms. These symptoms can often be mild and resolve on their own, but they can lead to pneumonia in young, old, or dogs with weakened immune systems.
We had our own experience with this when Luke came down with it only two days after he came home with us at 8 weeks old. He mostly likely contracted it when being transported from down South. He had, however, been vaccinated for it before he left Alabama. I went into a panic because I knew this was highly contagious, and most dangerous for young puppies and older dogs (and we still had our older Kobi then). Our vet, however, was far less worried. Luke was put on antibiotics, and we were assured that the other healthy dogs weren’t that likely to contract it, and if they did it would most likely be mild and just run its course like a human cold.
That all turned out to be true – the other dogs never came down with it, and Luke was better in just 2 days. Apparently there are different strains of this disease out there, so a vaccine is not a guarantee that they won’t contract it! Many places such as kennels, training centers, daycares and groomers require your dogs to have this vaccine.
Leptospirosis is a bacterial disease that can also be transmitted to humans (though it is more common for humans to contract this on their own, not from their dog). It is contracted by coming into contact with the urine of an infected animal, most likely by wading in water that contains that urine. The most common symptoms are fever, depression, joint and muscle pain, and this ultimately can lead to liver and kidney damage. It is more common in certain areas of the country than others. I tried to find a map showing this, but I couldn’t (apparently you can’t find everything on the internet).
Lepto is treated with antibiotics and if caught early the chances of recovery are good. But why not just vaccinate? There are some problems with it: The vaccine is more likely than others to cause an adverse reaction (though that is said to have improved in time)…when Cricket had her first vaccination reaction, the first thing that was removed from her protocol was the lepto part. The other problem is similar to the bordetella problem, there are many different strains of this disease and even if you vaccinate it can still be contracted (there may be over 200 strains of this disease and the vaccine might cover 4 of them at the most).
When our beagle Kobi became ill in his old age, and showed signs of kidney and liver damage, the first thing our vet wanted to check for was Lepto. Imagine our surprise since Kobi was our one dog that had consistently been vaccinated for that! Again, I panicked, reading how contagious this disease was not to just our other dogs but us too. Our vet wasn’t as worried. At that point, Lepto could have been treatable, whereas it turned out Kobi did not have that and it was old age making his organs fail. One other issue with this vaccine is the fact that it may not even last for the full year that it’s said to.
We have dropped Lepto from all of our dogs’ protocol because it is not that common in our area, and we don’t hike into the woods a lot anymore. If we traveled further south quite often our vet would advise it more. We also don’t vaccinate for bordetella (other than Luke early on). Our dogs don’t go to daycare or dog parks, and they don’t stay in kennels.
That is what I think needs to be considered with both of these vaccines: whether or not it is necessary for your dog to have it yearly (or even twice a year in the case of kennel cough). You and your vet need to consider the situations that your dogs are exposed to. We also need to avoid panicking over diseases that are treatable. To be safe, if you do decide to get these vaccines for your dog, I would separate them from the other vaccines (usually by at least two weeks). Leptospirosis is often lumped in with core vaccines, and I don’t think that’s safe. It is available as a stand alone vaccine and I think that’s the only way it should be given. What we’re trying to avoid here is over-vaccination and dropping non-core vaccines that might not be needed is a good place to start.
For more information on both of these diseases:
Today we are joining the Thursday Barks & Bytes blog hop. Thank you to our hosts 2 Brown Dawgs blog, and Heart Like a Dog. Please visit other blogs through the links below!
The same thoughts hold true for kitty vaccines. Because she is indoor only, Raven’s vaccinations are limited to the “core” kitty vaccines every 3+ years and an annual rabies vaccine. We ask our vet to order the 1-year rabies vaccine (Meriel PureVax) because it does not contain adjuvants, which may be implicated in vaccine-associated sarcoma. The 3-year rabies vaccine is commonly used for kitties because many owners don’t want to bring their pets in for annual exams and it’s less expensive. I always opt for “safe” over “convenient”, and I’m thankful that I can afford that option. I know many people need to use a low-cost vaccination clinic for their pets and that doesn’t allow many options or conversations with the vet about what’s best for your pet.
You have done your homework, and that is great. I did not know that about the 1 year vs. 3 yr rabies vaccines for cats. I am planning to do a post on just cat vaccinations but still really need to do my research. I had always assumed the 3 year was better just because it meant less vaccinations, so I really learned something here…thank you!
We are also lucky to be able to afford yearly vet visits, there was only one time many years ago that we used a clinic like that.
Merial now offers a 3-year version of their PureVax nonadjuvanted rabies vaccine for cats. If owners want it, they may need to request that their vet order it. My vet doesn’t always carry all vaccine types, but he orders them or gets them from a larger practice when I request it. Here’s the Merial link: http://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/3-Year-Nonadjuvanted-Rabies-Vaccine-Available-for-Cats/
The Boys get a Bordetella vaccine because of doggie day camp. It is a requirement by the facility and my vet highly recommends it. If and when we move – I will have to re-access whether or not they will attend a day camp therefore I don not know if I would continue with the vaccinations.
Given the fact that we don’t have any place around here where the dogs can readily contract Lepto, our vet doesn’t feel the vaccine is necessary. And the bordatella vaccine is a must for Ducky since she’s going to daycare once a week (sometimes two or three times); but Callie & Shadow stay at home with us, so they don’t need it. When it comes to vaccinations, I tend to go along with our vet’s recommendation; but I will be talking to him about possibly just doing a titer test for Callie & Shadow this year for their core vaccines since they’re getting older.
You are doing the exact same things I would do (and mostly do since our pets are pretty similar, only all of ours stay home!). Talking it over with your vet and trusting their advice is crucial. A good vet explains things well and leaves the ultimate decision up to us.
I have heard that the titers can be expensive, so be sure you ask about cost too.
Informative post. You are correct that no vaccine is 100% effective. Your dog may still get kennel cough even know it is vaccinated against it, but having the vaccine will lessen the severity of the virus. Lepto reactions are mostly seen in smaller dogs, they can happen in any animal and when they do we make note of it and then the next year give a antihistamine to cover the reaction. If the pets lifestyle is one where they may pick up lepto then it is much safer to take precautions and give a antihistamine before hand then vaccinate then not to vaccinate at all. lepto is a deadly disease that is often missed until it is to late. It can be given safely with other vaccines. I vaccinate all my dogs with all the vaccines and haven’t had any issues. If it is a smaller dog we will separate out the vaccines by two weeks. You don’t want to do it any earlier than that or the vaccines won’t work. Thanks for the series, I’ve enjoyed it too.
I agree that Lepto can often be given safely with other vaccines. Our beagle Kobi had it every year for most of his life and there was never even a tiny issue with him. Cricket is a smaller dog and that’s why she may be more sensitive. I just feel it can’t hurt to separate them, even in a larger dog. Our vet is happy to do that for all the dogs, and he usually doesn’t charge us for the office visit that is just for a shot. He just thinks it’s an inconvenience to us, which it is, but for me the peace of mind is worth it.
I am not sure I agree with all that you wrote in this post. I do agree that people should consider whether their dog needs a particular vaccine before getting it. It is true that some dogs have a reaction to the lepto vaccine but I do not believe it is any more common if it is given in a multi shot. We separate rabies and the others if it is a year the dogs need rabies but otherwise we would give the combo shot. Of course now that the dogs are on a three years protocol they get the lepto separate some years. Lepto may be treatable, but it is a long hard road and not always a successful outcome. I know dogs that have died or almost died from it. I remember about 5 years ago several dogs died from it and we were all in a panic. It turns out that those dogs were vaccinated with an older version of the vaccine and were overdue for a newer one that had come out. Lepto is the one vaccine that we give on time every year. I sort of feel like you dismissed how serious that disease can be, but I do appreciate the information. Thanks for sharing on the hop.
It just doesn’t make sense to me to put what is a yearly vaccine in with what can be three year vaccines. I think that’s just one of the things that leads to over-vaccination. And when you’re combining so many and there’s a reaction, you have no idea which they reacted to. That’s what happened to us with Cricket. So the next year we dropped the lepto since it was most likely the culprit. She still got other shots all at the same time and next time she reacted we still didn’t know which it was to (I think Lyme was next on the list of most likely)! We finally knew it was at least the DHPP when she reacted to that, but that’s when I’d had enough.
I didn’t mean to dismiss Lepto as not being a serious disease. Although our vet didn’t seem too worried when we thought Kobi might have it (though that’s his demeanor I think and I was still worried anyway). I just want people to know that it is treatable so that if their dog does get it, they don’t totally panic. But you are right, it should be taken very seriously.
Thanks for sharing this info. We only get those vaccinations that we need. Rabies every year because the law requires it. Distemper only every 3-4 years. Because we’re inside cats, we don’t get the FeLV vaccination.
Thank you for sharing your research ~ our pups get both the Lepto & the KC vaccines, since there’s a lot of wooded areas in our NC neck of the woods (BOL at the pun). The pups used to go to puppy day camp on a regular basis, but haven’t been in over a year since we moved to an area that I thought didn’t have one. Just found out about a day camp located 45 minutes from us, and we’ll likely use from time to time, so the pups will get the KC vaccination again.
Our vet discusses all the vaccinations with us each year. She doesn’t believe in unnecessary ones which is nice.
We vaccinate against kennel cough if we are going to be around other dogs. Bentley had it once and it was so sad to hear him.
Oh, I know, I will never forget how awful Luke sounded. The first night was horrible, but luckily our vet had reassured us the antibiotics would work quickly, and they did.
Interesting series. I am just evaluating what to vaccinate or medicate Kilo for. My previous dog Isabelle got Heartworm in Chile and we have to have rabies shots here. The influenza or KC are quite low risk for Kilo as he is not at all social yet. Thanks for sharing your research. It is always better to be informed when you speak to your vet. X Susie
Love this series – there’s so much information and misinformation about vaccinations floating around out there. Good to have a resource.
Thank you for joining the blog hop.
Lepto is the only non-core vaccine that we do and I may be rethinking it this year. I would like to find some statistics about how frequently it is diagnosed in our area.
Sampson had KC three times, all three times he’d been vaccinated against it. That was when I stopped. Also, the last time he had it, we also had Delilah and I was panicked because they drink from the same bowl, but luckily she did not contract it. (I’d also note that he went to the vet the very first day he had symptoms. LOL) They stopped going to daycare, they have never been kenneled and they have limited contact with other dogs.
I’ve enjoyed your series on vaccines, it’s a hot topic for me and I don’t think I could handle it as diplomatically as you have. 🙂
Thank you, Jodi. I am trying very hard to be diplomatic, so I’m glad I’m (mostly) accomplishing that!
It was frustrating to me that I had trouble finding statistics on Lepto. Please let me know if you do find some.
I’m not sure I understand kennel cough, that they say it is highly contagious and yet none of our three dogs caught it from Luke either. He also went to the vet the day he started with symptoms, so maybe catching it early is the key.
Very interesting about the Lepto. I have never heard of this, so thanks for the insight!
ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!
We always ask for single shots, even when we have to wait and when we have to pay a little more… I watched the photo from baby Luke a long time, it’s a wonderful moment to hold them in your arm the first time :o)
I’m glad you get your shots split up, Easy. It can be inconvenient, but I think it’s worth it too.
If you enjoyed that photo of Luke, you might want to read the post I wrote about bringing him home, if you haven’t: http://www.afarmgirlsfinds.com/home-for-christmas/