Best shot?

How often should I vaccinate my dog? I have done a lot of research on this and advice is conflicting. I want what is best for my dogs, not what’s best for companies, whether they sell pharmaceutical vaccines or nosodes.

Can you provide me with some solid advice?

Mary Elliott, by email

Real rabies threat?

After the confirmed cases of rabies in two puppies imported from Bulgaria to the Netherlands, and in a kitten in France, I’m getting worried that it won’t be long before the UK is affected.

Should I consider immunising my Springer against rabies?

Judy Fitzpatrick, by email

Richard Allport, vet, advises…

Rabies is a frightening disease and a constant concern. Since the relaxation of the old strict quarantine regulations and the introduction of ‘pet passports’ there has been a massive increase in the number of dogs travelling into and out of the UK. So far – and being an island nation helps with this – we have been lucky enough to avoid an influx of rabies cases.

As a slight side issue here, we are not actually rabies free in the UK. A type of rabies does exist in some bats (in fact only in a single species – Daubenton’s Bat) and this is transmissible to humans, so do avoid handling a bat should you ever be in close proximity to one.

However, even on the continent cases of rabies in pets are very rare, and are (so far) confined to pets brought into Western Europe from outside the area, although as I am writing this the origin of the kitten in France affected by rabies is unknown. As far as the UK is concerned the risk is still very, very small, even though recent relaxations of the previous vaccination rules mean that dogs can now leave or enter the UK three weeks after a rabies vaccination, despite the incubation period for rabies being longer than this in some cases.

The real risk is from a dog or cat being smuggled into the UK, or arriving with false documentation; or of a dog with a pet passport contracting rabies whilst abroad due to vaccine failure.

There might appear to be a strong argument, therefore, for applying for a pet passport and getting your dog vaccinated against rabies. But a word of caution – Rabies and Leptospirosis, are the two vaccines that cause more side effects than all other vaccines. Adverse effects such as fever, loss of appetite, anaphylactic shock, and autoimmune haemolytic anaemia (amongst others) have all been reported. If you don’t have to give either of them, in this case particularly the rabies, best not to. In my view, at present the risk of your Springer experiencing adverse effects to the rabies vaccine is far greater than the risk of not vaccinating and possibly contracting rabies.

Of course, the situation could change, but at the moment I think our island nation is unlikely to be afflicted by this serious disease.

Fact finding mission

Hello,

I hope you don't mind me contacting you but I am in bits about the loss of my dog and need some answers from someone who really may know.

My beautiful lurcher who was around 12 died on Sunday after a sudden illness, by the time we had the blood tests back showing liver failure it was too late.

Yesterday I was told the liver biopsy was non specific hepatitis, but the bloods indicated high titre levels for Weils disease. Our vet says the fact we have been back and forward with non specific "not right" issues for a few months may mean this was incubating or getting weaker and older made her less able to fight it.

She was vaccinated and boostered every year we had her (10.5 years) as a rescue dog we signed a contract to do this. However in May the vet did not give her booster as she wasn't quite herself he took blood and urine that showed very slight kidney damage and nothing else. we got involved in pain relief for her hips and kidney diets. Now she has gone I am told the lepto vaccine is only effective for <12 months, there are more strains than the vaccine can protect against and no indication a booster would have helped In this case, diagnosis is not 100% just based on the facts above.

Our vet says that we did all we could and we followed all their advice to the letter, but I am in such a state. Would she really have been unprotected 16 months after her last booster?, are there really lots of strains the vaccine does not protect against anyway?

I am fairly dog knowledgable, but had no idea lepto was such a weak vaccine or that as a swimming/ wading dog she was at risk. With metacalm for her hips she was running around and swimming like a youngster right up to the week before she died.

Any knowledge you have most welcome.

Thank you.

Kindest regards,

Carmella Delargy, by email