How Often?

Mr-Remington

Experienced Member
I recently switched vets. At the previous vet they told me that Remi only needed deworming and certain shots as a puppy, one time and then after that no more. But this new vet is saying that Remi will need a deworming every 6 months, and bordetella as well.

How often should Remi get a deworming, the bordetella, and DHPP booster? I'm getting different answers from everyone I ask.
 

Mutt

Experienced Member
Well they say deworming has to be done every 3 months but to be honest we don't deworm at all (only if there would be a indication that it is necassary), but we live quite remote so that is different than when you live in the centre of a city (chances are higher than that the dogs get infected).

You can also choose to let the vet (the lab) examine a poopsample if there are worms and use deworming in case any are there.

Our dogs do get their shots every year. Bordertella is one of the shots which is required for when the dogs stays at a vacationstaying (while you are away) here in the Netherlands, so our dogs have to get those every year. DHPP is the coctail (distemper, hepatitis, parvovirus and parainfluenza) and is every 3 years.

We also have a vaccin for weils disease (a disease which is transferable from rodent(feaces) to dogs) and is advised when you're dogs is often in water (in lakes/puddles and such) and quite standard here and also every year, but I don't know if you have those in the US?
 

Mutt

Experienced Member
The above applies to dogs older than 1 year though, the first year has it´s own schedule (in this period we do unworm our dogs).
 

MaryK

Honored Member
I live in the city but only have the boys wormed once a year when they go for their annual injection for heart worm which is necessary here. I have our vet do it, as their worming tablets are really good. I do make sure neither sniff at stools or anything like that when we're out on our walks and check for any sign of worms on a regular basis.

My boys are both over one year, which does as Mutt has said, change things a lot. Youngsters have a totally different schedule to older dogs.

With the DHPP that's done every three years now, just been introduced here.
 

Amateur

Experienced Member
yeah unless your kids are poop eaters or go after rodents and stuff deworming isn't called for - we have only done it once - when we first got the dogs. We do however take a stool sample in if we suspect something.
 

fickla

Experienced Member
Here is Jean Dodd's schedule of vaccinations:
http://www.weim.net/emberweims/Vaccine.html

Basically, we don't know when vaccinations will actually give puppies immunity (when mother's immunity wears off) so many people give 3 shots until the puppy is 16-20wks. Then most vets give another shot at a year old, just in case the puppy shot didn't take effect. But it only takes ONE properly timed vaccination to protect a dog from distemper and parvo. After that one shot, many vets are switching to 1 booster every 3 years, but research is showing that is unnecessary as most dogs are protected for life.

I personally do not do the bordatella shot unless i have to board my dogs somewhere that requires it. Kennel cough is not a deadly disease and the bordatella shot does not necessary protect your dog from it anyway. Think of it like the flu shot.

Deworming would depend on if I thought my dog had an issue, or regularly killed rabbits/mice/etc, or just had fleas.
 

Anneke

Honored Member
As for the deworming... The vets gives free tablets when you get your dogs yearly vaccin, here. But, I tend to forget to give them. I only deworm when I think it is neccessary(read: never;))
But in the first year I do deworm about twice, just to be on the safe side.
Over here pups get two shots when they are still with their mother, and the last shot around 9 weeks. Then they get a yearly coctail shot.
Bordatella is required when you go to a dogschool, if you let your dog go with a dogwalker or if you go to a dogschool, but like Mutt said, your dog can still get it.
So in my opinion, you probably should deworm once a year and have your dog get the annual shots. Better safe than sorry, I think.
I just remebered actually I do deworm....:D I use Stronghold as fleaprotection. It treats covers flea's, roundworms, heartworm, lice and earmites... I use that during the summer, about every two months...:rolleyes:
I switched to that last year as the other stuff I used, didn't work anymore.
 

Mr-Remington

Experienced Member
Thanks you guys. This is the first time I've had full responsibility for my puppy and want to make sure I keep him as safe and healthy as possible.
 

jackienmutts

Honored Member
I've never dewormed mine (but would if worms showed up in their stools), don't do Bordatella unless I'm boarding mine (and haven't in a few years), and truly, have only given Rabies because we have to, in the past several years. The more I read, the more I'm convinced over-vaccinating is leading to cancers and diseases. I have previously read Dr. Jean Dodds recommendations that Fickla posted above. I'm leaning toward vaccinating only when necessary/required.
 

Dice Smith

Well-Known Member
We do deworm our dogs a few times year, mainly because we have outside cats we care for (who get dewormed regularly as well) and there are tons of neighborhood cats who come around or are dropped off at our house that we don't deworm because we can't catch them. So we deworm our dogs just to be on the safe side because the cats are always hunting and since we live in the country it's sort of inevitable that one of our dogs will occasionally find and eat a pile of cat poo. :poop::cautious: And we keep an eye on their stool just be sure too.

But when it comes to vaccinating I completely agree with Jackienmutts. We don't do the Bordatella vaccine because we never board our dogs and we never travel, and we only do the rabies vaccine because it is required. I too feel that over vaccinating is leading to, or at least contributing to a lot of cancers and diseases. Plus the way my mom puts it, her dogs she had when she was growing up who had no vaccines or just their rabies vs. the ones her family had that had all the shots available were a lot healthier and lived years longer with little health issues.

EDIT: Whoops, sorry! I didn't realize this thread was few months old. :rolleyes:
 

Pawbla

Experienced Member
It depends on where you live.

Where I live dogs are dewormed every three months and vaccinated yearly because there is a high risk of infections. Everybody will tell you something different. My advice, twice a year deworming and vaccinating every three years is pretty good for any first world country.
 

Evie

Experienced Member
Evie gets her flea treatment once a month (Advocate) which also covers heartworm, lice, mites, and a bunch of other worms. Then in addition to that she also gets a tapeworm tablet every 3 months as her other treatment doesnt work on tape worms.

My vet was going to give Evie the yearly Heartworm injection and then have a cheaper paste for the other worms and fleas, but we both decided that having Evie come in for an injection is not worth the stress on Evie when she can just take tablets or have the cream on behind her neck instead.
 

Mr-Remington

Experienced Member
. We don't do the Bordatella vaccine because we never board our dogs and we never travel, and we only do the rabies vaccine because it is required. I too feel that over vaccinating is leading to, or at least contributing to a lot of cancers and diseases. Plus the way my mom puts it, her dogs she had when she was growing up who had no vaccines or just their rabies vs. the ones her family had that had all the shots available were a lot healthier and lived years longer with little health issues.
I recently started volunteering at the local animal shelter, and they said I can bring home the diseases on my shoes and clothes. They mentioned Bordatella and Kennel Cough were two of the major ones that I'm likely to bring home.

I try not to over vaccinate Remi but I'm terrified now that I will bring something home and kill my dog without knowing it.
 

Pawbla

Experienced Member
If you volunteer at a shelter, yes, try to vaccinate yearly/twice a year. We vaccinate yearly where I live and it hasn't killed any dog as far as I know (unlike distemper or parvo).
 

MaryK

Honored Member
I recently started volunteering at the local animal shelter, and they said I can bring home the diseases on my shoes and clothes. They mentioned Bordatella and Kennel Cough were two of the major ones that I'm likely to bring home.

I try not to over vaccinate Remi but I'm terrified now that I will bring something home and kill my dog without knowing it.
You could use a disinfectant foot 'bath' before entering your home/garden. Just walk through it and keep the shoes you wear just for going to the Shelter.
 

Mr-Remington

Experienced Member
You could use a disinfectant foot 'bath' before entering your home/garden. Just walk through it and keep the shoes you wear just for going to the Shelter.
I wear two layers of clothes to the shelter so when I get home I can just take my jeans off and I've got shorts underneath. I also have one pair of shoes I take off and leave in the trunk. I'm paranoid :p
 

MaryK

Honored Member
I wear two layers of clothes to the shelter so when I get home I can just take my jeans off and I've got shorts underneath. I also have one pair of shoes I take off and leave in the trunk. I'm paranoid :p
Good!!! You just cannot be too careful, it's not paranoid behavior but responsible behavior!:D
 

threenorns

Well-Known Member
i don't vaccinate at all. i've had two of my daughters react to vaccine and they have both been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. the middle daughter was not vaccinated until she was 4yrs old (on the advice of family doctor after what happened with my oldest) and she doesn't have it (she has issues, just not autism).

to give my dog just a rabies vaccine would cost me a fortune bec he, too, had a reaction so now the vet requires that i pay for a $30 benadryl injection plus extra monitoring time on top of the $125 for the rabies shot itself. i do not see the point of spending stupid amounts of money for a single injection that carries the real possibility of killing him (benadryl is NOT useful for anaphylaxis) when the risk of him being injured or killed by the injection is vastly higher than him catching rabies.

i have never dewormed him. he's on raw meat and bone diet and we used to live in the bush - the vet said i had to deworm him but the pills made him so sick he just kept chucking them up. he's 4yrs old and has never had worms once. i think it's because the bone in his diet keeps his stool extremely firm so maybe it has a scraping action that removes worms before they can become a problem?

i do use revolution or advantage (i use revolution from april to october then advantage for the winter months), though, bec fleas are a disaster around here.
 
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