Need some opinions, please!

[Maralynn]

Sometime in the next month or so I am taking Missy in to get spayed. My vet has a policy that dogs need to be UTD on vaccinations when coming in for surgery or boarding, so if she gets spayed she needs a 5-way booster at the same time. But the more I've read about vaccinations the more hesitent I've become about yearly ones. I would prefer not to do anything but rabies (especialy since Miss had vaccines for 4 years in a row) and it just seems to me that spaying is enough stress on a dog at one time. I haven't talked to my vet yet about it yet, so it may not be a big deal. But I'm not sure.

 

I'm going to call the vets office and talk to someone in the next day or so, but wanted to get others opinions before I talked to them.

[Tassie]

If you're going to have to go ahead with the shots, I would do those well ahead of the time she is going to be spayed. As you're thinking, simultaneous assaults on the system are not a good idea IMHO. It'll be interesting to see the results of your discussions with the vet (probably good idea to talk to the bets themselves.)

[AK dog doc]

Also ask what your vet considers "up to date"; it sounds like they're doing a yearly protocol for the 5-way, but if they're switching protocols, that may be flexible. In our office we've switched to a three-year vaccine protocol for the multivalent vaccines, after the 16-month booster. Hence, a series of three in puppyhood (8, 12 and 16 weeks, with the rabies given at 16 weeks usually), then boost one year later at 16 months for both rabies and multivalent, then a three-year protocol ON VACCINES thereafter. We DO strongly advise a yearly physical (AAHA says every 6 months) to catch routine "stuff", since dogs age much more rapidly than people, and can't self-report.

 

In our office, if a client declines vaccines (even when they should be given), we allow them to sign off on the record that they decline the vaccine, and have been advised of the risks. You might ask if that would be acceptable. I don't know what your local risks are for the major dog viruses, so it's possible that if you're having, say, a distemper outbreak in the area, they may be a lot pickier about giving shots.

 

At any rate, they may have a reason for doing things the way they do. That's just what we find works for us.