# Vet wants to give 4 rounds of shots?



## TheNoob (Feb 3, 2012)

I'm a little confused. My puppy was already given his first set of shots by his breeder when he was 8 weeks old. He's getting the 5-way puppy shot. We took him for his second set 3-4 weeks later, and he had his third set today. However, the vet wants him to come in for another set in 3 weeks. Is this normal? I thought that he only needed 3 sets of shots and then he was done. Should I take him in for another set? I'm new to all of this. Thank you for any advice


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## jprice103 (Feb 16, 2011)

Are you sure that last set isn't the Rabies? I know that Panzer got 3 full sets, and the last set was only Rabies.


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## TheNoob (Feb 3, 2012)

jprice103 said:


> Are you sure that last set isn't the Rabies? I know that Panzer got 3 full sets, and the last set was only Rabies.


Hi, 

I'm sure the last one isn't rabies because rabies was already given today.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

How old is he? If he's 16 weeks then he does not need another set. If he was vaccinated early and it threw the series off then he may need them. How old was he when he got his first shot? You could titer instead and see where his immunity is.


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## TheNoob (Feb 3, 2012)

Jax08 said:


> How old is he? If he's 16 weeks then he does not need another set. If he was vaccinated early and it threw the series off then he may need them. How old was he when he got his first shot? You could titer instead and see where his immunity is.


He's 15 weeks today. The vet decided to vaccinate him every three weeks. He was given his very first set at 8 weeks by the breeder. I didn't know I could check his immunity. Thanks for the advice


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## wyominggrandma (Jan 2, 2011)

If your puppy has had shots at 8, 12 and 16 weeks, or 8/11/15 weeks he doesn't need another vaccination until a full year has passed. If he was given rabies today also, again, that needs to be repeated in a year. Then both are good for 3 years according to AVMA statements.
If you vet is wanting to give another set of shots in 3 weeks, he is pushing it for his own pocket and I would truthfully tell him that you will not get another vaccination for a full year. If he disagrees and persists in antother vaccination in three weeks, find another vet.
The AVMA recommende the three sets of vaccinations then a booster in a year and then three years. If your vet doesn't want to follow AVMA protocal, then he is thinking with his pocket, not his training.
Did you puppy get his shot at 7-8 weeks when you picked him up or was it at a younger age?


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## TheNoob (Feb 3, 2012)

wyominggrandma said:


> If your puppy has had shots at 8, 12 and 16 weeks, or 8/11/15 weeks he doesn't need another vaccination until a full year has passed. If he was given rabies today also, again, that needs to be repeated in a year. Then both are good for 3 years according to AVMA statements.
> If you vet is wanting to give another set of shots in 3 weeks, he is pushing it for his own pocket and I would truthfully tell him that you will not get another vaccination for a full year. If he disagrees and persists in antother vaccination in three weeks, find another vet.
> The AVMA recommende the three sets of vaccinations then a booster in a year and then three years. If your vet doesn't want to follow AVMA protocal, then he is thinking with his pocket, not his training.
> Did you puppy get his shot at 7-8 weeks when you picked him up or was it at a younger age?


Hi,

It was at 8 weeks. I was thinking the same thing when she told me to come in for another. I really don't want to over vaccinate my puppy, so we will definitely go to a second vet.


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## wyominggrandma (Jan 2, 2011)

The one vet I work for insists on yearly vaccinations, even with the new AVMA protocal.. The younger vet goes along with the owners that want to follow the AVMA protocal..
They have disagreements all the time about this. I feel the first vet is thinking of financial gains, not the problem of over vaccination of dogs/cats. The second vet is more up to date, he even accepts raw feeding when the owner wants it. The first vet recommends and basically makes folks feel guilty if they feed anything other than Science Diet.


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## wyominggrandma (Jan 2, 2011)

Good for you, do what you feel is best for your puppy.
He certainly doesn't need a set of four shots when his first was given at 8 weeks. Even the vaccinations themselves say give second/third shots at 3-4 weeks between them. 
I really hate to board my dogs because the boarding kennels insists on yearly bordetella.... 
Had one dog with AIHA due to vaccination reaction, will never do that again.


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## TheNoob (Feb 3, 2012)

wyominggrandma said:


> Good for you, do what you feel is best for your puppy.
> He certainly doesn't need a set of four shots when his first was given at 8 weeks. Even the vaccinations themselves say give second/third shots at 3-4 weeks between them.
> I really hate to board my dogs because the boarding kennels insists on yearly bordetella....
> Had one dog with AIHA due to vaccination reaction, will never do that again.


Thank you so much for your help! I really trusted my vet, but when someone pushes for too many vaccines, I start to worry. My worst fear is having a reaction from the vaccinations. My pup won't be going back for a 4th round. Thanks so much for your help


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## Barb E (Jun 6, 2004)

TheNoob said:


> Hi,
> 
> I'm sure the last one isn't rabies because rabies was already given today.


So the pup got a 5-way and rabies today?

When you do the 1 year boosters and then when you do them after that separate out the Rabies and the other vaccines by a few weeks


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

My vet said the same thing, and I didn't believe her had the titer. Turns out he was not immune to Parvo. You may want to check. Here is the thread.
http://www.germanshepherds.com/foru...vaccine-didnt-take-yet-what-would-you-do.html


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## TheNoob (Feb 3, 2012)

Barb E said:


> So the pup got a 5-way and rabies today?
> 
> When you do the 1 year boosters and then when you do them after that separate out the Rabies and the other vaccines by a few weeks


Thanks for the advice! I'll make sure to spread the vaccines out next year


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## TheNoob (Feb 3, 2012)

Sunflowers said:


> My vet said the same thing, and I didn't believe her had the titer. Turns out he was not immune to Parvo. You may want to check. Here is the thread.
> http://www.germanshepherds.com/foru...vaccine-didnt-take-yet-what-would-you-do.html


I'll probably end up doing the titer to check his immunity. Thanks for your advice  I'm learning a lot with this new puppy


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## marshies (May 18, 2011)

Do you need the third set? My vet said the third set was required for full immunity, but I have heard otherwise.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

I agree with wyominggrandma, three sets are enough. If you want to titer that's ok too, it cannot hurt him. Good for you though for knowing not to over-vaccinate your puppy, and something about vaccine reactions. I have always did DAHPP and rabies together, and never had a problem, but I am rethinking that too.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

marshies said:


> Do you need the third set? My vet said the third set was required for full immunity, but I have heard otherwise.


I think the problem is that there is really no way to tell when the mother's immunity wears off. Before then, the little bugs that need to make the antibodies are killed and the pup's body does not generate the antibodies. So if that immunity was still working at week 7 or 8, then that shot did not work. So then at week 10 - 12, the mother's immunity probably is in place by then, but they like to boost the vaccine 3-4 weeks later. So I think the third one is necessary. But four is pushing it in my opinion. I have let them do four on some of mine, but I think that was not right, and I am doing three now.


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## Barb E (Jun 6, 2004)

Link to Jean Dodds protocol
CANINE VACCINATION PROTOCOL ?*2011


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## Wolfgeist (Dec 4, 2010)

I would follow Dr. Dodds vaccination schedule. YOU make the decision on when and what to vaccinate for, not your vet.

I wrote this, may be of help to you:
K9 Instinct - Dog training, dog obedience training, raw diet, raw feeding, minimal vaccines: Vaccinations: The danger of overvaccinating.


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## Narny (Sep 8, 2010)

I am so grateful my breeder does the first 2 rounds of shots for us. I do not even want to have to worry about stuff like this yet. I still have problems standing up to my kids pediatrician yet alone a vet... I would have problems being confrontational unless I am really provoked. Then its all bests are off.


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

Narny said:


> I am so grateful my breeder does the first 2 rounds of shots for us. I do not even want to have to worry about stuff like this yet. I still have problems standing up to my kids pediatrician yet alone a vet... I would have problems being confrontational unless I am really provoked. Then its all bests are off.


It isn't about the number of shots, it is about whether the animal acquires immunity-- or not. 
In my case, he had three rounds and it did nothing to protect him against Parvo. The first round was given by the breeder at 6 weeks. 
One vet I spoke to said he doesn't need more shots. If I had listened to him, my dog would be out there, unprotected.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Some vets will re-vaccinate a pup, or not count vaccinations given by a breeder. I guess if you get the vaccinations from a feed store, or possibly mail-order, if they are not stored properly or shipped properly or if they are out of date, they may not be effective. So, I always take the whole lot into the vet and make sure the little health certificates are filled out by the vet, and I tell the people to take them with them to their vet.


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

selzer said:


> Some vets will re-vaccinate a pup, or not count vaccinations given by a breeder.


This is exactly what they told me. They said it was for two reasons:

1) They don''t trust that the vaccines were good, or even given

2) The puppy's antibodies from the mama at a very young age will cancel out the vaccine, so it might be useless. Which is exactly what happened in our case


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## middleofnowhere (Dec 20, 2000)

Talk to your vet about why. I was hesitant to titer as my old dogs stopped getting shots at 1 and 4 yo, were titered at 10 and 12 yo and had good titers. My vet says that she gives a different vaccine because she had a dog die on her table after receiving the stronger vaccines and vowed never again. Made a lot of sense when she explained it (not so much when I did).


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## jetscarbie (Feb 29, 2008)

selzer said:


> Some vets will re-vaccinate a pup, or not count vaccinations given by a breeder. I guess if you get the vaccinations from a feed store, or possibly mail-order, if they are not stored properly or shipped properly or if they are out of date, they may not be effective. So, I always take the whole lot into the vet and make sure the little health certificates are filled out by the vet, and I tell the people to take them with them to their vet.


 
That's exactly how my vet is.

Way back before I knew anything...my male's breeder gave the first shots from Tractor Supply. She even supplied us with the wrapper when we got him....the wrapper had the # on it along with the exp date.

When I took my male in for his first visit and gave the vet the information...the vet basically threw it away. Said he had to start him over again.


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## TheNoob (Feb 3, 2012)

So I emailed my vet for a breakdown of all of my puppy's shots. This is the reply that she left me: 




This is a break down of how we schedule our puppy shots: 6 weeks: DA2PPC <---- 5-in-one and deworm 8 weeks: DA2PPLC,Bordetella and deworm 10 weeks: DA2PPLC, Bordetella and deworm 12 weeks: DA2PPLC, bordetella and deworm 16 weeks: DA2PPLC and Rabies 20 weeks: Parvo (final) So according to your email: He should have at least 2 more visits with us (he has already had his 8 weeks, 10 weeks and 12 weeks shots)which will be his 16 and 20 week visits.


So according to them, my puppy needs a total of 5 sets of shots. He already had shots by the breeder at 8 weeks and had another two sets by my vet. I just think it's really strange. I really don't want to give him anymore shots.


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## wyominggrandma (Jan 2, 2011)

I would be looking for another vet, that schedule is harmful to your puppy. 3 shots of Bordetella is way overboard, I can tell you for a fact that the paperwork that comes with Bordetella vaccines recommends two shots 4 weeks apart, not three shots.
She is also giving vaccinations at 2 weeks apart, ABSOLUTELY no reason for this at all. Your vet is overvaccinating and not respecting the AVMA protocal, of which she is a member.
So, he has had three sets of puppy shots at 8, 12, 16 weeks, right? DAzpplc. Then she wants to revaccinate at 20 weeks with another Parvo shot?
Get your rabies shot, then puppy doesn't need another vaccination until 1 year from last vaccination of both dist/hep/parvo, etc and rabies,then none for three years.
The only exception is Bordetella, in case your board or go to training classes. That is yearly.
I am blown away your vet gave all those vaccinations and bordatella at one time.. Wow. She is definately looking for financial gain on her vaccinations.


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## TheNoob (Feb 3, 2012)

wyominggrandma said:


> I would be looking for another vet, that schedule is harmful to your puppy. 3 shots of Bordetella is way overboard, I can tell you for a fact that the paperwork that comes with Bordetella vaccines recommends two shots 4 weeks apart, not three shots.
> She is also giving vaccinations at 2 weeks apart, ABSOLUTELY no reason for this at all. Your vet is overvaccinating and not respecting the AVMA protocal, of which she is a member.
> So, he has had three sets of puppy shots at 8, 12, 16 weeks, right? DAzpplc. Then she wants to revaccinate at 20 weeks with another Parvo shot?
> Get your rabies shot, then puppy doesn't need another vaccination until 1 year from last vaccination of both dist/hep/parvo, etc and rabies,then none for three years.
> ...


Thank you! It just didn't sound right at all. Both times I took my puppy to the vet he got the DAzpplc vaccine, and he had his shots at 8, 12, and 16 weeks. I'm definitely searching for another vet. Thank you so much for your help


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## wyominggrandma (Jan 2, 2011)

I have worked for vets for over 35 years. In different states and different vets. I have never heard of vaccinating that much, even back in the stone age when I was young and nobody realized how vaccination overload can harm your pet.
I would not allow that vet to give my dog another shot, ever
. Your puppy is overvaccinated now, he doesn't need anymore at all except rabies. Then nothing for a year. 
Glad you are looking for a new vet. The present one is an idiot about vaccinations, how sad.


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## TheNoob (Feb 3, 2012)

wyominggrandma said:


> I have worked for vets for over 35 years. In different states and different vets. I have never heard of vaccinating that much, even back in the stone age when I was young and nobody realized how vaccination overload can harm your pet.
> I would not allow that vet to give my dog another shot, ever
> . Your puppy is overvaccinated now, he doesn't need anymore at all except rabies. Then nothing for a year.
> Glad you are looking for a new vet. The present one is an idiot about vaccinations, how sad.


Thanks! I just wish I knew more before I let them vaccinate my puppy so much  You've been so much help


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## wyominggrandma (Jan 2, 2011)

glad you stopped before the vet talked you into more. If she contacts you as to why you are no longer coming to her, I would politely explain that you feel she is overvaccinating and not following AVMA or Jean Dodds protocal...So you are finding another vet who follows those vaccination protocals


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## TheNoob (Feb 3, 2012)

wyominggrandma said:


> glad you stopped before the vet talked you into more. If she contacts you as to why you are no longer coming to her, I would politely explain that you feel she is overvaccinating and not following AVMA or Jean Dodds protocal...So you are finding another vet who follows those vaccination protocals


I'll definitely let her know. I'll make sure to find one who follows those protocols.


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

There are lots of bad vets out there, unfortunately.


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## VegasResident (Oct 4, 2006)

Mine had his at 8, 12 and 16. That was it except for Rabies. We only did those vaccines that were absolutely necessary. No cocktails. We titered him at one year and he was already good for distemper and parvo, so the vet recommended not doing them. We did his three year rabies only. We are not doing the Influenza and the vet wants to titer again when his next annual date comes around and only give a booster if his titer has fallen below recommended.


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