Do you vaccinate your dog annually?

[TheKurp]

The recent news of Redman's pending GSD arrival sparked a curiosity in me about the ExtremeSkins members who own dogs.

I maintain a virtual circle of acquaintances through email lists who own Golden Retreivers, and the practice of annual vaccinations in almost non-existent among them. To a lessor extent, I know a few breeders, mostly show exhibitors, who also do not annually vaccinate their dogs.

Now I realize that these people, myself included, take a somewhat alternate approach to canine healthcare so my world is a bit skewed. However I will state that I have had two vets call me in the past and ask questions about one, how I treated and cured a chronic staph infection in my golden, and two, how I successfully treated a borderline case of hypothyrodism through diet in the same golden.

With regard to vaccinations, the current Veterinary Therapy by Kirk, the textbook bible for veterinarians in general, has an article on canine and feline vaccines by two researchers. Near the end of the article is a paragraph called Annual Vaccinations. It states "The practice of annual vaccinations lacks scientific validity or verification. There is no immunological requirement for annual vaccinations. The practice of annual vaccinations should be considered of questionable efficacy unless it is used as a mechanism to provide an annual physical examination or is required by law."

My oldest golden, 10 years, hasn't received any vaccinations other than rabies for the last 7 years.l My youngest, 2 years, received the normal puppy shots, then modified-live parvo and distemper at one year of age (each given separately 2 weeks apart).

I used to run titers on the older golden but have since stopped since titers do not indicate level of immunity, just whether a recent exposure to an antigen has occurred.

Most of my research into this area has centered around Dr. Ronald Schultz

Anyway, I'm just curious as to what people on this forum practice. I'm not going to try and convince anyone one way or the other, unless of course you draw me into a debate, and then I'll be only too happy to share what I've learned.

[codeorama]

I don't have strong feelings one way or the other, but I get both of my dogs done each year when I take them for a check up.

We need a thread about pet health insurance...... my dogs are children to me as I'm sure that they are to a lot of you. Vet bills are pretty steep.

[tex]

Annual rabies immunization is required by law here in Texas. Although not required, vets here also strongly recommend annual shots for Parvo-Corona and Bordetella.

[TheKurp]

I should add that I still take my dogs for yearly physicals and I still have them vaccinated for rabies as required by Florida law.

That said, I substantially reduced my vet expenses on my older golden by switching to an alternative approach to healthcare. However my dog food expenses did go up marginally.

[BG]

I have my dog up t date on Rabies, Parvo and Canine cough---just in case he gets pulled over and is thrown in the slammer.

I have never been to a good vet since I left DC. My oldest dog has horrible dermatitis at times and as of late seems to be responding well to diet. It hasn't cleared up completely, but is noticeably better.

I found, through my own research and talking with other pet owners, that his flakey/itchy skin was due to his food or an allergy towards a specific food substance.

Nevertheless, after trying everything through the vets short of allergy shots on my dog, and having been charged well over $2000, I just went trial and error and have narrowed the problem down on my own. I think I saved myself at least well over $500 in allergy shots/diagnoses.

I do not take my dog to any vets down here any longer.