Vaccine guidelines changing... slowly but surely

JacksonsMom

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#1
A friend from another forum works at a vet hospital and said they recently changed to every 5 years instead of every 3. :hail: It's a start...

Basically, this is not "new" news as the AAHA DOI studies already state 7 years to a lifetime for DHP, and that 5 years is protective.
http://www.aahanet.org/PublicDocuments/CanineVaccineGuidelines.pdf

In AAHA 2011 it mentions every 5 years as acceptable. I don't remember if earlier editions stated the same. If I had to guess, they probably just switched from annual to every 3 years when a lot of other AAHA hospitals did the same. But AAHA did not set every 3 years in stone. It was a compromise, So is every 5 years. Then perhaps recently one of the owners of the hospital dug a bit deeper.

Since 5 years is still a random compromise (very safe). Most offices will stick to every 3 (or annually which is ridiculous). Some might get really brave and do it every 7-9 based on the studies. Hopefully vets will start to be open to doing it less often.

Owner and I were talking today and the bottom line for him is that the decision to vaccinate should not be a monetary one. And if we are jabbing every three years when there is a ton of evidence that this is still too often, then (in this office's case based on what they see scientifically) we are doing it for monetary gain. The vets here never ever make decisions based on what makes them the most money.

It is still not within some vets' comfort levels to do it less often, but at sone point they need to move ahead with the times (esp.annual vaccinators). Because minimum DOI is 7 years it is safe to assume every 5 is still being very cautious. Maybe they will move to every 7 years in the future.
Just thought I would pass on.

To me, it doesn't matter what AAHA says anyway, I don't really plan on vaccinating Jackson again for DHP, but for those who feel they need a 'schedule' to follow -- this is good news. :)
 

Shai

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#2
The improving AAHA guidelines are also excellent for anyone getting pushback from their vet regarding longer intervals between vaccinations. A good document to have on hand just in case. Good news indeed!
 

Grab

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#3
The clinic I work for is just finally embracing the 3 year schedule. Although they're still sticklers for not doing it if they feel the dog hasn't been boostered enough. Sigh.

You'd think they'd go with the AAHA guidelines at least, since it's an AAHA certified hospital, but it is like pulling teeth.
 

crazedACD

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#4
You know, it's not even my vet that I'm concerned with telling me when to vaccinate, but boarding kennels and dog training classes. Plenty still require yearly vaccination, with bordatella!
 

Saeleofu

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#5
I've decided to do every 7 years on my own dogs for now - previously I had decided on every 5, and Gavroche would have been due next year. By the time 7 years comes around I may switch to 9 years or more. My vet is awesome and lets me do what I want without pushing vaccines. I also have stopped doing bordatella vaccines completely.
 

Southpaw

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#6
You know, it's not even my vet that I'm concerned with telling me when to vaccinate, but boarding kennels and dog training classes. Plenty still require yearly vaccination, with bordatella!
This! I don't care what my vets opinion is on vaccines, they can't force me to vaccinate. But it sucks that many places we bring our dogs require it. Thankfully, both my groomer and training facility have never asked about vaccines. And we don't need boarding.
 

*blackrose

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You know, it's not even my vet that I'm concerned with telling me when to vaccinate, but boarding kennels and dog training classes. Plenty still require yearly vaccination, with bordatella!
Yup. That is what really annoys me. I do rabies every three years (as required by law) and distemper every 3-5. Lepto is annual, and I don't want to give bordetella...but it seems like every single place that does anything dog requires a bordetella vaccine. Boo.
 

Southpaw

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#8
I keep coming back to this and feeling like I need to print it out to show my boss. We still vaccinate for distemper annually. She's always saying she wants us to give our input more, somehow I don't think THIS is the kind of thing she wants our input on, but maybe it's worth trying :p
 

TopShelfPets

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#9
I'm a terrible dog mom in some ways, and haven't taken Jaeger for a regular checkup in a couple years because my old vet insisted on a bunch of vaccine boosters on a yearly basis, and I sended up caving, but then I could tell he didn't feel well for a day or two afterward.

I don't go to the doctor unless I'm sick or injured, I don't see why he should have to.

He is due for a rabies booster in a couple weeks. Are there titers I can have my new vet run to see what boosters he actually needs?
 

Saeleofu

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#10
He is due for a rabies booster in a couple weeks. Are there titers I can have my new vet run to see what boosters he actually needs?
Most places require rabies vaccines on a regular basis by law, and titres aren't accepted. Check your local laws, though.

For distemper/parvo, though, you can do titres.
 

*blackrose

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#11
I don't go to the doctor unless I'm sick or injured, I don't see why he should have to.
Just wanted to comment on this. Even with a limited vaccine protocol, I think it is VERY important to have your pets seen annually by a veterinarian. Things that you may not pick up on due to a gradual change your vet will see as a red flag. Prevention is the best medicine, and catching things before they become a devastating disease process is very important. You wouldn't in now how many people finally come in the door after 5 years to get their cat vaccinated and we have to tell them their cat is dying of kidney failure.
 

JacksonsMom

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#12
Just wanted to comment on this. Even with a limited vaccine protocol, I think it is VERY important to have your pets seen annually by a veterinarian. Things that you may not pick up on due to a gradual change your vet will see as a red flag. Prevention is the best medicine, and catching things before they become a devastating disease process is very important. You wouldn't in now how many people finally come in the door after 5 years to get their cat vaccinated and we have to tell them their cat is dying of kidney failure.
Yeah, this!

While I do not and will not give yearly vaccines, I still like to bring him in at least once a year for a checkup.
 

PWCorgi

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#13
Siri is due this month for her 1 year Rabies and DHPP. She will get both, but after that she will not have distemper again. I may titer if I get flack for not, but otherwise we'll just call it good for the foreseeable future. She will be updated on Rabies every 3 years per the law.

I haven't been asked about vaccines for any classes I have taken (locally everyone seems to be on the up and up about vaccines around here) and our boarding facility is all about limited vaccines and even suggests against bordetella. Love them!

Up to this point Frodo has had DHPP every 3 years, but I won't vaccinate him for it again. He will also continue to get Rabies every 3 years per the law.

ETA: I am a huge supporter of yearly exams for animals. At the clinic I work at we do every 6 months for senior dogs. Frodo will go in every 6 months now because of his age, and will most likely have senior wellness bloodwork run at each visit as long as I can afford it. Siri will go in once a year, and get junior wellness bloodwork run as long as I can afford it. It's a small price to pay for an early diagnosis!
 

Southpaw

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#14
Just wanted to comment on this. Even with a limited vaccine protocol, I think it is VERY important to have your pets seen annually by a veterinarian. Things that you may not pick up on due to a gradual change your vet will see as a red flag. Prevention is the best medicine, and catching things before they become a devastating disease process is very important. You wouldn't in now how many people finally come in the door after 5 years to get their cat vaccinated and we have to tell them their cat is dying of kidney failure.
Yeah, there's a lot of things we catch with our yearly vaccine exams, where maybe the owners didn't notice anything going on, or maybe they noticed some small symptoms but didn't think anything of it. The biggest one is heart murmurs, where the owner might mention "ya know, recently he's been coughing now and then, but not a lot...." and suddenly we're doing bloodwork and x-rays to assess the heart during this "wellness visit"!

I'll admit, I wouldn't bring my pets in for yearly exams if I didn't work at a clinic. But especially with a boxer, I like to have someone else feel her over for lumps and bumps and listen to her heart. Because I don't usually pull out my stethoscope just for funsies lol.

And I am still brainstorming a good way to approach my boss on the "why are we still vaccinating for distemper annually" subject :p
 

JacksonsMom

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#15
And I am still brainstorming a good way to approach my boss on the "why are we still vaccinating for distemper annually" subject :p
That's crazy to me!

Are you guys an AAHA hospital? The protocol has been 3 years for quite a long time now. I can't even believe some people are vaccinating yearly still.
 

Southpaw

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That's crazy to me!

Are you guys an AAHA hospital? The protocol has been 3 years for quite a long time now. I can't even believe some people are vaccinating yearly still.
Nope we're not AAHA. The funny thing to me is that the vets I work with aren't even "old"... they graduated in like 2002 and 2007. And to me vaccinating annually is SO outdated, like I think they should be more on the up-and-up when it comes to that!

The only time we make distemper good for 3 years is if it's a senior animal who's a homebody and doesn't do dog parks/boarding/grooming etc. "Low risk."

Just gotta gather my facts lol and see what their reasoning is for doing it annually. Part of me wonders if it's just a way to get people coming in every year.
 

elegy

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Part of me wonders if it's just a way to get people coming in every year.
Part of the reason that we stagger vaccines is so that between rabies and distemper vaccines, we'll see the pet at least two out of three years. Plus the doctors prefer fewer vaccines at one time. We have some dogs who get five different vaccines (rabies, distemper, lyme, kennel cough, and influenza). That's a whole freaking lot of vaccines....
 

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#19
Shipping blood is what kills me when I look at running a distemper or parvo titer! I would so much rather do that than vaccinate, but in the past I've chosen to just vaccinated limitedly.

I don't know what I'll actually do with Gabby now. She had Rabies, DHPP, and Bordetella as required by the rescue when she was still a foster. So I don't need to worry about anything for at least two years. Maybe then it will cost less money to send in a titer? Or maybe they'll have something new?

My dogs see the a veterinarian very regularly lately!
 

Southpaw

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Yeah titers are crazy expensive! I've had people want to titer, but when they hear the price go oh j/k we'll just vaccinate.
 

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