Dog Vaccines

[annanicole18]

well i have decided that i would really like to give my dogs their shots myself. they will still go for a yearly checkup for heartworm meds so that will be taken care of. the problem is i'm really sick of my vets hours. they have a two hour window a couple days a week that you can bring your pet in for routine stuff. oh and no you cannot make an appointment for routine exams. i didn't mind because i was working bankers hours but now i'm not and its making it hard for me to get my dogs in for their shots. my poor pup of 8 months hasn't even had his last puppy shot because i haven't been able to get him up there and don't really feel like waiting for an hour. hes has his rabies so the mandatory one is taken care of.

i was wondering how many people give their dogs their shots themselves? where do you buy your shots? i was told TSC sells them and my riding instructor with 5 dogs gets hers there. how often do you vaccinate? i have heard some people say only once every other year with the 3-7 way shot since its proven somewhere that vaccines last longer than a year and over vaccinating is bad for the dog. is it better to go with the 7 way shot than the simpler ones? anyone want to venture a guess on what i should do about my pups missing shot?

thanks for any help

 

[TennesseeTruly]

I give my dogs their shots. The only one I can't give is rabies because that has to be given by a licensed vet. I get my shots from www.jeffers.com. They come in 2 days in an cooler with ice. I've been doing it for a while and there's nothing to it.

I do the 5 way shots because theres something in the 7 way that can cause problems. I can't remember off the top of my head what it is though.

Laurie

 

[VettekLisa]

The 7 way usually has Lepto in it. Lepto has been
found to cause more vaccine reactions than all the
others.
We don't usually vaccinate for Lepto unless the owner
asks for it specifically.
It's ok to vaccinate yourself, as long as you know how.
You do have to realize though that animals can have
reactions to any vaccine at any time, no matter how
many times they've had it before.
Just make sure that wherever you get the vaccine is
keeping it stored correctly and it's not out of date.

The 5 way is fine for most situations, and it depends on
the individual animal as to how long the vaccine will last.
I have seen dogs vaccinated with the regular 1 year 5 way
that had protection for 3 years. And others that got the
3 year vaccine that were only protected for 2 years.
The only way to tell how protected they are is to do a
vaccine titer (blood test).

 

[domino7]

I give my own shots. I get them here www.revivalanimal.com. I also give the rabies shots. In some states it is legal, however if you ever need to board the dog it must be done by a vet. I also use the 5way.

 

[annanicole18]

oh geez started looking online at some of the sites and am really overwhelmed with all the brands. are there any generic brands i should stay away from?