Are you overvaccinating your pet?

It is your responsibility as a pet owner to be aware that vaccination recommendations are not the same for every animal!  Many things influence what your pet needs to be vaccinated for including:  breed, age, risk assessment (exposure) and previous medical history.  Puppies and kittens are considered to be at increased risk because as they age the protection (immunity) passed to them from their mother (through placenta and milk) are COMPLETELY LOST.  We can't predict when this happens so a vaccine "series" is used for maximum protection.  The VIRAL components of vaccines (parvo, distemper) probably provide immunity lasting much longer than 1 year.  The BACTERIAL components of vaccines (leptospirosis and bordetella) provide a short term immunity lasting 6-12 months.  Feline upper respiratory vaccines (herpes and calici) don't prevent infection at all, they just lessen the severity of disease and have a short term immunity.  Rabies is labeled with 3 year duration of immunity, most likely it lasts longer than that.

SO... how do we decide which vaccines to recommend?  We work with the owner to determine which diseases your pet may actually be exposed to.  Indoor vs. Outdoor cats are exposed to a vastly different set of potential life-threating pathogens.  We DO NOT WANT to vaccinate your pet for something it is not at risk for.  We DO NOT WANT to allow a lapse in protection and allow your pet to become infected with a potentially dangerous pathogen.  We DO NOT WANT your pet to become infected with a zoonotic disease which may be transmitted to you or your family.  This presents veterinarians and pet owners with a potential dilemma.

We have worked with local municipalities to allow licesensing to continue annually after a 3 year rabies vaccine.  Raymore and Lee's Summit have changed their laws as a direct result of our inquiries.

Remember this:  These recommendations are CONSTANTLY CHANGING.  Veterinarians don't agree, veterinary schools don't agree and many different vaccine protocols exist for us to choose from.  We will work with you to decide what if any vaccinations your pet needs.

On this subject:  http://www.kansas.com/news/story/344780.html