"Extra" Vaccines

Extra Vaccines

I wanted to mention to you, as well, that it is possible that your vet could recommend the nasal vaccine for Bordatella. This vaccine is almost always a combination vaccine for parainfluenza (which she recently had, so don't get this unless she is due to avoid over-vaccination) and also, frankly, the bordatella vaccine is not a very useful vaccine. In my opinion the risks of the vaccine do not outweigh the potential benefits. This vaccinates against "kennel cough". The problem is that this vaccine is rarely effective and there are so many various strains of this virus that most vaccinated dogs that are put into kennels and doggie day-care type settings that are exposed to one of the many strains tend to get the virus despite their vaccine. Boarding facilities and doggie day cares require the vaccine only to protect their own liability, not to benefit the health of your dog. But, more importantly, Carly isn't being boarded in a large facility any times soon! (And if she didn't catch Bordatella in a kennel she'd just get corona virus or some other cough. They are fairly mild illnesses and easy to treat, when they require treatment). 
The vaccine can have some nasty side effects, so I recommend fully discussing it with your vet before agreeing to it.
The second vaccine that may be recommended is the vaccine for Lyme disease. This vaccine also has serious side-effects and has shown over and over again to be ineffective. Most veterinarians would not recommend this vaccine and it isn't widely produced for this reason. The best way to prevent Lyme infection is to use a good medication like K-9 Advantix monthly during any month when ticks are not dormant (there is no point of using this during the winter and the advertisements claiming so are only attempting to frighten people into spending money on their extremely expensive products. I've used every tick preventative out there (ticks are dense on our property) and K-9 Advantix has been the only one to do much good at all, although Frontline comes in second. Also, if you go to any tick infested areas check her thoroughly afterwards. Remove attached ticks with a pair of tweezers as close to the skin as possible, and pull gently out, trying to avoid crushing the tick or leaving the mouthparts in the dog's skin. I recommend flushing removed ticks because they are very difficult to crush or throw out and I've seen them climb back out of sinks hours after being washed down (with copious amounts of scalding water, I might add). Generally speaking it takes 12-24 hours for the spirochete that causes Lyme to be transmitted from tick to host. So, check for ticks and you reduce your risks. Also, nymph ticks tend to be the worst of the vectors and they tend to be around in August, so it may be prudent to avoid tick infested areas in that time frame. Deer and Lonestar ticks are the ones that spread the infection around here. Nymph deer ticks are about the size of a poppy seed, so very touch to spot. I like to feel my dogs all over with my finger tips to check for lumps, bumps, etc. Its a good habit to get into about once/week, just because then you get to know your dog's skin and body and new and unusual things will be readily noticeable. Also, Carly will love this :-)
The final vaccine to avoid entirely is the one for Leptospirosis or "Lepto". This vaccine is known to KILL puppies and small dogs. Avoid it. If your vet recommends it have a very good conversation as to why, and I would still get a second opinion before agreeing to it. Lepto is another lovely spirochete and is commonly shed in the urine of carrier animals such as raccoons and rats. Avoid feeding wildlife such as raccoons and no one feeds wild rats on purpose :-)
Lepto is unlikely to be any kind of real threat to you or Carly (as the many strains of Lepto can infect people as well). Shed lepto tend to hang out in stagnant water and cannot tolerate cold temperatures so areas where there are not lots of swamps and where there are cold winters have much lower incidence of Lepto infection for people and pets.
Anyway, keep Carly far away from standing or stagnant water for LOTS of reasons... and I'm sure you already know that! Standing water can harbor giardia, Leptospirosis, and all kinds of other nasty zoonotic diseases.
Fortunately for those that catch Lepto (which primarily attacks the kidneys, and maybe the liver as well) it is easily treated. This is a disease which is not resistant to antibiotics, so once it is diagnosed it is easy to be rid of.

Just stay out of those rat infested swamps, ok? ;-)

Alright, I've flooded your inbox with another novel of an email! Hope they are helpful! Have a great week!

Regards,
Annette

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