We’re all familiar with the phrase “vaccines are safe and effective.” It’s a promotional saying to encourage the public to follow vaccination guidelines. A more honest assessment would read “vaccines are generally safe and effective, though not without risk for some individuals.” The same applies in veterinary medicine. Vaccinating your pet is a medical procedure, and no medical procedure is free of risk. On the contrary, not vaccinating your dog or cat is risky as well.
The greatest risk factor relates to body weight. Small dogs are more susceptible to vaccine reactions than larger dogs. This is documented in numerous veterinary publications. The largest study looked at over a million dogs vaccinated at 360 different veterinary hospitals during a one-year period. The results showed a strong correlation between body weight and vaccine-associated adverse events (VAAEs)…
“VAAE incidence was highest in dogs weighing less than 5 kg and the risk of an adverse event generally decreased with increasing dog weight. The lowest rates were seen in dogs weighing greater than 40 kg.”1
In addition, it’s well established that the risk of an adverse event increases with each additional vaccine given. In the same study mentioned above, risk rose with each additional vaccine given during a visit: roughly 27% per extra dose in dogs less than 10 kg and 12% per extra dose in dogs greater than 10 kg. Young adult, small-breed, and neutered dogs had the highest risk. Unfortunately for cat owners, there is very limited data available. However, given this risk is also documented in humans, it’s a safe assumption that similar rules apply.2,3
To mitigate this risk, we offer a staggered vaccination schedule. There are different ways to do this, and the exact schedule will vary from one pet to the next. For larger patients, it may not be necessary at all, but scheduling decisions will ultimately be the pet owner’s preference. Here’s a brief rundown of the routine canine vaccination schedule recommended by the American Animal Hospital Association…
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STANDARD SCHEDULE FOR CORE CANINE VACCINES:
Rabies vaccine:
- Colorado mandates that all dogs receive a rabies vaccination at 4 months of age. The Colorado Revised Statutes require an initial vaccination followed by a booster one year later, and subsequent boosters every three years.
- Please read our rabies vaccination policy on the following page*
Distemper combination vaccine (includes distemper, hepatitis, parvo, parainfluenza):
- At least 3 doses of a combination vaccine between 6 and 16 weeks, 2-4 weeks apart. A booster is given at 1 year of age, then every 3 years thereafter
Lepto vaccine (leptospirosis):
- Two doses, 2-4 weeks apart, starting at 12 weeks of age. A booster is given annually
ADDITIONAL NON-CORE OR “LIFESTYLE” CANINE VACCINES:
Bordetella aka “kennel cough” vaccine:
- Single dose orally. Booster annually.
Influenza vaccine:
- Two doses, 2-4 weeks apart. Age of administration depends on individual risk of disease transmission. Booster annually.
Lyme vaccine:
- Two doses, 2-4 weeks apart. Age of administration depends on individual risk of disease transmission. Booster annually.
***For you cat folks, click HERE for a link to AAHA’s feline vaccination schedule
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EXAMPLE ALTERNATIVE SCHEDULE:
- Start the lepto series at 18 weeks of age
- Withhold any non-core vaccinations unless traveling to high-risk regions
- For adult boosters, no more than two vaccines per visit
- The distemper vaccine was considered “one” vaccination for the study mentioned above
- Bordetella is the exception to the two-vaccine recommendation. It showed no impact on adverse event rates when combined with two or more vaccines
Again, an alternative vaccination schedule may vary greatly dependent on the patient’s age, body weight, vaccination history, and the owner’s preferences surrounding multiple return visits for boosters. Most vaccine boosters for patients with up-to-date annual exams may be scheduled as brief “technician appointments.” There is no appointment fee, and the only charge is for the vaccine itself. The downside is that an extended schedule requires more visits, and a patient may have increased risk of disease transmission given the longer time period needed to complete the immunizations.
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*Rise Vet Rabies Vaccination Policy: Our staff reserves the right to deny services to any animal that is overdue or unvaccinated for rabies.
While Colorado state law mandates the rabies vaccination as outlined above, we cannot force you to vaccinate your dog or cat. The sticky part here is that an owner with an unvaccinated animal is asking our staff to take on an unfair risk when handing their pet. Contrary to popular belief, the earliest signs of rabies are not extreme aggression and foaming at the mouth. Instead, they are subtle and non-specific: anxiety, restlessness, fever, weakness, or difficulty drinking. We see cases presenting with these symptoms daily. If a pet owner with an unvaccinated animal begins to see any of these signs in their pet, they’re most likely going to bring them to the vet’s office for help.
Among our staff, some individuals are more comfortable working on animals unvaccinated for rabies than others. Should you choose not to vaccinate, our ability to treat your animal will depend on the individual circumstances surrounding the case and the discretion of the attending veterinarian.
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As always, we want to give you options, not absolutes. There’s a great deal of philosophy surrounding pet ownership, and there is room to include different perspectives relating to healthcare, especially when it comes to disease prevention. One individual’s model may not match to another. In his book Risk Society, Ulrich Beck sums this up nicely: “Risk is relative; it depends on who you are, what you value, and what you fear losing.”
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Citations:
- Moore GE, Guptill LF. Adverse events diagnosed within three days of vaccine administration in dogs. J Am Vet Med Assoc 2005; 227:1102–1108
- Klein NP, Fireman B, Yih WK, Lewis E, Kulldorff M, Ray P, et al. Measles-mumps-rubella-varicella combination vaccine and the risk of febrile seizures. Pediatrics. 2010;126(1):e1–8. doi:10.1542/peds.2010-0665
- Tse A, Tseng HF, Greene SK, Vellozzi C, Lee GM; VSD Rapid Cycle Analysis Influenza Working Group. Signal identification and evaluation for risk of febrile seizures in children following trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine in the Vaccine Safety Datalink Project, 2010–2011. Vaccine. 2012;30(11):2024–31. doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2012.01.027