hogey Posted July 29, 2011 Report Share Posted July 29, 2011 Last year I had a letter from the Vet to advise me that the Annual Booster for my 4 year old terriers was due. I made the appointment and took them along for thier jabs. About 3 weeks later one of the dogs became ill and was diaognosed with a very serious illness called AIHA which affects the dogs immune system.It was touch and go if she would make it but one year on she is doing good and only on a small ammount of medication now. I have read a lot aboout this illness and it is not sure what causes it and some breeds are more prone to it than others but Border Terriers are not one of them. I read that one possible cause is the annual booster but the Vets will not admit to this as they gain about 20% of their revenue from these vaccinations. Today I took my dogs to the vet for their annual check up and booster vaccinations. After a discussion with the vet I declined to have the jabs. I might add I have paid in advance for the dogs life to have these jabs so it has nothing to do with the money. I wonder what the forum members opinions are on this matter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apache Posted July 30, 2011 Report Share Posted July 30, 2011 These things are all a gamble of risk versus benefit. IMHA is a condition where the body makes antibodies that attack the dogs red blood cells and cause them to become badly anaemic. Without intensive treatment they can die. It is caused by anything that stimulates the immune system and this can include vaccination. It is very rare. I have only ever seen 1 case and have vaccinated many thousands of dogs. Conversely I have seen many dogs suffering with parvo and lepto and they are nasty diseases that are frequently fatal. If I had to pick whether I had to have Lepto, parvo of IMHA I would pick the IMHA! If you have a dog that has suffered from this then maybe leave that dog unvaccinated, but don't let a very rare problem put you of vaccinating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hogey Posted July 30, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2011 These things are all a gamble of risk versus benefit. IMHA is a condition where the body makes antibodies that attack the dogs red blood cells and cause them to become badly anaemic. Without intensive treatment they can die. It is caused by anything that stimulates the immune system and this can include vaccination. It is very rare. I have only ever seen 1 case and have vaccinated many thousands of dogs. Conversely I have seen many dogs suffering with parvo and lepto and they are nasty diseases that are frequently fatal. If I had to pick whether I had to have Lepto, parvo of IMHA I would pick the IMHA! If you have a dog that has suffered from this then maybe leave that dog unvaccinated, but don't let a very rare problem put you of vaccinating. Thank you for your knowledgable reply.I guess you must be a vet? I am not sure how rare the illness is but when I was in the vets last night she said she was treating another one and it was a cocker and I beleive they are one of the breeds that can be more affected. It is a dilema for me to decide what to do and I only want what is best for my dogs and I guess at the end of the day it is only me who can make the decision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Siberian Tiger Posted July 31, 2011 Report Share Posted July 31, 2011 Hi Hogey Sorry to hear about your dogs diagnosis, on a positive note great that little medication is now needed. Going back to the initial diagnosis and suspected reaction to the vaccination, you can ask your vet for a 'yellow form' to report a suspected vaccine reaction and send it to the relevant people researching this area. I myself, began questioning vaccination of my dogs after reading some research. I compromised with having titre tests done on both my dogs (both had enough antibodies not to need boosting other than Lepto as this, at the time was only effective for 9 months). When I got my pup 3 years ago, I made the decision to have his puppy shots and then no shots after that. I also asked the vet to split the vaccines (as Lepto is known to cause some of the worst side effects). Pup had his first jab. Within 24 hrs he was listless, lifeless and it was very much touch and go. I was certain itcould only be a vaccine reaction and had a very heated conversation with my vet who refused to give him Prednisone as he said there was no way it was a reaction to the vaccine. Ended up TELLING said vet to give Preds and I would take full responsibility for consequences. Pup recovered and from that point forward I have not had any of mine vaccinated. It's a hard decision to make. There is lots of research out there, books you can read. The World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) have a guide of vaccines and when they should be given (split vaccines over 3 year period) - you can access it online. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted August 1, 2011 Report Share Posted August 1, 2011 my brother used to be area rep for one of the bigger vaccine companies and used to handle these sort of cases. They are pretty rare but do happen, not sure about that dog what I would do obviously it had some vaccinations before and had had no reaction so its a gamble. I tend to have mine done every other year the research in how long vaccines last has one major hickup and that is the people whose interest is in doing the research are the ones who make money out of the vaccinations either by making them or administering them. General concensus is in all dogs they last a year and many its two years or longer but you can't guarantee it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apache Posted August 1, 2011 Report Share Posted August 1, 2011 General concensus is in all dogs they last a year and many its two years or longer but you can't guarantee it. No so. The biggest problem is the two parts of the vaccine that run out first are the Leptospirosis and the Parvo-virus - the two bits your dog is most likely to come into contact with. The distemper etc may last for more than 3 years or even give lifelong protection. I have seen a dog die from lepto 2.5 years after last booster and a litter of puppies die from parvo when their mum was 3 years after a proper booster and had been vaccinated 1 month before getting pregnant with vaccine illegally imported from Ireland. The vaccine is cheap and effective. Please don't let these infrequent stories put you off. Keeping your dog vaccinated is part of responsible dog ownership. In the last few years it is a standard question on insurance claim forms - is the dog up to date on his vaccinations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kent Posted August 1, 2011 Report Share Posted August 1, 2011 There are so many restictions on unvacinated dogs and kennels etc., its hard not to vacinate. I very nearly lost a dog to parvo many years ago and i believe the vaccine changes year to year to acomadate the changes in this and other viruses he was vacinated against it, not sure if it helped him pull through but it couldn't have hurt his chances. I get a flu jab every autumn myself and i believe its the same story with that one I don't namby pamby dogs or troll off to the vets every couple of weeks but annual jabs just make economic scense. My neighbours wont vacinate thier sheep dogs as they think it makes for weak dogs, but i have witnessed some pretty tough dogs die of parvo, distemper etc and all the boosters you give will not add up to the treatment for one good dose of that sort of thing i recon yeah, vets probebly make good money out of jabs. but consider what they make out of stop over treatments Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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