# so what will happen if my dog don't complete this 4 shots?



## Juramentado (Sep 24, 2012)

on october 5 i took my dog to the vet to get his 5in1.
instead, my vet recommended me to get a 6in1(with coronavirus) for an initial shot.
then my vet said to ensure the safe of my dog. there has to be 4 shots.
so 2 weeks after that, i went in to get my dog a 5in1. followed by another one, two weeks after.
so in total, my dog has gotten 3 shots already.

he's scheduled to get his last shot on november 17. when suddenly i got curious. why does it need to be 4 shots? what if we stop at 3?
i also stumbled a thread in here that says frequent vaccinations could be hazardous for dogs. 

enlighten me


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## samshine (Mar 11, 2011)

I am one of those that is concerned about unnecessary vaccinations, but all puppies NEED to get the complete series for distemper and parvo. (for your info, the corona virus was completely unnecessary. it does not make dogs sick except for tiny puppies that are too young to vaccinate.)

The series of vaccines is confusing, I'll try to give a brief explanation. It is not the number of vaccines the puppy gets, it is the age of the puppy that counts. Puppies get antibodies for parvo and distemper from their mother when they get them in their mother's milk in the first day of life. For each individual puppy, it is not clear how much of the antibodies they got. Depends on the mother's levels and how much they got to nurse. So that means we don't know when the levels are going to drop down for each puppy. If the levels in the pup are still high, they will neutralize the modified virus in the vaccine and the puppy's immune system will not be stimulated to develop its own immunity. When you vaccinate puppies at 8-9 weeks, statistically about 60% of those puppies will develop long lasting immunity. We wait about three to four weeks and vaccinate again. By then the maternal immunity has dropped down in most, but not all, the puppies that didn't develop immunity for the first shot, and then they are protected. A small percentage of puppies won't get immunity with that shot at about 12 weeks. For those puppies, a final vaccine at 15-16 weeks is needed.

For all puppies, it is only one vaccination that is going to give immunity to parvo and distemper. But if you waited until they are 15 weeks old, if that was a puppy that lost maternal immunity early and would have got immunity at 8 weeks, then that puppy is going to be at high risk of catching parvo in the meantime. Once you vaccinate the puppy at 8 weeks, you really don't know if that shot worked or not. So we do a series to protect all pups, those that lose maternal protection early and those that lose it much later.

So, the answer to your question depends on the age of your puppy at their last vaccination. If he was 15 weeks or older, then you don't need any more vaccines. If you had found a stray that was 15 weeks or older, then you would only need to give one vaccination for parvo and distemper. (there are some vaccines that do need to have more than one for immunity, Lepto and Lyme. However, those are not core vaccinations. Whether you chose to vaccinate for those depends on where you live, your dog's lifestyle and risk of exposure. Lepto is not common in large portions of the States, and the same with Lyme)

If you want to learn more about how vaccines work, the risks and benefits, this is a great site written by a veterinarian. http://www.critteradvocacy.org/


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## Juramentado (Sep 24, 2012)

samshine said:


> I am one of those that is concerned about unnecessary vaccinations, but all puppies NEED to get the complete series for distemper and parvo. (for your info, the corona virus was completely unnecessary. it does not make dogs sick except for tiny puppies that are too young to vaccinate.)
> 
> The series of vaccines is confusing, I'll try to give a brief explanation. It is not the number of vaccines the puppy gets, it is the age of the puppy that counts. Puppies get antibodies for parvo and distemper from their mother when they get them in their mother's milk in the first day of life. For each individual puppy, it is not clear how much of the antibodies they got. Depends on the mother's levels and how much they got to nurse. So that means we don't know when the levels are going to drop down for each puppy. If the levels in the pup are still high, they will neutralize the modified virus in the vaccine and the puppy's immune system will not be stimulated to develop its own immunity. When you vaccinate puppies at 8-9 weeks, statistically about 60% of those puppies will develop long lasting immunity. We wait about three to four weeks and vaccinate again. By then the maternal immunity has dropped down in most, but not all, the puppies that didn't develop immunity for the first shot, and then they are protected. A small percentage of puppies won't get immunity with that shot at about 12 weeks. For those puppies, a final vaccine at 15-16 weeks is needed.
> 
> ...


thanks for all that info. learned a lot especially about puppies.
my dog is already 2 years old when i adopted him.. so what i got from reading what you said is that at his age.. 4 5in1 shots isn't necessary?
and how long will the protection of that one 5in1 shot last? in my case, my dog already got 3


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## PatriciafromCO (Oct 7, 2012)

I would find another vet hearing that your dog is 2 years old (I'm not a vet) I don't see your vets reasoning for giving an adult dog 4 series of of shots there are some sticky post on the top of this category to read concerning the vacs protocals http://www.dogforums.com/dog-health-questions/80450-all-about-vaccine-issues.html Your doing the right thing on reading and looking for information to be informed.


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## ChaosIsAWeim (Feb 12, 2011)

I would ask your vet about titer testing from now on to find out if your dog is still immune. Corona virus vaccine is not necessary and has been known to cause serious reactions. Personally there are two vaccines I would never give Lepto and Corona, but I don't like 5 in 1 or more shots anyways. Weims as a breed are sensitive to vaccines, so we have our own vaccine protocol, and lepto and corona are not recommended unless the viruses are in the area, but I just wouldn't give them period. I personally don't even like the lyme vaccine, but some of my dogs have gotten it, with no problems.

At 2 years old, whole series of shots (which is what this is) is over kill. A dog should be protected with just one set, but again I would do titer testing. Unless the dog has an immune issue I would think the dog would be protected. Maybe get another vets opinion. I know my vet, even though they send out the notices, he doesn't feel tons of vaccines are necessary, but he feels if they are not sent out the people wont come.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

I doubt the OP's vet offers titer testing and probably switching vets isn't much of an option either .

Anyway, in that kind of situation all you can do is educate yourself and make your wishes clear to the vet. For adult dogs, one vaccine is sufficient, and if a vet wanted to do one booster after 3-4 weeks for a previously unvaccinated adult dog I wouldn't argue too much. But more than that is unnecessary and could be dangerous. I wouldn't get the 4th shot. If your vet argues too much, ask to see the vaccine manufacturer's papers (that come with the box of vaccine) and make him show you where it says the dog needs 4 shots .


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## chubby (Aug 18, 2011)

it would be worthwhile to read the sticky under Health Forum regarding Vaccination Guidelines.


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## Pawzk9 (Jan 3, 2011)

Juramentado said:


> on october 5 i took my dog to the vet to get his 5in1.
> instead, my vet recommended me to get a 6in1(with coronavirus) for an initial shot.
> then my vet said to ensure the safe of my dog. there has to be 4 shots.
> so 2 weeks after that, i went in to get my dog a 5in1. followed by another one, two weeks after.
> ...


If he is an adult, a shot and booster should be sufficient (plus, of course, rabies vaccine) The multiple shots are a good idea for puppies since you don't know exactly when the maternal antibodies (the immunity puppies get from their mother's milk, and which blocks the vaccintion) is going to give out. As for a six in one - Corona is unlikely and mild - don't know if that's different in other countries. It's sort of a vaccination looking for a disease.


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## Juramentado (Sep 24, 2012)

he already got his rabies vaccine and he got that a day before he got his 6in1..
and as i just read from the stickies. that was actually dangerous.
my vet is a really good person but by him giving my dog 6in1 a day after a rabbies vaccine.. should i definitely change vets? 

also how long does the protection of one shot of booster last?
i didn't find it in the stickies or i guess i missed it


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

There's no real definitive answer as to how long a booster shot "lasts", as this depends on the individual dog's immune system. Sometimes, particularly if a dog is sick when vaccinated, the vaccine doesn't take at all :/. But if it does take, immunity usually lasts at least 3 years, possibly for the dog's whole lifetime. So any further boosters may not be necessary at all. But I think that if I lived in the Philippines, I'd go with a 3-year vaccine schedule. There is a blood test (the aforementioned titers) you can do to determine the level of antibodies, but I bet it would be really hard to find a vet who knows anything about that and it would probably be really expensive. You can ask, though.

I wouldn't switch vets unless yours gets really pushy when you tell him how you want to do things. As long as a vet is good with my pets and knowledgable about what ails them, I'm willing to put up with some things.


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## PatriciafromCO (Oct 7, 2012)

it is your choice, but I would find another vet as you said (can be dangerious in these actions) my dogs life has no room for OOPS!


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## owutaqt (Oct 15, 2012)

My vet wanted to give our pup her rabies shot the same day as her 6in1 and I refused, I personally think its better to wait. I don't think it makes them a bad vet, just one who is not very informed on the dangers of it.


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