[rambler]

I brought my one year 3 month Beagle mix to the vet for her annual heartworm test and refill of meds and also for the Frontline supply.

The test, the year supply of Heartworm tablets, and 7 months worth of Frontline was about $225...and on top of that they told me that she is due for her yearly vaccines which need to be done each and every year.

I thought vaccines were only required during the dog's first year?

And does that sound a lot for medications?

The Heartworm was about $120 (one year) and the Frontline was about $75 for 7 months...and they said you need to test yearly for Heartworm even though she's on the meds..

 

[Xie]

The heartworm sounds a bit high, for me it's about $70.00 for the year per dog, it can vary by size needed, but I'm referring to the cost for a 70lb dog. The frontline though sounds pretty right on.

As for vaccines, well, there are a lot of different opinions. For me we do rabies and distemper every three years, bordetella (kennel cough) intranasal every six months (doggy daycare and lots of time at the dog park), and lyme yearly (very high lyme area, at least a dog a week is diagnosed at work).

The lyme is only really in areas that are at risk and bordetella is only really needed for at risk dogs or as required by doggy daycares.

Rabies could be a town thing, most only require it every three years but some still do want it yearly, so check into that.

Distemper yearly is no longer the accepted protocol and I, personally, would probably be looking for a new vet that is up-to-date on current vaccine protocols.

 

[midnight mojo]

I didn't think you had to test for heartworm if the dog was kept on meds year-round but I could be wrong. I know there are varying beliefs regarding vaccinations and how often they should be done. My vet does the minimums required by law; Mojo won't get a rabbies vaccine till he's a year old. Our PK class required him to also have bordetella which my vet was happy to do.

I don't remember what we paid for his heartworm meds and I don't have him on frontline. I have heard people say you can find them much cheaper online though.

 

[Xie]

Oh that's right, I forgot about the heartworm test. Every vet I know, from the most traditional to most holistic still recommend having a test done each year. Nothing is a 100% guarantee (though it is close) and it's best to know if their is heartworm or not rather than just assume.

It's also a simple and fast test that only requires a couple of drops of blood. It doesn't harm the dog in anyway to have it done and can have benefits.

 

[briteday]

Rabies is a local law, depending on where you live, and it must be given by a licensed vet. Some jurisdictions allow a 3 year rabies, some are still 1 year. In any case our vet gives the first rabies at 3-4 months, then agin one year later, so at 15-16 months. That sounds just about right with your pup timewise. After that it is up to the law in your area as to how often rabies must be given.

Other vaccines are typically given according to each vet's protocol, and they vary widely. Do some internet searches on dog vaccinations and perhaps you will form your own opinion about how often your dog should be vaccinated. In addition to any info online, I would also check with a few vets and perhaps a local vet college (if there is one) about the viral vaccines that are suggested in your area. We don't do corona or lepto since the risk is quite low where we live. But other regions may need certain vaccines.

 

[nikelodeon79]

I am seriously considering following Dr. Dodds' vaccine protocol... makes a lot of sense to me. I'm not yet sure how my vet feels about it...

I'm undecided about the Lyme's vaccine as of yet... we have a lot of cases of it but I'm not sold on how effective the vaccine actually is. Two of my friends' dogs (BOTH of them got the Lymes vaccine and one also used Frontline) contracted Lymes.

Luna's done with her puppy vaccinations and will get boosters at approx 1 year. After that, I'll follow the law with the rabies vaccination.... all of the boarding and training facilities up here require UTD shots (parvo, distemper, rabies and bordatella), so while she's in training classes and if I ever have to board I suppose I'll have to give additional vaccinations.

I'd much rather get the titers tests done and see if my dog still has immunity rather than giving potentially unnecessary vaccinations.

Regarding expenses, if you can get a prescription from your vet you can order heartworm and flea/tick prevention online for a lot cheaper than the vet's office.

 

[txcollies]

I say follow Dr Dodd's protocal and pooh on what the vet thinks. I just do distemper, parvo (as puppies and no more) and then rabies.

My old dog don't even get the yearly Rabies. She doesn't go anywhere. So there's no need.

 

[pamperedpups]

No yearly vaccinations given here. I also do not use chemical flea, tick or heartworm preventative.

 

[jnite]

Get the book How to Afford Veterinary Care without mortgaging the kids. It's an awesome book and really opened my eyes on some things. Where I live I don't have to worry about heartworm and a few other things as it is too cold most of the time. But this book was great I HIGHLY recommend it.

 

[bambee]

The only yearly vaccination my pet gets is the rabies since it is required here in our place. Other than that, I just have my pet regularly checked-up. I have read this: " That the immune system has a "memory." The immune system contains memory cells. Once those memory cells have been shown what to do against a particular disease (by one puppy vaccination at 11-16 weeks old), they will produce antibodies against that disease whenever they encounter it -- for years and years, probably for life. " You can check it out at http://www.yourpurebredpuppy.com/health/articles/puppy-shots-and-dog-vaccinations.html

 

[3212]

It was most likely the Frontline that raised the price of your visit. That stuff is outrageously expensive. In my opinion (and my vet/boss) it's not even worth it.

Unless you are concerned about your dog getting fleas (which can be gotten rid of in other ways) it's not worth it. I was going to start it with Bridgette because we go into the woods a lot and see ticks on occasion. The vet told me that all Frontline does is kill a tick that bites your dog, it doesn't stop them from biting in the first place.

 

[Xie]

It was most likely the Frontline that raised the price of your visit. That stuff is outrageously expensive. In my opinion (and my vet/boss) it's not even worth it.

Unless you are concerned about your dog getting fleas (which can be gotten rid of in other ways) it's not worth it. I was going to start it with Bridgette because we go into the woods a lot and see ticks on occasion. The vet told me that all Frontline does is kill a tick that bites your dog, it doesn't stop them from biting in the first place.

That seems kind of odd. While it's true that Frontline does not repel (Advantix does) it still kills the ticks before they would have time to transfer lyme disease.

A tick must be attached for a minimum of 24 hours and generally more like 36 hours to transfer lyme disease.

It doesn't matter that Frontline doesn't stop them from biting in the first place. It matters that it gets the ticks off before they can spread disease.

Personally, I do use tick control all year long. I found a tick on Guinness in the middle of January this year when the temps were hovering around 20 degrees. All it took was one day of it getting back up to 40 and the ticks were out. That's in a backyard with all dead grass that happens to have some bushes along one fence line. It's not even like we were out in the woods or something. We live in the middle of total suburbia.

I've seen some really miserable dogs with lyme disease. Since it's so common around here I just won't risk it.

 

[3212]

A tick must be attached for a minimum of 24 hours and generally more like 36 hours to transfer lyme disease.

It doesn't matter that Frontline doesn't stop them from biting in the first place. It matters that it gets the ticks off before they can spread disease.

I've seen some really miserable dogs with lyme disease. Since it's so common around here I just won't risk it.

Honestly for lyme disease I would agree with you. We don't see it at all in Arizona so it's not much of an issue here.

Erlichiosis (tick fever) and rocky mountain spotted fever can be passed on much quicker than 24 hours. The vet told me that they could both be passed on in as little as 3-5 hours. I've never seen rocky mtn. spotted fever, but we've seen several cases of Erlichiosis here and one of the dogs was on prevention.

I'm sure it depends entirely on where you live though. I check Bridgette for ticks immediately after coming back from a walk

 

[lucygoose]

We also just get the rabies, heartworm check, and bordetella. Titer the rest.

pamperedpups.....how do you prevent heartworms? I once had a irish setter that we missed giving the preventive for a few months because of a lay off (still no excuse, and we were young) and she got heartworm and we hand to do the treatment with her.

 

[Pai]

There was a thread about just this on the Health forum recently. I posted several good sources talking about the modern recommended vaccine protocols there. =)

 

[nikelodeon79]

I've seen some really miserable dogs with lyme disease. Since it's so common around here I just won't risk it.

We have A TON of ticks out where I live, so it's a huge concern for me. As I previously posted, a friend of mine has a dog that was vaccinated against Lymes and used Frontline faithfully and the dog STILL got Lymes.

 

[KMaryP]

I had a rescue dog that I had vaccinated every year. When she reached about 14 years old and began to have health problems, my vet recommended stopping the vaccinations because 1) she already felt like crap and the vaccine would knock her down further, and 2) she never went anywhere so she wasn't exposed.

Fast forward a few years...she died at the ripe old age of 17 and I wanted another dog. I registered with several rescue agencies in hopes of adopting another rescue. The two agencies that called me back ended up turning me down because of the vaccination history of my old dog! They both called my vet to check out my history as a pet owner and they asked for the vaccination record, so that's how they found out. They didn't seem to care that I followed my vets' recommendation - I should've sought the advice of another vet! Although I applaud the rescue groups for researching potential pet owners, I think there are certain circumstances that should be taken into consideration.

Sorry so long - my point being, if you think you might want to adopt from a rescue group in the future, be sure to follow the recommended vaccination schedule for your area, lest you be cast out as a bad pet owner like me.

 

[Boonkiemom]

I don't know who Dr. Dodd is and what his/her vaccine "protocol" is, but my Sofe isn't getting anymore jabs. A year and a half ago she got her 3 year rabies booster shot and it almost killed her. She developed a severe intestinal problem which required hospitalization and meds. For nearly a year, she had occasional bouts of bloody vomit and diarrhea. Fortunately, she been fine for the last few months. She got her puppy shots the first year and then the rabies annually thereafter because of the law. But because her of reaction to the last shot, I'm going to ask the local animal control if I can still maintain her license without it. There has to be some exception clause in the law.

As an aside, I received a copy of a vet manual from a holistic vet. that states that annual vaccines are not necessary. Just like we don't get annual MMR vaccines, these pet shots are just unhealthy. I think they are behind a lot of diseases in animals including allergies, auto-immune disorders, cancers, etc.

 

[Pai]

We have A TON of ticks out where I live, so it's a huge concern for me. As I previously posted, a friend of mine has a dog that was vaccinated against Lymes and used Frontline faithfully and the dog STILL got Lymes.

One thing to know, is that an infected tick has to be attached to a dog for 12-24 hours minimum in order to transmit the disease. Also, most dogs with Lyme are not even negatively affected by it (asymptomatic). Regular checking/removal of ticks is the number one precaution to take. Lyme vaccines are known to have common negative side effects, as well.

I don't know who Dr. Dodd is and what his/her vaccine "protocol" is, but my Sofe isn't getting anymore jabs.

Look up her minimal vaccine protocol. I think you'd approve of it.

 

[3212]

One thing to know, is that an infected tick has to be attached to a dog for 12-24 hours minimum in order to transmit the disease. Regular checking/removal of ticks is the number one precaution to take. Lyme vaccines are known to have common negative side effects, as well.


Look up her minimal vaccine protocol. I think you'd approve of it.

True! I checked with my vet today and he said that Frontline does seem to lower the chances of Lyme disease, but it's actually not AS common as people think in the US. Obviously still present. I also second the side effects of the Lyme vaccine.
He also said that Ehrlichia (tick fever) and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever can still be transmitted despite Frontline because it only takes 2-5 hours to transfer from tick to dog....so checking for ticks is necessary if you live in an area with many.