Lymes Vacc

[cyberamish]

I'm just curious, how many of you have your hunting dogs vaccinated against Lymes? How many have done it for themselves? I have always had my dogs up to date on it but my family Dr. told me not to bother for me as the vaccine was only minimally effective. Does the same hold true for dogs?

[Mr. B]

I do keep my lab current for Lymes. I do not for myself and have not heard if it is effective or not. While working in the field as a surveyor there was a lot of talk about if people should be vacinated. Never really heard what most people decided.

[LABS4ME]

I've heard that the vaccine was not proven to be 100% effective against Lymes, and both my vets stated if you have a known deer tick bite that they would prescribe a preventitve dose of anti-biotics to cover any possible infection even if vaccinated, so I opted out of vaccinating them probably 8 years ago. I've only used anti-biotics once when a dog must have stumbled into the mother of all deer tick nests! I guess I haven't checked recently if the vaccines have improved or not. As usual check with your vet and/or do some reading on the web.

Good Luck!

Ken

[Swamp Scooter]

I vaccinate yearly and would not go without it. There is no way you can find every tick on your dog in time. I also use the topical tick stuff. At least if I miss them they either die or get off. Lymes is nothing to fool around with. 21 days of tetracycline also can have negative impacts on teeth and bones. You do not want to do it every time you go in to the field. I realize someone said the vet would treat if it got it but hunting dogs are in the middle of the tick habitat more often than the regular couch dog. It is worth the few bucks to get it done. You can get enough people together and order a vial from Foster and Smith and give the shots yourself very cheap.

[gspman]

I vaccinate my dog against everything.

[cyberamish]

The cost isn't the issue, I was just curious as to how everyone viewed the vaccines effectiveness. I will continue to have my hunting dog vaccinated as I have not heard of there being any major side effects / risks associated with it. My vet tends to err towards the side of not over medicating animals but in this case she does not seem to have any issues with it.

[LABS4ME]

Cost isn't the factor for me either, I had a good discussion with one of the most respected vets, and they are no longer vaccinating their dogs, as they feel the vaccine gives minimal if any protection. Again I should probably look into if the vaccine has improved, but I didn't want to give a vaccine that is doing nothing, and then tell my self to sleep better at night for doing so. If protocol is to treat a deer tick bite with the anti-biotics, what is the point to the vaccine...? I may get a lot of flack from guys for not doing the vaccine... but it's worked for me so far, have I been dodging a bullet? guess I don't know, but from the info I gathered years ago the vaccine wasn't working then, I gave my dogs the vaccine the 1st few years it was out and then quit after I learned of the questionability. I'll do some research into it again.

Good luck!

Ken

[fishnhooks]

Labs4Me,

Would you be so kind to post what you find out.

I know that I have to make an appointment soon for the pup, and I am going to ask my Vet too.

Thanks,

"hooks"

[cyberamish]

I guess I should have posted my vet's response. I took one of my dogs in today for her pre-spay exam (the new, hunting crazed beast pictured here) and asked my vet about Lymes. Her response was that, in her opinion there wasn't a real solid case for vaccinating (again because the animal would go through A/B treatment anyway) so she does not suggest to clients to have it done but, if someone asks for it she will not try to talk them out of it as the side effects are low. I do know someone who just went through a bout with Lymes in one of his Pointers, and that dog had been vaccinated. I went ahead and had the shot given but kind of had "buyers remorse" on the way home.

[ChuckN]

I use Frontline for all my dogs against ticks, and honestly I hardly ever find a tick on my dogs. Frontline pretty much prevented tick bites, or killed the tick upon biting the dog. I have found dead ticks in my dog's beds.

I thought I was told for Lymes Disease to infect the body the deer tick would have to be attached to the dog for 3-5 days??

[Gissert]

Another vote for Frontline. I did not find one tick on my dog last year. That hardest part is keeping them dry for the required time before and after the Frontline is applied.

[bigdog]

Cost was not an issue with me and I chose not to do the Lymes vaccine this year for my labs. Vet backed up what I heard about it not being overly effective. Better off using a Frontline type tick preventative.

[GoodToGo]

Last year I hunted in the Pillager/Brainerd area and the dog got covered in deer ticks. The area is terrible for them I found out from our vet and I won't go back. This was in October, so we had discontinued Frontline. Even though I carefully searched everyday, covering every inch of her hide with my fingertips, every day I would find new ticks, they are so small. So the last ticks found had been on her a week, plenty of time for the disease to get started. I didn't know about the antibiotics, I just assumed she was protected because she was vaccinated. She did not get sick. I would be concerned about not vaccinating her because the ticks are so small you may never know that she had been bit. I will have a new conversation with the vet this year and reassess, but will probably stick with "Belt and suspenders".

[Mr. B]

I had not heard that the Brainerd area had any more Deer ticks than any other place. But with my parents living in Brainerd my lab spends a great deal of time in Brainerd. so I am going to stick with the vaccination.

I also use Frontline and have only found two ticks on my dog in three years, and one of those was when we brought her home as a puppy.

I am hoping that between Frontline and the vacination the chances of her contracting Lymes is greatly reduced.

[Snag]

I used frontline last year on my golden and never found any ticks. Our vet did recommend the lymes shot.

[basscrazy]

dont get it. its a waste of money lyme disease comes from insects and if u keep your dog up on its frontline you wont have to worry about it

[doser]

I will second that notion on alot of deer ticks in Brainard area. Last spring after a weekend at the inlaws cabin I was showering and noticed a speck of dirt on my thigh. Thought it was a real small mole only reason I noticed it was because kind of stuck out like it was a piece of dirt hanging there. Pulled it off and it was a deer tick. Could hardly see it. I teach school and brought it with me to school the next day and had the biology teacher look at it under the microscope and sure enough it was a deertick. A year before that I found one crawling on the bridge of my Goldens nose while we were up there too. Only reason I saw that one was because I was petting her and noticed it on her light colored hair.

[hoggs222]

I go to Banfield (in Petsmart). I got the dog insurance for $20/month. Covers all vaccinations, visits, etc. You just have to pay for antibiotics or pain killers, etc. I tell them, just vaccinate her for everything!

[Bexter]

We just lost our chocolate lab last December due to Lymes Disease. She did not have the vaccination (kick myself for not getting that for her)

In my opinion, the vaccine is worth the money. It really doesn't cost that much when you look at the big picture.

[iffwalleyes]

My parents just took their beagle in for her round of shots for the year. They decided to draw blood not sure why but we are glad they did turns out she had lymes. So they put her on some pills for a month then she has to go back and have blood drawn and check again and if it is all good then she will get vacinated. I not sure what type of tick med dad is using it isn't frontline but it is a similar product. He hadn't started to use it this year but she had a dose on her now. She spends lots of time in the woods so I guess it isn't too suprising.

[LABS4ME]

Bexter, as some of us who don't vaccinate have stated, IT'S NOT THE COST! I used to vaccinate them for Lymes when it first became available, but have since quit. From everything I've read and discussed with a couple of the top vets in the state, there is a lot of questions as to the effectiveness of the vaccine. There are cases of dogs who've been religiously vaccinated and still contracted Lymes. I won't vaccinate with anything that isn't proven to be effective at controlling the disease it's meant to. If it's so effective why then do they still prescribe antibiotics once there are confirmed deer tick bites? Not trying to be a conspiritist, but don't you think a lot of vets push it because it's additional income for them? Vaccinating animals is a huge portion of their business. If the vaccine is so reliable, why haven't they come out with a human version? Because research showed it's questionable viability. I can guarantee you, you'd think long and hard about vaccinating yourself if they couldn't guarantee you of the effectiveness.

I'm not trying to disuade anyone from vaccinating their animals, if you choose to, that's fine, just don't think that because you havevaccinated, your dog is guaranteed not to get Lymes. If your vet feels it provides some coverage and recommends it, then by all means follow their advise. Still be on the lookout for deer ticks, use Frontline to eliminate ticks, and advise your vet of bites.

I need to go to my vet here in the next week or two, and will have another discussion with him. He has been in the past, an advocate of the vaccine, and feels it provides some protection, but when pressed with the info I've gathered from others, he agreed no one really was certain as to the true effectiveness. We haven't discussed it for the last 5-6 years, so I will bring it up again when I sit down and chat with him. I feel he is one of the most honest vets I've dealt with. I will post what he said. He has knows that I no longer vaccinate for lymes and has never told me to reconsider because of a "new" vaccine. So I wonder if anything has changed.?

Good Luck!

Ken

[marine_man]

My new pup is going to need some form of tick protection... and based on everything I've read frontline is the way to go... does anyone have any rough guesses as to what frontline costs? Just trying to be ready before I go to the vet to swallow the price...

Thanks!

marine_man

[fivebucks]

Just got back from the vet last Friday and my years supply of frontline for a 63 lb lab was almost $100. I also do the vaccine figuring that some protection is just a little bit better. I haven't heard of bad side effects of the lyme shot, are there any?

[cyberamish]

I guess it depends on how you look at it, there are no side effects that are widely known but like my vet's opinion is that why would you want to put more drugs into an animals body then is absolutely necc? Because of that I won't be giving my dogs the lymes vacc again, unless something comes out showing that is more effective. I will say that our vet definately comes from the lees is more camp. She has told us for years now that the "annual" and "semi-annual" vaccinations (rabies, disteper, etc) are actually overkill. She had been privey to some research that showed that even rabies was effective when only given every 5 years (in some dogs). I still have the biggies done per the usual schedule as I would hate to get into a debate with an Iowa CO when he asked me for current vacc records.

Again for me it has NOTHING to do with the cost. Our vet charges us a VERY reasonable rate (most cases her actual cost of the meds) as my wife's father has been bringing his GSP's there for over 30 years.

[lawdog]

Quote:

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Just got back from the vet last Friday and my years supply of frontline for a 63 lb lab was almost $100.

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How many applications is that? I bought a six application pack off hsolist of Frontline plus and it was $55 delivered... I think frankly that's enough to get BOTH my labs through the major tick season. Once now. Once in about a month and a half and once again in the fall when we are in the field more. That should do it shouldn't it???