Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Vaccine Update

Our vet appointment to discuss our core vaccine schedule went well.  I am very pleased.  I was listened to and we had a useful, detailed conversation.  My vet was comfortable with me choosing to reduce how often we vaccinate for distemper and parvo.  Murray is now 6, and I feel he has been WELL vaccinated at this point.  My vet was open to simply vaccinating every few years or I could choose to titer every few years.  At this point we have not titered.  He was very open and comfortable with how I wanted to proceed.  He didn't think anything I was suggesting was unsafe.  We decided for Piper, he will likely not ever need a core vaccine again.  He will be 10 in a few weeks.  We did do the lymes vaccine because ticks are a very serious problem in our area.  While nothing provides 100% protection from lymes, we agreed as much protection as possible is a good idea.

He did explain why he vaccinates annually as a rule of thumb.  He feels with the clientele he has, he only feels completely comfortable when he's keeping his pet clients covered with their vaccines.  He cannot always be guaranteed he will see a dog or cat on a yearly basis or that they are all being cared for as he feels they should be, so to insure their proper protection, he vaccinates annually.  I was happy he felt reassured in my care for my dogs and therefor entrusted me with my vaccine decisions.  I, in turn, respect that HE is the professional and I thoroughly appreciated his candid thoughts and advice. Seems we have a good doctor patient relationship after-all :)

I hope all of you have veterinarians you can have such informative and helpful conversations with.  I'm grateful I do!


**If you have any specific questions I can answer, please leave a comment below.  There were far too many details from our meeting to include in this update** 


 

18 comments:

  1. Sounds like you have a good relationship with your dogtur - very impawtent!

    Your Pals,

    Murphy & Stanley

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  2. Listening is one of the most important things a vet can do

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  3. I too am fortunate to have a wonderful vet. Good on you for looking out for and being your dog's advocate.

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  4. Yep, it's good that you have mutual trust about Murray's care, thats' why most puppers love their peeps, they know they will be taken care of!

    The Mad scots

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  5. Howdy Mates, we too have a grreat relationship with our Vets. They are informative, listen and always glad to see us! So glad you are all happy with your decisions about vaccinations. Take care. No worries, and love, Stella and Rory

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  6. Sounds like you have a vet who listens. That's rare! :)
    I wish there was a way to have the titers done on my pets but it's not available here. One vet told me it was because no one asks for it and the titer kits have a very short shelf life.

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  7. Nice to have a vet who listens and is prepared to discuss. Wish ours did. Have a wonderful Wednesday.
    Best wishes Molly

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  8. I'm glad, that you have such a good vet, it's so important to have someone you can trust and someone who answers to your questions.

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  9. I am so pleased that your vet listened and you were able to agree on the schedule that works best for you! Lee and Phod

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  10. That is great he listened, but those other animals no not need yearly shots either! Could be their owners aren't as educated on the matter as you are, and don't realize they have a choice. My vet's office has a every three years policy which I agree with more. But I still do titers as I don't want to do it unless it is truly necessary.

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  11. Like Easy said, it is impawtant to have a Vet who is good and listens :) Have a super week xxooxx

    Mollie and Alfie

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  12. I'm glad you posted this update (although I'm a few days late on reading it!). After your post about vaccines a few weeks ago, I checked up on Riley's vaccine schedule (informally) and also looked at her Annual Health Form that we have to keep updated with Therapy Dogs International. The only thing it says that titers are NOT accepted for is the Rabies vaccine (which makes sense).

    For the core vaccines (Distemper, Hepatitis, and Parvo), the form says "A dog must have received an initial series of Distemper, Hepatitis, and Parvovirus vaccinations to be registered. Subsequent boosters are given at the Veterinarian's discretion." I never paid much attention to that on the form, but I think that when she's due for her vaccines again, I'm going to bring it up with her vet. I feel extremely fortunate that Riley's vet really listens to me, works together with me, and leaves the decisions up to me and doesn't try to force things on me or "sell" any services. I call her up every so often with questions about various things (from diet and supplements to health questions), and most of the time, she'll give me any kind of medical and first-aid advice over the phone instead of insisting I bring Riley in. Riley gets extremely anxious at the vet, and her doctor understands that and tries to minimize the amount of times I truly need to bring her in.

    Back to the Therapy Dogs International form--other than the vaccines, the dogs have to have a yearly check-up, a negative fecal exam each year, and a heartworm test (if they're on continued heartworm prevention each month, they only have to be tested every other year; if not, they have to be tested annually). I would most definitely stay current on Riley's check ups and everything, but I'm secretly kind of glad that I get a reminder e-mail from TDI a few weeks before something on her health form is set to expire.

    Anyway, sorry this is so long, but I just wanted to say again that I'm really glad that you had such a positive experience with your vet and that he really seems to support you and trust your decisions. That's wonderful. I know of so many people that have such insensitive vets that seem to have lost sight of what veterinary medicine is all about.

    Elyse (and Riley)

    ReplyDelete
  13. I'm glad you posted this update (although I'm a few days late on reading it!). After your post about vaccines a few weeks ago, I checked up on Riley's vaccine schedule (informally) and also looked at her Annual Health Form that we have to keep updated with Therapy Dogs International. The only thing it says that titers are NOT accepted for is the Rabies vaccine (which makes sense).

    For the core vaccines (Distemper, Hepatitis, and Parvo), the form says "A dog must have received an initial series of Distemper, Hepatitis, and Parvovirus vaccinations to be registered. Subsequent boosters are given at the Veterinarian's discretion." I never paid much attention to that on the form, but I think that when she's due for her vaccines again, I'm going to bring it up with her vet. I feel extremely fortunate that Riley's vet really listens to me, works together with me, and leaves the decisions up to me and doesn't try to force things on me or "sell" any services. I call her up every so often with questions about various things (from diet and supplements to health questions), and most of the time, she'll give me any kind of medical and first-aid advice over the phone instead of insisting I bring Riley in. Riley gets extremely anxious at the vet, and her doctor understands that and tries to minimize the amount of times I truly need to bring her in.

    Back to the Therapy Dogs International form--other than the vaccines, the dogs have to have a yearly check-up, a negative fecal exam each year, and a heartworm test (if they're on continued heartworm prevention each month, they only have to be tested every other year; if not, they have to be tested annually). I would most definitely stay current on Riley's check ups and everything, but I'm secretly kind of glad that I get a reminder e-mail from TDI a few weeks before something on her health form is set to expire.

    Anyway, sorry this is so long, but I just wanted to say again that I'm really glad that you had such a positive experience with your vet and that he really seems to support you and trust your decisions. That's wonderful. I know of so many people that have such insensitive vets that seem to have lost sight of what veterinary medicine is all about.

    Elyse (and Riley)

    ReplyDelete
  14. I'm glad you posted this update (although I'm a few days late on reading it!). After your post about vaccines a few weeks ago, I checked up on Riley's vaccine schedule (informally) and also looked at her Annual Health Form that we have to keep updated with Therapy Dogs International. The only thing it says that titers are NOT accepted for is the Rabies vaccine (which makes sense).

    For the core vaccines (Distemper, Hepatitis, and Parvo), the form says "A dog must have received an initial series of Distemper, Hepatitis, and Parvovirus vaccinations to be registered. Subsequent boosters are given at the Veterinarian's discretion." I never paid much attention to that on the form, but I think that when she's due for her vaccines again, I'm going to bring it up with her vet. I feel extremely fortunate that Riley's vet really listens to me, works together with me, and leaves the decisions up to me and doesn't try to force things on me or "sell" any services. I call her up every so often with questions about various things (from diet and supplements to health questions), and most of the time, she'll give me any kind of medical and first-aid advice over the phone instead of insisting I bring Riley in. Riley gets extremely anxious at the vet, and her doctor understands that and tries to minimize the amount of times I truly need to bring her in.

    Back to the Therapy Dogs International form--other than the vaccines, the dogs have to have a yearly check-up, a negative fecal exam each year, and a heartworm test (if they're on continued heartworm prevention each month, they only have to be tested every other year; if not, they have to be tested annually). I would most definitely stay current on Riley's check ups and everything, but I'm secretly kind of glad that I get a reminder e-mail from TDI a few weeks before something on her health form is set to expire.

    Anyway, sorry this is so long, but I just wanted to say again that I'm really glad that you had such a positive experience with your vet and that he really seems to support you and trust your decisions. That's wonderful. I know of so many people that have such insensitive vets that seem to have lost sight of what veterinary medicine is all about.

    Elyse (and Riley)

    ReplyDelete
  15. I'm glad you posted this update (although I'm a few days late on reading it!). After your post about vaccines a few weeks ago, I checked up on Riley's vaccine schedule (informally) and also looked at her Annual Health Form that we have to keep updated with Therapy Dogs International. The only thing it says that titers are NOT accepted for is the Rabies vaccine (which makes sense).

    For the core vaccines (Distemper, Hepatitis, and Parvo), the form says "A dog must have received an initial series of Distemper, Hepatitis, and Parvovirus vaccinations to be registered. Subsequent boosters are given at the Veterinarian's discretion." I never paid much attention to that on the form, but I think that when she's due for her vaccines again, I'm going to bring it up with her vet. I feel extremely fortunate that Riley's vet really listens to me, works together with me, and leaves the decisions up to me and doesn't try to force things on me or "sell" any services. I call her up every so often with questions about various things (from diet and supplements to health questions), and most of the time, she'll give me any kind of medical and first-aid advice over the phone instead of insisting I bring Riley in. Riley gets extremely anxious at the vet, and her doctor understands that and tries to minimize the amount of times I truly need to bring her in.

    Back to the Therapy Dogs International form--other than the vaccines, the dogs have to have a yearly check-up, a negative fecal exam each year, and a heartworm test (if they're on continued heartworm prevention each month, they only have to be tested every other year; if not, they have to be tested annually). I would most definitely stay current on Riley's check ups and everything, but I'm secretly kind of glad that I get a reminder e-mail from TDI a few weeks before something on her health form is set to expire.

    Anyway, sorry this is so long, but I just wanted to say again that I'm really glad that you had such a positive experience with your vet and that he really seems to support you and trust your decisions. That's wonderful. I know of so many people that have such insensitive vets that seem to have lost sight of what veterinary medicine is all about.

    Elyse (and Riley)

    ReplyDelete
  16. I'm glad you posted this update (although I'm a few days late on reading it!). After your post about vaccines a few weeks ago, I checked up on Riley's vaccine schedule (informally) and also looked at her Annual Health Form that we have to keep updated with Therapy Dogs International. The only thing it says that titers are NOT accepted for is the Rabies vaccine (which makes sense).

    For the core vaccines (Distemper, Hepatitis, and Parvo), the form says "A dog must have received an initial series of Distemper, Hepatitis, and Parvovirus vaccinations to be registered. Subsequent boosters are given at the Veterinarian's discretion." I never paid much attention to that on the form, but I think that when she's due for her vaccines again, I'm going to bring it up with her vet. I feel extremely fortunate that Riley's vet really listens to me, works together with me, and leaves the decisions up to me and doesn't try to force things on me or "sell" any services. I call her up every so often with questions about various things (from diet and supplements to health questions), and most of the time, she'll give me any kind of medical and first-aid advice over the phone instead of insisting I bring Riley in. Riley gets extremely anxious at the vet, and her doctor understands that and tries to minimize the amount of times I truly need to bring her in.

    Back to the Therapy Dogs International form--other than the vaccines, the dogs have to have a yearly check-up, a negative fecal exam each year, and a heartworm test (if they're on continued heartworm prevention each month, they only have to be tested every other year; if not, they have to be tested annually). I would most definitely stay current on Riley's check ups and everything, but I'm secretly kind of glad that I get a reminder e-mail from TDI a few weeks before something on her health form is set to expire.

    Anyway, sorry this is so long, but I just wanted to say again that I'm really glad that you had such a positive experience with your vet and that he really seems to support you and trust your decisions. That's wonderful. I know of so many people that have such insensitive vets that seem to have lost sight of what veterinary medicine is all about.

    Elyse (and Riley)

    ReplyDelete
  17. I'm glad you posted this update (although I'm a few days late on reading it!). After your post about vaccines a few weeks ago, I checked up on Riley's vaccine schedule (informally) and also looked at her Annual Health Form that we have to keep updated with Therapy Dogs International. The only thing it says that titers are NOT accepted for is the Rabies vaccine (which makes sense).

    For the core vaccines (Distemper, Hepatitis, and Parvo), the form says "A dog must have received an initial series of Distemper, Hepatitis, and Parvovirus vaccinations to be registered. Subsequent boosters are given at the Veterinarian's discretion." I never paid much attention to that on the form, but I think that when she's due for her vaccines again, I'm going to bring it up with her vet. I feel extremely fortunate that Riley's vet really listens to me, works together with me, and leaves the decisions up to me and doesn't try to force things on me or "sell" any services. I call her up every so often with questions about various things (from diet and supplements to health questions), and most of the time, she'll give me any kind of medical and first-aid advice over the phone instead of insisting I bring Riley in. Riley gets extremely anxious at the vet, and her doctor understands that and tries to minimize the amount of times I truly need to bring her in.

    Back to the Therapy Dogs International form--other than the vaccines, the dogs have to have a yearly check-up, a negative fecal exam each year, and a heartworm test (if they're on continued heartworm prevention each month, they only have to be tested every other year; if not, they have to be tested annually). I would most definitely stay current on Riley's check ups and everything, but I'm secretly kind of glad that I get a reminder e-mail from TDI a few weeks before something on her health form is set to expire.

    Anyway, sorry this is so long, but I just wanted to say again that I'm really glad that you had such a positive experience with your vet and that he really seems to support you and trust your decisions. That's wonderful. I know of so many people that have such insensitive vets that seem to have lost sight of what veterinary medicine is all about.

    Elyse (and Riley)

    ReplyDelete
  18. That is great that you sorted that all out with your vet. This reminds me I still need to talk to my vet about Jokers shots!!!
    Have a great week! Hugs, Francesca

    ReplyDelete

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