Well, I guess I learn something new in here every day. I would have thought everyone would be very vaccine conscious. Who knew? I sure didn't. I have never seen this discussed before.
I can't believe I even saw this:
I truly thought everyone believed in rabies shots... Why am I getting my dog shots every year? Why have I been thinking that is the right thing to do? Do you all give heartworm meds or flea treatments? Do your vets get upset with you for not getting the shots they recommend or do they agree with you?
It's one thing to be vaccine conscious, it's another to over vaccinate. We do blood titers on our dogs in lieu of giving them shots they don't need. My GSD is almost 5 years old, he hasn't had a parvo or distemper shot since he was a pup, and every year his blood test comes back with results indicating he doesn't need a booster, so he doesn't get one. Same with our Dane. We only do rabies because it's required by law- they really don't need that one either once it's been given once or twice. We don't do bordatella as we never board our dogs. If we had to board them, then I might get the shot.
My vet doesn't get upset. They don't sell me a shot but they collect more $$ for the blood work. They still get the office visit fee too. I'd rather pay more and know my dogs aren't getting stuff they don't need.
I do heartworm, but only every 45 days. I only did flea preventative once this summer, and I don't do it year round, but we have never had a flea issue here. I like the flea preventative that also has the mosquito repellent in it, as we have them bad here, but the one we got this year didn't have that so I didn't bother using it more than the one time.