Vaccination day.
Mother knows vaccines are a divisive subject.
The standard vaccines in the UK for dogs cover for Distemper, Hepatitis, Parvovirus (DHP) and Leptospirosis. There’s also a vaccine for Kennel Cough. Other vaccines include Rabies, for when travelling abroad, and Herpes for breeding bitches.
The DHP vaccine is given every 3 years after the initial puppy and first year boosters. The Leptospirosis vaccine is given yearly. The Kennel Cough vaccine is a live vaccine, similar to the influenza vaccine in humans. Distemper, Hepatitis, Parvovirus and Leptospirosis are considered core vaccines. Kennel Cough is considered useful for at risk groups but not essential. At risk groups consist of dogs going into kennels, boarding, doggy day cares, or dog events/shows.
WSAVA Vaccine Guide for Owners
Mother has always vaccinated me with DHP, Leptospirosis and Kennel Cough.
They’ve never made me ill.
My vaccine is due this month, and I’m going to board with Mothers friend in a couple weeks, so I had to have it done sooner rather than later.
Vaccines are given when the animal is healthy. In normal instances, Mother would ask the owner about the animals health, if there has been any vomiting or diarrhoea, any change in appetite or drinking, generally any concerns, that may mean giving the vaccine is not appropriate. Obviously, Mother knows I’m perfect… well perfectly healthy… at the moment.
She took me out my kennel at work and listened to my heart, which all sounded fine. She didn’t need to do anything else, since she checks all the other things on a regular basis. My teeth are good, Mother brushes them regularly, my skin and coat are lovely, Mother brushes me regularly, I’m the perfect weight, Mother checks it regularly. I don’t have any lumps or bumps, Mother would have noticed before now. My ears are clean, Mother checks those too. Really, I should be concerned about how often I get groped and checked.
Anyway, Mother brought me into reception when we had a quiet moment with no clients in. Mother drew up my vaccines and gave them to Daisie, who’s one of the junior staff members who’s still learning. Daisie has been learning how to give subcutaneous injections, which is how the DHP and Leptospirosis vaccine is given. She’s done several on patients that are under sedation and anaesthesia and therefore stay still, and easy to inject. I was her first conscious patient. Mother offered me up as practice. She has to start somewhere I suppose, and I’m used to being handled, and I love the vets, so it wouldn’t upset me. Today I had my Leptospirosis vaccine, Lepto 4 which covers four strains of the disease. I then had to have my kennel cough vaccine which is given intranasally, i.e. has to be squirted up my nose. That was weird. It made me sneeze a lot. Mother explained to Daisie that that trick to it, is to actually dribble into the nostrils slowly, and not squirt it in there fast.
After it was done, I ran around the reception are like a lunatic until the next client arrived, then I was back in my kennel. That was four days ago. I’m been to work since and not been bothered. I’ve seen Daisie since and not been bothered. I’ve not been unwell. It was really very much a non-event in my life.
Mother says I have to have all my vaccines to a) make sure my insurance is valid, b) be allowed to come to work with her, and most importantly c) prevent me getting very unwell.
Mother says its been a while since she last saw a Parvovirus case but they’re not very nice, and usually fatal, but she has recently seen a Leptospirosis case. The dog was three or four years old, had had the puppy vaccines but no booster vaccinations at all, and had a history of swimming in a new water source the week prior. The dog presented very unwell, and severely jaundice. Yellow… the dog was luminous yellow. The dog was started on treatment, including IV fluids, and anti-sickness and antibiotics but 24hours later was still no better. I think Mother was discussing placing a feeding tube, and transferring to a hospital but the owners were unable to afford any further treatment and the dog was put to sleep. Mother knows how much I love the water and exploring all the places, so keeping me up to date with my vaccines is keeping me safe and healthy.
I did get Kennel Cough once though. I had just turned one. I was up to date with my vaccines, but because Kennel Cough (KC) is a live vaccine, it doesn’t prevent all strains of KC, just the more common ones. The KC vaccine reduced the chance of you catching it, makes it less severe if you do catch it, and reduces the chance of you spreading it. When I caught Kennel Cough, my cough wasn’t actually very obvious. When I pulled on my lead on a walk, I coughed slightly the first day, but Mother thought nothing of it. The second day though I was all weird. I was so tired. I couldn’t do anything. I didn’t eat anything (although at that age I wasn’t overly foodie so it wasn’t a major red flag), I wasn’t bothered about our morning walk (again, I wasn’t overly energetic in the mornings then anyway- I take after Mother), and I was a bit subdued. It wasn’t until we got to work that Mother really noticed I was unwell. I don’t tend to bark at home. I have no need to bark. I bark to say hello to other dogs and people, and to make sure I’m not ignored if we’re out and about. So Mother didn’t really notice I wasn’t barking until we got out the car at work, and I didn’t give my normal excited barks. That added to the general apathy of the morning, and the slight cough the day before, had Mother wondering. She took me through a back entrance to a side room, where she took my temperature. I was violated! She put a thing up my bum! Anyway, my temperature was 40.5C, which was too warm apparently. It should be somewhere below 39.0C according to Mother.
Because KC is fairly contagious and air-bourne, I had to be isolated, so my crate from Mothers car was set up in an outbuilding, and there I stayed when I was at work. Mother got me some medications to bring my temperature down, and I got to eat lots of Oralade GI, which is like a chicken broth type thing for dogs with upset stomachs. I love Oralade. I could drink the whole bottle in one sitting if Mother let me. She only lets me have it when I’m not feeling well though. I did get to stay home a couple of the days too, when Mother managed to arrange Auntie Em to pop in on my in the day.
I was very unwell for about four days in total, then I sprung back to totally normal. Mother still reminisces about those few days where I was quiet and calm. Mother says that I was so not myself those few days, and so lethargic, she genuinely worries how bad it would have been, had I not been vaccinated.
I’ve not had Kennel Cough since then, despite me still being a very sociable dog, and spending a lot of time in a veterinary clinic.
There is a lot of mis-information out there about vaccines. And Mother says the rise of social media has made it a lot easier for the very rare side effects to make themselves out to be more common than they actually are. She would always recommend vaccines for healthy patients. Obviously, if the animal is unwell, has other diseases going on, a history of adverse events, or is on drugs that may affect the immune system then that is different. Mother says I’m to tell you to talk to your vet if you have any questions or concerns about vaccines.
And as an old vet once told her. If you breeder advises you on vaccines; Remember, you wouldn’t talk to your pimp about giving birth, you’d talk to the obstetrician.
p.s. It’s not just me Mothers been mean to this week. My sisters all got their cat vaccines this week too. Poor girls.