# Self vaccinations



## Tiny (Nov 7, 2011)

What do you guys think about vaccinating your dog yourself? From wat i heard, my vet told me that vaccs bought from a feed store/ranch supply/tractor supply stores can be ineffective. My new pup that im about to get, got vaccinated by the breeder who bought the vaccines frm a store. Should i revaccinate her at the vet? Thats wat happened to my friends dog and we go to the same vet and the vet wanted to revaccinate her.


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## proudpeyotemama (Feb 20, 2012)

Oh my, I would never be able to give my little a shot!! I would be way too scared that I would mess up or that she would associate me with the pain that she feels.


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## svdreamer (Feb 20, 2010)

If the breeder knew to keep the vacine cold, it should be fine. If the breeder is a big time breeder and has done this for forever and knows the ins and outs of vacines, good. I know its a bit different, but I got all my horse vacines at the feed store and gave them myself because I knew they had to be cold and never get warm. Ask the breeder in a round about way and find out if she knows this? lol Now Babushka's owner gave her her vacines and I did not trust her as she was very young and didn't look like she knew what she was doing and she lied to me about her age, so I had the vet revacinate her.


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## Chi Nation (Mar 7, 2012)

My brother does his own vaccinations but he doesnt get them from a feed store. He orders them from here... Dog Healthcare: Vaccination Center 
Thats the brand he uses and has never had any problems with it. Plus his wife is a vet tech and this is the brand they use at the vet office she works at.

I personally dont do them because i like for them to get the full exam that the vet usually does when you take them in.


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## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

I will chime in and say NO NO NO. Not unless you know how to handle a full blown vaccine reaction or you can get to the vet in 10 minutes or less in case of a reaction. Some reactions are mild and can be handled with benadryl, some take an injectable steroid (solumedrol or similar), and same can be anaphylactic and require resucitation and epinephrine! 

Saving a few bucks in NOT WORTH IT. 

I would suggest that you titer instead. Yes, it's a little more expensive than giving a vaccine, but do some reading about vaccinosis and you may agree that paying more to check immune status is the way to go. 

I would tell your breeder to NOT vaccinate her. That you are taking her to the vet for a full exam and you will have him do it. It's not worth having her vaccinate her with something ineffective, or have her deal with a reaction. Especially in such a small dog. She's only a pound, right? I would DEFINITELY tell her NOT to vaccinate her and that your vet will do it. Vaccine reactions are rampant in the small dogs. They get the same dosage as a 100 pound great dane, it's just ridiculous. Don't chance it!!!


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## Tiny (Nov 7, 2011)

Brodysmom said:


> I will chime in and say NO NO NO. Not unless you know how to handle a full blown vaccine reaction or you can get to the vet in 10 minutes or less in case of a reaction. Some reactions are mild and can be handled with benadryl, some take an injectable steroid (solumedrol or similar), and same can be anaphylactic and require resucitation and epinephrine!
> 
> Saving a few bucks in NOT WORTH IT.
> 
> ...


No, i dnt plan to vaccinate her myself. She is 20 weeks old this sat. He told me that he vaccinated them himself. He bought the vaccines at the tractor supply store. And i was wondering, should i revaccinate her or just not mess with it. I will also ask my vet as well.


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## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

Tiny said:


> No, i dnt plan to vaccinate her myself. She is 20 weeks old this sat. He told me that he vaccinated them himself. He bought the vaccines at the tractor supply store. And i was wondering, should i revaccinate her or just not mess with it. I will also ask my vet as well.


Tell the breeder do NOT vaccinate the dog. Then take her to your vet and have them do it. After that vaccine, plan to do titers and not vaccinate again. I would not trust vaccines bought at a farm store, that they were stored correctly, diluted correctly, and administered correctly. Vaccines are pretty fragile, I would want them to be fresh. NO way to know that if they are sitting in a farm store fridge where someone could have left the door open, etc.


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## Tiny (Nov 7, 2011)

Lol! He already vaccinated them wen they were younger. Wen my friends dog was in the same boat, the vet wanted to revaccinate my friends dog. I wonder if they r gonna do that with my puppy too :/


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## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

Tiny said:


> Lol! He already vaccinated them wen they were younger. Wen my friends dog was in the same boat, the vet wanted to revaccinate my friends dog. I wonder if they r gonna do that with my puppy too :/


Oh I get it now. Sorry. 

So this breeder has already vaccinated the puppy. They want to give another shot before she goes home with you. Is that correct? 

I still would say to not have the breeder vaccinate. I would want the vet to do it. You want to start off on the right foot with your vet anyway. Many of them will go on and re-vaccinate dogs that have been given vaccines by breeders. They don't trust them either. 

If you choose to have the breeder do it, then have the vet draw a titer in 2 weeks to check immunity. Don't let the breeder give a shot and then the vet repeat it. That is wayyyyyyyyy too much for a one pound puppy. Do the titers and then you will KNOW what the status of her immune system is. Bombarding her with vaccines is ill advised.


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## Tiny (Nov 7, 2011)

Brodysmom said:


> Oh I get it now. Sorry.
> 
> So this breeder has already vaccinated the puppy. They want to give another shot before she goes home with you. Is that correct?
> 
> ...


No, she has all of them already, except for her rabies. I may just ask the vet to do the titer? Is that wat its called and pronounced? Tie-ter?


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## Audreybabypup (Sep 14, 2010)

I believe it is pronounced tit-er. And I wouldn't allow the vet to re vaccinate. It would be too much for her body. The titer should show if the vaccinations worked the first time, then go from there.


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## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

It is titer, like tight-er. Your vet will know what it is. Tell them you want the distemper/parvo titer drawn.

I would not do rabies until she's closer to a year and at least 3 pounds. Don't let them bully you into doing it earlier.

Information about titers:

Titer Testing


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## Yoshismom (Jul 6, 2005)

I agree with Tracy 100%


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## MChis (Oct 13, 2009)

I'd definitely have them do a titer on her for parvo/distemper....DO NOT let them do the entire parovo/distemper series over again! Bad bad bad! I'd also wait as long as you can get away with for the rabies as well. Not earlier than 6mo & I too would wait until she was at least 3lbs.


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## wild.irish.rose (Jul 7, 2011)

i do my own vaccines but im a retired vet tech so im used to it.if youve never done it b4`have your vet give u advice n make sure u keep it cold.be careful if u dont kno a breeder n they say apups been vaccinated-a friend was told this n the breeder lied.her pup n the rest of the litter died of parvo.


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## Tiny (Nov 7, 2011)

Well i got it done, but MAN!!! this vet was like pressuring me into getting a whole freakin puppy package! She wanted to give penny a rabies shot, leprosy shot, heart worm meds, a stool test, and a blood test for heart worms. I kno its good for penny but not all at once! It costed $200! But i refused so i only payed for the exam and the titer, it costed $125! But its worth it! I should be getting the results today or tomorrow. I hope the vaccs did work. But seriously? Should i get penny a leprosy shot? Dewormed again and put her on heartworm every month?


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## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

Many vets see a new puppy client as a cash cow. You did the right thing.

I think you mean lepto? And NO! Do NOT give lepto. Unless your dog is drinking water out of stagnant pools, they are not at risk. Lepto can cause a TON of problems/reactions. Toy dogs don't do well with the lepto shot.

Smoke and Mirrors | The Leptospirosis Vaccine for Dogs

As for de-worming. Does she have worms? Take a stool sample in. Have them check it. IF you decide to give heartworm meds, most of them have a wormer in them so in that case there's no reason to de-worm. I don't worm willy nilly or on a schedule. I have a stool specimen checked once a year and de-worm only if they are present. 

As for heartworm.... do some research into prevalence in your part of the country and then make an informed decision. Is the temperature consistently above 60 day and night for 30 days? Then yes, you should probably use it. Just remember that the medications do NOT prevent anything. They kill the baby heartworm larvae your dog already has contracted. So they prevent the baby heartworms from growing into adults, but they do NOT prevent your dog from getting them. That's why you needs to assess the risks and benefits according to the temperatures that the worms develop within the host, which is the mosquito. If you do choose to use a heartworm medication, you can give it every 45 days instead of the 30 days recommended. Studies show that the meds work for 60 days but manufacturers decided that once a month dosing was easiest for people to remember (and more revenue for them). 

Some info ...

http://www.chihuahua-people.com/chihuahua-health/66552-45-day-interceptor.html

HEARTWORM FACTS, THE TRUTH ABOUT HEARTWORM

http://www.blakkatz.com/spellcast/HW.pdf

Let us know what the titers show!


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## Tiny (Nov 7, 2011)

In that case, i guess i'll just use heartworm meds as needed. Thanks brodysmom!


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## Shadow's Mammy's (Jan 9, 2012)

hey, i vaccinated shadow myself, she was very sick and needed to b done again.. but when i told the vet he said something to me that i will never forget "would you vaccinated your own baby if you had one?? its the same when it comes to dogs" i will never forget this saying as it really hit home for me.. i know its your own choice but i hope this saying helps you like it helped me.


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## Tiny (Nov 7, 2011)

Shadow's Mammy's said:


> hey, i vaccinated shadow myself, she was very sick and needed to b done again.. but when i told the vet he said something to me that i will never forget "would you vaccinated your own baby if you had one?? its the same when it comes to dogs" i will never forget this saying as it really hit home for me.. i know its your own choice but i hope this saying helps you like it helped me.


Uh no. I wouldnt vaccinate her myself. The point of my question was that are they effective and do other people do it themselves and had they ever had any uneffectiveness from the store bought vaccines. And that my new puppy was vaccinated by her breeder with vaccines frm a ranch supply store and if i should let the vet revaccinate her. And i got very good suggestions  im glad that i joined this forum


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## theshanman97 (Feb 19, 2012)

i personally haven't done it and wouldn't be happy to in case i did something wrong and also maybe putting the dog through the trauma with no affect but i guess its ok for people who have experience and are happy to do it


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## Tiny (Nov 7, 2011)

Well the vet just called me and said that she did respond to her vaccines! Yay! Now all she needs is her rabies vaccs.


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## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

Tiny said:


> Well the vet just called me and said that she did respond to her vaccines! Yay! Now all she needs is her rabies vaccs.


Awesome!!! So glad you had the titers done and they showed an immune response. So that PROVES that she doesn't need further vaccination. That's great news!


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## Tiny (Nov 7, 2011)

Brodysmom said:


> Awesome!!! So glad you had the titers done and they showed an immune response. So that PROVES that she doesn't need further vaccination. That's great news!


Yes and its all thanks to you for suggesting the titer test! Thanks!


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## Mydaddysjag (Feb 8, 2012)

I dont vaccinate my dogs myself, but I do vaccinate my horses, with my vets guidance. Between the "big" yearly vaccines, our show horses get boosters of certain vaccines every few months through show season. I do those boosters myself, after my vet recommended that I do. I purchase these shots at "Tractor Supply Company". I wanted to point out that TSC isnt a backyard run of the mill dirty farm store. Their vaccines are kept in a locked refrigerator. People cant open it and let the door hang open, my vaccines have always been years ahead of expiring, and they are the exact brand that my vet uses. The farm I used to work at always got strays dropped off there. Literally 4 and 5 dogs at a time, along with tons and tons of cats. The only way they could afford to vaccinate them all was to use vaccines from TSC, and the vet did tell them that those vaccines were effective. Now, would I want to do my own? nope! Too scared of a reaction. That doesnt mean they are ineffective though.


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## Tiny (Nov 7, 2011)

Mydaddysjag said:


> I dont vaccinate my dogs myself, but I do vaccinate my horses, with my vets guidance. Between the "big" yearly vaccines, our show horses get boosters of certain vaccines every few months through show season. I do those boosters myself, after my vet recommended that I do. I purchase these shots at "Tractor Supply Company". I wanted to point out that TSC isnt a backyard run of the mill dirty farm store. Their vaccines are kept in a locked refrigerator. People cant open it and let the door hang open, my vaccines have always been years ahead of expiring, and they are the exact brand that my vet uses. The farm I used to work at always got strays dropped off there. Literally 4 and 5 dogs at a time, along with tons and tons of cats. The only way they could afford to vaccinate them all was to use vaccines from TSC, and the vet did tell them that those vaccines were effective. Now, would I want to do my own? nope! Too scared of a reaction. That doesnt mean they are ineffective though.


Yea, i kno not all of them are uneffective. The vet was just telling me some things that can happen if the vaccines weren't properly refrigerated.


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