I have been giving a talk about the American Animal Hospital Association and American Association of Feline Practitioners Current Vaccine Guidelines (check out www.dvmvac.com) and new research available indicating boostering Distemper Parvo and Feline respiriarory vaccines less frequently than every 3 years is safe, and I am surprised how many people are vaccinating their pets every year, for all the vaccines. Make no mistake, some vaccines like Kennel cough must be repeated each year to be effective, but most do not. Rabies by law has a 1 year or 3 year license. It has been legal to use the 3 year license rabies vaccine in South Carolina for at least 10 years, as long as it is the second rabies vaccine the pet has received in it's lifetime. In many cases, pet owners simply do not know about the every 3 year recommendations of AAHA, And AAFP, and in some cases, their veterinarian just will not change their every year protocol. It can be difficult to change. It is difficult for the veterinarian to change vaccine protocols because it's what we've always done, and partly because it is hard to take time away from the business of practice, do the research and develop a new protocol that will fit most pet owners. It is hard for clients to change because on most other levels they trust that their veteriarian is recommending what is best for the health of their pet. It feels very uncomfortable to many pet owners to seek a second opinion on a serious health issue.

So what is one to do? There is so much information available on the internet, that it gets really confusing. You can read opinions ranging from vaccine being the root of all evil, and never to vaccinate and pet, not even as a puppy or kitten, to opinions that recommend protecting your pet from every disease there is a vaccine to protect against. Curiously, this would be at least 9 different disease in 4 different injections for dogs and cats each year. Does that make sense?

Veterinarians, veterinary Technicians, and veterinary assistants are recommended to recieve Rabies vaccinations because of our likelihood of being exposed to Rabies, which is invariably fatal. In my lifetime, the vaccine reccomendations went from revaccinating every 5 years to titering (Blood sample) every 5 to 10 years, to maybe the series gives us lifetime protection. Is titering available for pets? Yes it is.

If you'd like to know more, I will be at Dolittle's West Ashely this Friday October 9th, at 6 pm to give a talk about vaccinations, titers, and options. We'd love to see you there, and feel free to email with questions.