How SAFE are vaccinations? Are we over
vaccinating our dogs?

Jade
Chicago, IL

Animal vaccination is a perennially timely and controversial subject. The short answer, Jade, is that nobody knows how often pets should receive vaccines. Nobody knows whether pets need vaccines every year (although they probably don’t).

Although titers probably will be widely used in the future, they aren’t common now for two reasons. First, nobody truly knows how to interpret them (that is to say, nobody knows what titer level is protective for each disease). Second, titers measure only half of the immune system (a portion called humoral immunity) and ignore the other half (called cell-mediated immunity).

I have covered the subject of animal vaccines a few times on this blog. Click here, here, here or here for more information.

A very bad experience from the other night reminded me of a stark truth. Although giving too many vaccines may cause health problems for some pets, giving too few vaccines is virtually guaranteed to lead to sick pets.

I was working at an emergency hospital when a family brought a six-month-old Poodle to my office. The Poodle had a 12 hour history of poor appetite, vomiting, and diarrhea. He had never been vaccinated.

A test of his stool revealed that he was infected with parvovirus. Untreated parvovirus is a deadly disease. Parvovirus is preventable with vaccines. If that puppy had been properly vaccinated, he would not have caught the disease.

To make matters worse, the family had another unvaccinated puppy at home. I explained to them that their other puppy would almost certainly catch the disease. And then they revealed that, three months ago, the family had lost a third (unvaccinated) dog to parvo.

This means that, in the course of a single appointment, I became aware of two puppies who needlessly suffered from a preventable disease because of lack of vaccination. A third puppy is almost certain to become ill and possibly die because of the family’s irresponsibility.

Although over-vaccination is not an optimal scenario for pets, please remember that it is better than the other extreme. If you don’t vaccinate your pets at all, you are asking for them to get sick.

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We adopted our dog from a breeder (a Chocolate
Lab) about a month ago. He will be 3 months old
soon. He had his first distemper shot when he
was at the breeder. He had his second shot a few
weeks ago at our new vet, and he will have his
third next Thursday.

Mike
Bergen County, NJ

With puppies, one must strike a balance between socialization (introducing them to new sights, sounds and animals) and protecting them from infectious diseases.

Puppy shots protect against two main diseases: parvovirus and distemper. Of these, parvovirus (also known simply as parvo) is more common. Parvo causes weakness, appetite loss, vomiting, diarrhea and blood cell imbalances. It can be fatal.

Parvo is ubiquitous. However, it is most common in areas such as dog parks where large numbers of dogs congregate. It can survive in the environment for many months; direct contact with an infected individual isn’t necessary to spread the disease.

Until your puppy has received all of his puppy shots (the last shot usually occurs at four months of age), he is at risk of contracting parvo.

But this presents a conundrum. He is also most readily socialized when he is less than four months old. Dogs older than four months less readily adapt to new situations, sights, and sounds.

In my opinion, it is very important to protect your puppy from parvo and distemper. But it is equally important to socialize him properly. Here is what I recommend.

Continue to vaccinate him according to the schedule recommended by your vet. This will help to reduce the risk of parvo and other infectious diseases. Also, avoid dog parks and other areas where large numbers of dogs (especially unvaccinated or poorly-cared-for dogs) congregate.

However, introduce him to as many healthy, vaccinated dogs as possible while he is still a puppy (for instance, you can introduce him to dogs belonging to your friends and neighbors). Consider taking him for walks on defined routes that are not heavily trafficked by other dogs. If you want your puppy to swim in lakes, then pick lakes that are private or remote.

Any time your puppy leaves the house, he may encounter parvovirus. However, if you keep him confined indoors until he has had all of his shots, he may suffer from a different, life-long problem: poor socialization.

• Are Pets Being Over-Vaccinated?
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• American Veterinary Society of Behavior Recommends Socializing Kittens and Puppies at Seven Weeks of Age

Two new viruses are emerging as threats to canine health worldwide: canine respiratory coronavirus and canine parvovirus type 2c. The May 15, 2008 issue of the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association contained a news item about these two diseases.

Canine parvovirus is one of the most common and deadly infectious diseases of dogs. It causes vomiting, diarrhea, and blood cell imbalances. A vaccine against the virus has existed for years and is in widespread use. The vaccine was designed to prevent the older, more common strains of parvovirus. Fortunately, the vaccine appears to offer some protection against the new type 2c strain of the disease as well.

Coronaviruses cause the common cold in people. A common form of canine coronavirus has been known for a long time as well. This virus causes diarrhea in dogs.

Now, a new type of coronavirus has evolved in dogs. It causes acute respiratory symptoms (kennel cough) in affected animals.

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) has published a list of frequently asked questions (along with answers) about these two new viral strains. Click here to see the FAQs about canine parvovirus type 2c. For information about canine respiratory coronavirus, click here.

• Are Pets Being Over-Vaccinated?
• How Can I Balance Puppy Socialization with Safety?
• Can Bordetella Vaccines Cause Coughing?
• American Veterinary Society of Behavior Recommends Socializing Kittens and Puppies at Seven Weeks of Age
• Can pets catch colds from humans?

Summed up… Miko is 4 months old. We got her at 8
weeks old. One day after we got her she got Parvo
and Coccidia, which of course gave her horrible
diarrhea. She luckily lived through that. She has
since been to the vet several times, had blood
work and fecal tests, and they have come back
clean. She has also had all of her shots now as
well. She still has really watery diarrhea.

Lindsey
Costa Mesa, CA

Wow. It sounds like Miko’s life got off to a rough start. You have asked several questions, and I’ll try to address them one by one.

First, let’s talk about Parvo. Parvovirus (aka Parvo) is an extremely contagious disease of dogs. It occurs mainly in puppies, or in dogs that have not been vaccinated. The bad news: many dogs that contract Parvovirus die. The good news: dogs that do not die (such as Milo) almost always make complete recoveries. They usually do not suffer long-term health consequences. The intestines should heal quite rapidly.

Also, there are no 100% guarantees about anything in this world, but I can tell you that it is extremely unlikely that Miko could contract parvo again. Most dogs that live through parvo develop permanent immunity.

Now, let’s talk about Coccidia. Coccidia are ubiquitous microscopic intestinal parasites that infect huge numbers of puppies and kittens. They rarely cause serious health problems, but they can lead to long-term, frustrating watery diarrhea. They are hard to treat, and sometimes several rounds of medication are necessary to eliminate the problem.

Based on your description, I am suspicious that Coccidia may be playing a role in Miko’s ongoing diarrhea. You may want to consider treating for the parasite again, or doing a special fecal test (zinc sulfate centrifugation) that is more sensitive than standard fecal tests.

Of course, other parasites (such as worms, which also can be missed by some fecal tests), reactions to foods, inflammatory bowel disease, or (and this is unlikely) lingering damage from Parvovirus infection could be playing a role in Miko’s problems. But my hunch is that the Coccidia are the culprits. I recommend that you and your vet go after them first. If that doesn’t work, it will be time to do an extensive investigation into the problem with comprehensive diagnostic tests.

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