Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just recently got an email from the local pet park where I bring my dog atleast once or twice a week. They were warning that an owner just informed them that a dog that frequently visits the park, as recently as Tuesday, was diagnosed with Kennel Cough. The park posted something saying that it is recommended that dogs that frequent dog parks be vaccinated for Kennel cough as often as every 6 months.
To me this seemed slightly excessive. My dog had her kennel cough shot when she was a younger puppy and she's now 13 months old.
Do I need to get her revaccinated???? What is everyone's opinion on this???

XPosted to the holistic vet forum simply because though I don't take her to a holistic vet, I understand and value their opinion.

I wouldn't re-vaccinate. I personally wouldn't have even gotten the first kennel cough vaccine, for three reasons- A, the vaccine doesn't provide immunity for all the different things that can cause kennel cough, so you would have to know the exact strain that caused the illness in the sick dog *and* make sure the vaccine covered it; B- the kennel cough vaccine doesn't provide long-lasting immunity, which is why they tell you to re-vaccinate every 6 months. That means you will have to subject your dog every 6 months to a shot, which will just make the dog afraid of the vet and probably not provide immunity against the strain that's the problem. Plus the long-term damage repeat vaccinations do to the immune system, whether it's kennel cough or any other vaccine, but let's not go into that. C- Kennel cough isn't a deadly disease. It'll be cheaper and altogether easier on everyone involved if you just let her be and if she catches it (unlikely) just take her to the vet, get her all fixed up, and you're done. What a weirdo bunch posting signs warning everyone to vaccinate against something like kennel cough. They could have just informed people of the situation and let them do with it what they wish, and lots of people might not get so worried. It's like they're warning parents that their child's daycare had a case of ebola. Ridiculous.
P.S. Please don't anybody flame me for this, it's just what I would do in the situation and why. You give your opinion and I'll leave you alone.
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Kadee Sedtal
home of old lady Lucy (boxer/lab/garbage disposal), pretty girl Fancy (beagle), the rat pack- Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Pachebel, and Fillmore, and the mice- Vivaldi, Brahms, and Schubert

I don't vax for kennel cough, but instead concentrate on keepy my dog healthy with diet and supplements. And I take my dogs everywhere, including the park and the dog park.

Typically, vaccines for bacterial infections are not that effective and are short-lived, which is why the 6 month interval is recommended, if one does choose to vaccinate. That is one disease that I would rather risk my dog contracting versus vaccinating for.

Hi,

You only have to vaccinate once every year for bordetella. Every 6 months is excessive. kennel cough is a term we in the veterinary field use for many different upper respiratory problems. The bordetella vaccination is a great idea but will only cover bordetella (the bacterial kennel cough) I don't believe keeping a dog healthy will prevent it from getting kennel cough although it helps in recovery and can make it harder for the dogs to get it. I would vaccinate if it were me but only once a year.

Hope that helps you.

Char-Vampella
Animal Health Tech/ List owner of PET DOG ADVICE a yahoo e-mail group just started. Hope to see you there.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/petdogadvice/

>>I don't vax for kennel cough, but instead concentrate on keepy my dog healthy with diet and supplements. And I take my dogs everywhere, including the park and the dog park.
>>
>>Typically, vaccines for bacterial infections are not that effective and are short-lived, which is why the 6 month interval is recommended, if one does choose to vaccinate. That is one disease that I would rather risk my dog contracting versus vaccinating for.

>>Hi,
>>
>>...... I don't believe keeping a dog healthy will prevent it from getting kennel cough although it helps in recovery and can make it harder for the dogs to get it. ...

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Didn't you just contradict yourself? If it makes it harder for the dogs to get it, then keeping a dog healthy can prevent transmission to the healthy dog in many instances.

I think you'll find lots of cases of unvaccinated dogs being exposed and not contracting kennel cough...that has to be due to the health status of the dog.

No, I didn't read it again.

I said
"I don't believe keeping a dog healthy will prevent it from getting kennel cough although it helps in recovery and can make it harder for the dogs to get it."

It wont prevent it but it might make the virus more difficult to invade your system. It doesn't prevent it AT ALL. It may make it harder for the animal to contract it, or they may not get it too severly. as with anything a healthy dog/cat/person is more resilient towards things, DOES NOT MEAN THEY WONT GET IT. Bacteria is much more aggressive than a virus. Bordetella is a bacterial infection not a virus, I suggest getting the vaccine but as with anything else, it's up to the owner.
It could become very costly to treat bordetella and I have treated animals that got so bad that they died.

Vampella
Animal Health Tech 10 years

>>>>Hi,
>>>>
>>>>...... I don't believe keeping a dog healthy will prevent it from getting kennel cough although it helps in recovery and can make it harder for the dogs to get it. ...
>>
>>===============
>>
>>Didn't you just contradict yourself? If it makes it harder for the dogs to get it, then keeping a dog healthy can prevent transmission to the healthy dog in many instances.
>>
>>I think you'll find lots of cases of unvaccinated dogs being exposed and not contracting kennel cough...that has to be due to the health status of the dog.

>>
>> I said
>>"I don't believe keeping a dog healthy will prevent it from getting kennel cough although it helps in recovery and **can make it harder for the dogs to get it**."

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---->I still say, if you read what you wrote, you contradicted yourself.

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>>
>>
>>It wont prevent it but it might make the virus more difficult to invade your system.

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---->Kennel cough is bacterial, not viral???? Typo I expect.

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>>It doesn't prevent it AT ALL. It may make it harder for the animal to contract it, or they may not get it too severly. as with anything a healthy dog/cat/person is more resilient towards things, DOES NOT MEAN THEY WONT GET IT.

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---->Agreed -- doesn't mean they will get it either...LOTS of dogs don't get it when exposed.

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>>Bacteria is much more aggressive than a virus.

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---->I think it depends on the individual bacteria, virus, and immune system. Both can cause havok in a system and very serious disease. Both can be impossible to eliminate.

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>>Bordetella is a bacterial infection not a virus, I suggest getting the vaccine but as with anything else, it's up to the owner.
>>It could become very costly to treat bordetella and I have treated animals that got so bad that they died.

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---->I would have to guess that those weren't very healthy animals to start with, which, I agree, is very sad. I also hear of many stories of vaccinated dogs that have come down with Bordatella. That's why my very pro-vaccine vet stopped giving it. It's about the only vaccine he doesn't give.

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