Hi Jill ... I had one year old Porter vaccinated
against lepto in May due to the fact we live in a
rural area with a pond and a creek inhabited by the
lepto-carrying beaver. After receiving the first
booster (lepto only - his annual vacc's aren't due til
August) he had an allergic reaction. Hot, swollen
gums, ears, skin etc. He was chewing at his feet
until they were bleeding. It took 3+ weeks to get
over it (10 days on prednisone)... now, when taking
Porter his GSD brother Kief (8 months) for runs thru
the fields (by the creek and pond) we leash them until
we've passed the creek and always carry fresh water
for them and a collapsible bowl. The vet at the
company that manufactures the vaccine stated Porter's
reaction very common in Berners and believes that
Porter may have already been exposed to lepto and was
immune ... All is well now, and the drug manufacturer
is refunding all of our money including the cost of
the vaccine and all subsequent vet visits and
treatments. This is just my experience with the
vaccine and although Porter's reaction is not
classified as severe, in my books anything that causes
that much distress to my dog is severe.
After discussions with my vet we have decided that my
dogs will receive annual vaccines (distemper, parvo,
etc.) and receives a rabies vaccine bi-annually.
Just my experience ...
--- J Evans [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
Hi everyone.
I recently took Indie (will be 7 in Sept) for a
check up and to check
titers. He has plenty of immunity against
everything, but
Leptospirosis. My inclination is to not vaccinate
for Lepto, because there
is a fairly low incidence in our area, according to
a Vet who specializes
in infectious diseases. The Vet said that the Vet
school (at Purdue) does
recommend the vaccination, especially for dogs who
frequent ponds and rural
areas where the disease is more prevalent. (that's
daily, for us = where
we live). My dog's personal Vet also
thinks Indie should get the vax. The newer 4 way Vac
which covers 2 strains
that rarely occur and 2 newer strains, was
recommended. It has a low
incidence of side effects/problems associated with
it (1 in 1000), but my
hesitation is partly due to the information that
Berners, Poodles, Afgans
and ?, are more susceptible to auto-immune related
problems which can be
associated with vaccines. Because of that and
because our older girl,
Trace, died not long after receiving a lepto shot,
my emotions are
screaming: DON'T!!! give this vax to an older
Bernese. I cannot prove
that Trace's anemia/decline/death was a side effect,
but due to the timing,
I at least wonder. Lepto can cause some serious
problems and some dogs do
die from it - I forget the death rate due to the
disease, itself.
Help! I would appreciate input from Berner owners
concerning their call on
vaccinating
Berners against lepto.
One other piece of the puzzle that bothers me: In
the past, Indie has had
yearly, routine vaccinations. For about 2 weeks
after that, he has been
'not himself,' and I would bet the farm it's due to
a reaction to the
vacs. It was always a combo shot, and not just
lepto.
If you do not have your Berner vaccinated for Lepto,
why and does your dog
receive other routine vaccinations?
To those who titer: do you check Lepto?
Given the info above, would you have Indie
vaccinated for Lepto, if he were
your dog.
I don't want to spark a vaccination controversy, but
will appreciate
knowing what other Berner owners do, before making a
decision for my dog.
Thanks, and hugs to your dogs,
Jill with Indie and Gabby
=
Jennifer Martyn
Conn, Ontario, Canada
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