Vaccinations & Puppy illnesses February 19, 2008

 This page has alot of medical terminology–I will try to simplify! Here is some basic info on 3 common canine infectious diseases, before I get into vacination protocols (ie, when, what, and how often).

canine distemper: a viral disease affecting puppies and young adults most often (4 months-4 years old). Symptoms show up about 2 weeks after infection and include red eyes, nose discharge, vomiting and diarrhea, seizures, thickened foot pads, dental changes, and sensitivity to light. There is little treatment, and the survival rate is not good. The virus is transmitted through air and bodily fluids much like the “flu”, but luckily it does not persist long in the environment. If you have more than one dog though, assume they all have contracted the disease if one dog shows signs and get them all treated right away.

parvo virus: the most common is intestinal parvo, affecting puppies. It causes diarrhea, vomiting, fever, and lethargy. It damages the intestines, heart, and bone marrow. There is no specific anti-viral treatment, so all care is “supportive”, meaning you do what you can to control the symptoms and let the pups immune system fight it off. Immediate care is the best way for a pup to survive, getting IV fluids, medicines for nausea, and antibiotics to prevent secondary infections. The cardiac form shows up just before or after birth, and is somewhat rare, but if you breed dogs, you should speak to your vet about it.

Kennel cough: sneezing, hacking, a mild fever, and maybe some nasal discharge are the symptoms. It is highly contagious, but rarely fatal unless it progresses to pneumonia. It is a respiratory infection, can be either bacterial or viral, and is not difficult to treat. (Yea!) Simple anitbiotics, cough suppressents, and time will clear up kennel cough. Pneumonia is rare, but it can be fatal, so if the coughing and such doesn’t improve quickly, get to the vet and let them listen to the lung sounds.

Puppy vaccinations are a confusing business, with all the potential viral and bacterial infections puppies can get. Ask your vet to sit down and explain what each disease is prevelant in your area, how often it is seen in puppies, and what the symptoms are.

I like to make an appointment before I get my puppy and tell the vet beforehand that I want to ask about vaccinations, spay/neuter surgeries, and general care. Don’t just assume your vet is current with the new research–they are busy people and keeping up with veterinary journals takes time. This is your puppy, and you have a perfect right to ask questions about what is done for his or her health. Puppies can’t read and ask for themselves.  

Conventional vaccine protocol is to give repeated “multivalent” (combination) shots of 5-7 pathogens to puppies 2-3 weeks apart. But there is growing evidence that this actually overloads the puppy’s immune system, as least for some breeds. Vaccinations have become a hot topic recently, and many people do not want to vaccinate at all because of the life threatening reactions that sometimes occur. That’s not a good idea though, throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

Puppies especially need some protection against parvo, distemper, and other communicable diseases. The younger puppies are when they contract such illnesses, the less likely they are to survive. So shots of some kind truely are needed. The question then becomes “how could I vaccinate more safely” if you are concerned about how many pathogens your puppy is given?

Oklahoma State University (OSU) reccommends the 6, 9, 12, 16 week vaccination schedule, using “high titer, low passage” vaccines. This is conventional, and most vets will follow this protocol. But not all.  Below is a one conservative protocol to consider using for Danes, developed by Dr. Jean Dodds, to more safely immunize giant breed puppies. If you have any questions or concerns, you or your vet can contact Dr. Dodds by phone 310-828-4804; Fax 310-828-8251, or e-mail: hemopet@hotmail.com

• 9 – 10 weeks – Distemper + Parvovirus, MLV (e.g. Intervet Progard Puppy DPV)

• 12-14 weeks – Distemper + Parvovirus, MLV (e.g. Intervet Progard Puppy DPV)

• 20 weeks or older, if allowable by law – Rabies

• 1 year (optional) – Distemper + Parvovirus, MLV

• 1 year – Rabies, killed 3-year product (give 3-4 weeks apart from distemper/parvovirus booster) 

  Another excellent site to visit is www.critteradvocacy.org

Some people even split the puppy distemper and parvo into seperate shots, giving parvo first 2-3 weeks before the distemper, and not repeating the vaccination.  Repeated doses of combination shots with 4-5 pathogens, is a potential culprit in vaccine reactions. Oklahoma State Univerity (OSU) does not recommend splitting the distemper and parvo though, as they have some evidence that the seperate vaccinations have less effectiveness. 

There are a few dogs who will not develop immunity to parvo or distemper easily, often when the vaccine is given to very young puppies whose mother’s milk is interfering with the vaccine.  So protecting your puppy in terms of where he goes and who he/she interacts with is very important. Don’t let them go to pounds or kennels until fully vaccinated, since these places can have a problem with communicable diseases spreading rapidly in their population. Nor should your puppy play with puppies you do not know have been vaccinated. Obviously, if a puppy is sick, don’t take your puppy to their home or have them in yours.  Most “puppy classes” require proof of vaccinations, so you can have some confidence going there.

Schering-Plough makes the “Galaxy-D” single distemper vaccine if that is the way you decide to go; Intervet (Proguard) and Duramune both make single Parvo vaccines.  Intervet (Proguard) also makes a combined parvo/distemper “puppy” shot; you can buy them online at http://www.revivalanimal.com

For older puppies and adults, most vets and boarding kennels insist on yearly “booster” shots. There are studies at the Univerity of Wisconson and Colorado state univeristy that contend the “it can’t hurt” approach to adult booster shots is not the safest way to go. Rabies is required by law, and so you should do it. And kennel cough also is required by nearly all boarding facilities. But there has not been a case of infectious hepatits (adenovirus) in 20 years, so the need for that is questioned. Bactierial vaccines like leptospirosis, Lyme, and bordetella do not have long term immunity, and you should discuss whether or not your dog really needs them with your vet.

Vaccine reactions are not common, considering the number of vaccinated dogs in the US. It is not unusual for a puppy to be a bit punky after a shot–a little lazy, have a knot at the injection site, a decrease in appetite or have a low fever. Like when we get a flu shot, puppy’s bodies have to kick their immune system into high gear to create antibodies. So if they are sort of “off” for a couple days, don’t worry too much.

In Danes, severe reactions have become enough of a problem that the Great Dane club of America has funded research into protocols used by veterinarians. Some 5200 cases have been evaluated, but it is highly probable that there are many more that have been misdiagnosed as HOD.

Before you accept a diagnosis of nutritional HOD, have a blood test done to rule out septic infections, vaccine reactions, and other arthritic conditions. As an aside, some vets will skip the blood tests and go straight to antibiotics for treating the problem. Insist on the blood test, and be very careful about antibiotics–some will cause even more problems with Danes. Check it out at http://www.greatdanelady.com/articles/vaccine_reactions_in_great_danes.htm to find out which antibiotics to avoid.

       Vaccine reactions in Danes

Treatment: if your puppy does react within a few days of vaccination, the joints will be hugely swollen, the pup will have a very high fever, be very lethargic, and there will be no doubt that something is terribly wrong. The first thing to do is go to the vet! They may wish to use dexamethazone steroids to control the inflammation. If you catch it really early, you might have a chance to pull them through, but prepare yourself for having to euthanize. It’s heartwrenching. For more information on treatment, check out this site. http://www.greatdanelady.com/articles/vaccine_reactions_in_great_danes.htm