Vet Suggesting 4th Round of Vaccinations?

[JerDGold]

SSIA

Our pup Mango was vaccinated at 6 weeks with the breeder, again by us at 9 and given a third round by us at 13 weeks. We had to delay one week due to a case of Pyoderma. I expected her to tell us we would be good to go for more interaction with the public outside of our house/yard with only a final rabies vaccination still needed. Surprisingly, she told us not to spend much time in public because we needed a fourth round of vaccinations in three weeks to be followed by rabies. I know this isn't normal, but is there any reason to do it or not to do it? Could the week we waited due to the Pyoderma effect her vaccine schedule? As new mastiff owners, we're obviously very anxious to start socializing her more with the public and other dogs. She's already showing some fear/apprehension to other dogs.

 

[marke]

the fact your pup has already had pyoderma ,myself , i'd pass on any more vaccinations ..... the odds of a vaccination at 13 weeks not taking are slim to none ...... i've had a boat load of puppies , and never had one come down with pyoderma , imo 3 vaccinations in 7 weeks is 2 too many . best i think you could've done is passed on the 13 week vaccination and done it at 15-16 weeks , to late for that , i think your vet should've realized that ..... maybe your vet has seen a lot of 3-4 month old pups with pyoderma , and didn't think it unusual .......

 

[TricAP]

What reasons did you vet give? Specifically what vaccinations were given when and what else needs to be given? Different areas seem to require different things.

 

[JerDGold]

What reasons did you vet give? Specifically what vaccinations were given when and what else needs to be given? Different areas seem to require different things.

The vet didn't really give reasons, I said "I thought they only do three rounds?" and her response was something along the lines of "No, 4." Not in a nasty way, and we really like her. We actually switched from a vet that my girlfriend and her parents have used for many many years.

6/9/16 - Distemper/Adenovirus 2/Parainfluenze/Parvo (Breeder's Vet)
7/5/16 - Distemper/Parvo (DA2PP) (Vet #1)
8/1/16 - Distemper/Parvo (DHPP) (Vet #2)

I don't think there was a communication breakdown about what had already been done, as we had all of our paperwork. She said after the next round (and I think she mentioned dog flu/kennel in it...although my memory is fuzzy) we would finish with rabies. I feel weird telling a vet that we're not going with the recommendations based on something I read/heard on the internet...I just haven't heard of anyone getting a fourth round of parvo/distemper.

There was a concern (you may remember) that Mango was younger when we received her than the breeder said, and we expressed that concern to our vet. Not sure if that is relevant or not. This is really just about us wanting to take our dog for walks in new places to meet new stuff.

 

[Iulicris88]

If your vet mentioned canine flu/ kennel cough, I'm thinking it's a boost of the first vaccine. It could also be the leptospirosis vaccine you seem to be missing, some vets choose to give it separately.

 

[FosterMom]

My daughter adopted a dog from a local shelter this summer and the schedule they have it on is basically the same:
at 8 wks, V+5, Bordatella and a wormer; at 10 weeks another V+5; at 13 weeks another V+5 w/another wormer and at 16 weeks V+5 and rabies.
When I asked my vet about it, she concurred. (A combination vaccine, often called a 5-way vaccine, usually includes adenovirus cough and hepatitis, distemper, parainfluenza, and parvovirus.)
The pup seems to be doing fine and is due the 16 week shot next week. I've got mixed feelings about combining the shots in one vaccine.

 

[Iulicris88]

the fact your pup has already had pyoderma ,myself , i'd pass on any more vaccinations ..... the odds of a vaccination at 13 weeks not taking are slim to none ...... i've had a boat load of puppies , and never had one come down with pyoderma , imo 3 vaccinations in 7 weeks is 2 too many . best i think you could've done is passed on the 13 week vaccination and done it at 15-16 weeks , to late for that , i think your vet should've realized that ..... maybe your vet has seen a lot of 3-4 month old pups with pyoderma , and didn't think it unusual .......

The problem is not the 13 weeks vaccination, is the 6 weeks vaccination. This is what they get a rappel for, as far as I can figure from what she/ he wrote. At six weeks old the pup is barely away from it's mother, which means that there might be some antibodies left that would render the vaccination pretty much ineffective.

 

[marke]

i don't believe the 13 week vaccination was a problem either , i'm sure it's like a 99% chance it produced immunity , which is why i'd stop ...... i do however believe , to have waited another week , 14 weeks , would have eliminated the thought of a need for a 15-16 week shot , as i'm sure they want to give that one because unless there is something wrong with the dogs immune system , i believe , after 14 weeks it is like 100% effective......

 

[Hiraeth]

SSIA

Our pup Mango was vaccinated at 6 weeks with the breeder, again by us at 9 and given a third round by us at 13 weeks. We had to delay one week due to a case of Pyoderma. I expected her to tell us we would be good to go for more interaction with the public outside of our house/yard with only a final rabies vaccination still needed. Surprisingly, she told us not to spend much time in public because we needed a fourth round of vaccinations in three weeks to be followed by rabies. I know this isn't normal, but is there any reason to do it or not to do it? Could the week we waited due to the Pyoderma effect her vaccine schedule? As new mastiff owners, we're obviously very anxious to start socializing her more with the public and other dogs. She's already showing some fear/apprehension to other dogs.

Doing a final round of vaccinations at 16 weeks is absolutely normal.

When puppies are feeding from their mother, she is providing their bodies with antibodies and immunity to certain diseases. The antibodies can wear off very quickly after they're weaned, or it can take two months. Each puppy is individual - it's not even a litter or breed thing. So you start doing vaccinations at 6-8 weeks (I prefer closer to 8), because if the antibodies have already left the puppy's system, the puppy is in danger of getting those diseases (parvo, distemper, bordatella). However, if the antibodies from the mom haven't worn off, the 6-8 week vaccinations are useless. Same goes for the vaccinations you did at 9 weeks, and at 13 weeks. It's likely that by 13 weeks the vaccinations have been effective, but not 100% guaranteed.

I imagine that your vet is recommending a fourth round because you live in an area with a high risk for distemper or parvo, and they don't want to see your puppy come down with a potentially fatal illness.

If she's already showing signs of fear, you should be signing her up for a puppy socializing course at a certified facility. Random socialization can harm more than it helps, especially if she has a bad experience with a stranger or strange dog at a pet store or in the general public.

 

[JerDGold]

If she's already showing signs of fear, you should be signing her up for a puppy socializing course at a certified facility. Random socialization can harm more than it helps, especially if she has a bad experience with a stranger or strange dog at a pet store or in the general public.

She plays pretty well with our Chihuahua, but the bigger Mango gets, the less the Chihuahua seems to want to play with her. She spent some time with another much older dog that was pretty disinterested as well at a Golden at ~1 year whose high energy seemed to freak her out a little bit.

We've done some puppy training at a PetSmart near us with another dog and really liked the trainer. I'm sure they carry some sort of certification...do you think is a good plan? Or should we do something that maybe doesn't take place in a PetSmart? Which certifications should I look for?

 

[marke]

It’s always been my understanding pups acquire passive immunity from the mom in the uterus and in the the first few feedings ? after that she could feed them until they are old and grey , they will get no further immunity from her ……. the passive immunity they get from her in the first few feedings will wear off no matter how long they nurse ..… I’ve never believed in the vaccine protocol because of anecdotal evidence of the dogs I grew up with and around ….. I did vaccinate my first litter as directed , 5 way shot every two weeks . that litter was the only allergy I’ve ever knowingly produced …….. my ddb never have immune issues , never , ever .food or environmental allergies , skin conditions , or thyroid problems …. my thought is it’s 1 of three things , maybe a combination , one being ddb as a breed don’t have immune issues , or it’s because I have bred my own dogues , or it’s the way I vaccinate my pups and dogs … I don’t think it’s the Purina , science diet , eukanuba , diamond I’ve raised them on … my dogs spend most of their lives outside exposed to every animal native to ohio , and have killed about every kind of each , and eaten half of those ….. they’re also exposed to more strange dogs than I could possibly count ...... I use monovalent vaccines , my 5 current dogs range in age from 16 months to 6 years , the 6yr olds have each had two distemper shots , two parvo shots , and one rabies shot in their lives , the 16 month olds have had one distemper , one rabies and one parvo ….. that may be extreme , and possibly not something should be advocated , but 4 sets of 2,4 and 5 way shots before a pup is 16 weeks is advocating much worse imo …….. aside from bombarding the pups immune system with 4,5,7 challenges at once , your needlessly exposing them to the adjuvants and preservatives in those vaccines …….. when the usbc called for microchipping your dogues I stopped registering my dogues , because I wasn’t putting that in them , so I’ve always been a bit extreme when it came to stuff like that , but the result seems to be healthy dogues …..

 

[TricAP]

Given that your pup has already had pyroderma and that being an indicator of an immature immune system spacing the vaccines out sounds prudent to me. Less chance of an adverse reaction that way and if one occurs the cause will be more obvious. Our vet practices breaks up the vaccines more than any I've used in the past for that reason - less for a puppy to deal with at one time.

Sounds like your vet has the pups best interest at heart.