Dog shots

How many of y'all do your own shots. I just noticed I'm late on Bordatella.
I know I can get it at Tractor Supply for 10 bucks and the vet charges 35. I know that's cheap but I'm curious if anyone had anything to add about this.

I give my dogs ivermectin orally once a month - I let the vet mess with the shots. I'm guessing your dogs get boarded?

I also do ivermectin, about once every 3 months --------- last year I got them shots for snake venom, other than that I dont mess with shots.

x2

For years I gave my own shoots until I had a very bad reaction to either a bad dose or one that arrived not cooled properly. Since then I've left it up to my vet. Much safer and the expense is not a concern when it comes to their health.

I had one exception when I needed to bring a litter in for their first shot. I had a pup come home from the breeder with parvo, took her to the vet to find out what was wrong. She crapped on the exam table and every since I was real concerned about what was on the table before I put my dog there. My vet offered to give me the shots so I could give them at home. World is a scary place.

I used to give all shots myself but the past few years I go on Wednesday when they have $10 vaccines at my vet Rabies is $15. So I take all 7 at once and they come out to my truck / trailer and give all the shots in the parking lot. $175 for all 7 dogs aint bad. I use Ivomec monthly for heart worms. Panacure paste every 6 months for the other worms. I don't regularly have them tested for heartworms but I do randomly have a dog checked every once in a while if they are in the vets office for something else just to make sure i don't have any issues. Have not had one test positive since I've been using Ivomec.

And I don't give Bordatella unless I'm leaving one at a trainer and it's been 10 years since I've done that. But doesn't it just squirt up the nose? Didn't used to be a shot.

Other than rabies and snake vaccine I buy mine cold at Tractor Supply (10-way) and give my own. Ivomec once a month. I have Panacur and Strongid to treat any other worms. My dogs never have parasites.. and I will keep it that way.

Last time I had pointer at vet, the boardatella was given through nasal passage. I didn't know it was available at TSC

Yep and up the nose. https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/durvet-kenne-jec-2-1-dose-with-dropper

Intranasal Bordetella is easy to do up the nostrils and I do recommend this if your dog is around other dogs (kennels, training, hunting, etc..).

I am a veterinarian. I vaccinate dogs all day every day. In fact, I have just about come to the conclusion That DVM stands for "Dog VaccinatIng Man" LOL. I have a few opinions on this matter. We have a rural mixed animal practice. Many of my canine patients are hunting dogs or stock dogs, but I also have a fair amount of small companion dogs. Some of the farmers, ranchers, and hunters that I service preferred to give their own vaccinations. In my opinion, there is absolutely nothing wrong with this. Ranchers have been vaccinating their own cattle for years now. Some people are comfortable with it, and some are not. What I will suggest, if you choose to vaccinate your own dogs, is to use quality brand vaccines and make sure they have been handled properly prior to administration. Honestly, I think some people have me give their vaccinations for the same reason that I use the local quick change oil center. They have all the stuff, they are quick, and they good at it.
In Texas, a dog is not legally considered vaccinated for rabies unless it is done by veterinarian. Obviously, if an owner gives a rabies shot and does it properly, the dog is just as vaccinated as if a veterinarian does it. However, if the dog bites someone it is considered "unvaccinated" in the eyes of the law. For this reason, I would suggest that you let your veterinarian administer the rabies vaccine. It could save you some unforeseen problems in the future. In Texas, it is legal and recommended to use a three year rabies vaccine. This means that your dog only needs to be vaccinated every three years, provided a three-year vaccine is used. Even using a three-year vaccine, we try to get our clients to vaccinate yearly. Human nature being what it is, giving annual Rabies vaccinations with the three-year vaccine just serves as a safety cushion.I have other thoughts and information on various vaccines such as Parvo, Corona , Distemper , Bordatella if anyone is interested.

Absolutely interested.

So am I. I was told by a vet that the 1 year and 3 year rabies is the same injection, is this true? I was annexed into city limits a few years ago, city requires annual rabies. I only do 3 year, but my current vet told me first rabies on a pup has to be 1 year injection, after that one 3 year is sufficient

That's the way I understand it. I think Parker Co. is rabies every year and Tarrant is every three.

My vet will not allow me to bring a puppy in
Gives me shots and I have to give them at home
After initial shots I can bring them in as needed

Denton county is annual even though Texas is 3 year. Pharmvet I am interested in your opinions also.

The protocol I use has worked well for me and I'm sure there will be a few particulars on which some disagree. In short.....there is more than one way to skin a cat. Ideally, I like to give a puppy its first (puppy shot) when it is six weeks old. I will then give it follow up boosters at 9, 12 and 15 weeks. That is a total of four injections by the time a puppy reaches 4 months of age. If I don't get to see the puppy at six weeks (if owners bring it to be when it is 12 weeks old and it has NEVER had a vaccine) I simply begin vaccinations and give a total of four spaced three weeks apart. In the above example, 12, 15,18,21 weeks.
There are science based reasons to give a "series" of vaccines spaced out over a 2-3 month period and if you want details I will be glad to discuss.
Regarding "puppy shots" .....there are several various combinations but I prefer that they contain the following antigens:
1) Parvovirus
2) Coronavirus
3) Distemper virus
4) Adenovirus
5) Parainfluenza
6)Hepatitis
7) Leptospirosis

Rabies is not given until dogs are 12 weeks old. (Again, there is science based reasoning for this)

Some will advise against using Coronavirus and Leptospirosis on puppies. Actually, I use the EXACT same vaccine for all puppy shots as well as annual boosters on adult dogs.
I will argue for using Coronavirus until I'm blue on the face but I will admit that some dogs have reactions to the Leptospirosis component of these vaccines. These vaccines come in 2 small vials. One vial contains a pellet of powder and the other contains a small amount of liquid. The liquid portion is pulled up with the needle/syringe and then squirted into the bottle containing the powder. Once these are mixed. The vaccine should be used "soon" . The liquid almost always is the Leptospirosis portion of the vaccine, so on dogs that have had known reactions, I will reconstitute the vaccine with sterile water or sterile IV fluids.
Vaccines should be kept cool from time of manufacture until usage.
I like to use a 3cc / 22 ga needle combo and I recommend using a new syringe for each dog/ /puppy. Some "vaccine reactions" are actually "abscesses" caused by dirty needles or poor technique. It can happen even to the best of us.
Some give vaccines IM in the leg and that's ok, but I prefer subcutaneously in the loose skin of the neck between the shoulder blades. Try to get it done with one clean smooth stick. Don't stick the dog multiple times as this increases chances of knots, abscesses etc. having someone help hold the dog/puppy is very helpful. Also, make sure the injection is really "subcutaneous" and not "intradermal". If it doesn't push in easy, you are likely not in the correct tissue plane.

I have more info on other vaccines and will post later if interest is here. Thanks

Good common sense vet! Please continue to share on other vaccines.

Do you do house calls to Central Texas?

I've done both - shots at home or the vet.

Nowadays, it's Ivermectin here, the rest at the visiting vet at Tractor Supply.

At this point I am only going to give the vaccine schedule that is required by law (or boarding facility) and will try to offset the side effects with Thuja and/or Lyssin. I am also looking for a vet nearby to administer a Titers test prior to giving any other vaccine.

I currently have 7 pointing dogs and 1 flusher. My dogs used to get the Rabies shot annually even though it was good for 3 years. 2-3 weeks after giving the rabies I would give the 7 way. I just thought it was a good idea to space them out. In October of 2015 I was a little behind on my normal shot schedule and they got both the rabies and the 7 way on the same day. I believe the vet administered both. The day before the shots were given I had a gentleman offer me "whatever I wanted" for my male pointer and we never made a deal. That weekend on opening day of Quail season the male pointer had a major seizure. He came out of it and I carried him to my vet on Monday morning and they couldn't find anything wrong. I asked the question "Could it have been caused by the vaccines?" and the vet stated there is "no way". When I walked out of the exam room the receptionist was consulting a dog owner with a smaller dog and the receptionist stated that the small dog would have to come back in in 2 weeks because they couldn't administer all shots on one day because of the possibility of adverse reactions. My jaw dropped. There is no doubt in my mind the vaccines caused the seizure.

After this incident I did a little research and discovered adverse reactions are fairly common and males tend to be more susceptible. This also occurs in humans. I talked to my dad about the health problems throughout the years of owning and training 100s of bird dogs and he agreed that the males tended to be more likely to have various health problems, for whatever reason. I have discovered there are zero studies on the longevity of immunity created by vaccines and the 3 year Rabies vaccine schedule is actually more influenced by the vaccine manufacturers than any long term study. Individual titers testing actually suggests the rabies vaccine could be effective for 7-8 years or possibly more. Please do a little research for yourself prior to just giving a bunch of unnecessary vaccines.

Took the dogs to Tractor Supply yesterday for rabies updates.
All three dogs cost $57.00.

Since my vet out of Fairfield retired, I've been looking for a economical way to get rabies done.
Guess I've found it.