Flat out - owning a dog costs money. A good and responsible owner will know this and I'm talking about above and beyond the cost of feeding and housing.
If you get a puppy, first and foremost if you get them from a reputable person, the puppy should have had it's initial first vaccinations out of a series of 4 - this should include a vet check and a complete series of worming. If not, you will have to be responsible for these things.
There is a lot you can do to help alleviate these costs - for example, you can take the puppy in for just the exam, and get wormer if necessary. If you know what you are doing you can purchase the vaccinations (both the distemper/parvo and bordetalla) and administer them yourself. This will save a LOT of money, but unfortunately most people aren't comfortable administering vaccinations so unless you know someone that is, be prepared for several initial vet visits from the start until all puppy shots are up to date and finished.
The initial timing and schedule for worming/vaccinations for a puppy are as scheduled:
2 weeks - 1st series of worming, with one a week for the next 7 weeks
6 weeks - 1st vet visit/1st D/P & Bordetella vaccination/fecal exam
9 weeks - 2nd vet visit/2nd D/P & Bordetella vaccination/follow up fecal if necessary
12 weeks - 3rd vet visit/3rd D/P vaccination
15 weeks - 4th vet visit/4th D/P & Rabies vaccination
Prices vary from vet to vet, but you can be sure that a full series such as the above will set you back roughly $200 - 300 - be prepared to pay these costs. As far as vaccinations go, you will be fine after this point to just get the yearly followups.
Next, it is imperative and important to spay or neuter your dog...sadly unwanted puppies are born everyday and we all need to do our part to help keep the pet population down. The average age of getting this done is 4 - 6 months of age for the puppy, before the first heat cycle for a female and before the males testicles totally descend. A pet can be spayed or neutered at anytime, but behaviourally speaking, most pets do better if they are spayed or neutered prior to reaching complete adulthood.
There are many community programs available to help with the cost of spaying and neutering - contact your local ASPCA - they will be more then happy to assist you in finding a low-cost local program if necessary. They would much rather help you do this then one day have to take in your dog and it's unwanted babies at a future date. Yes, it does cost to spay/neuter - but the cost is so much higher when you think of the future of the dogs brought into this world unwanted and unexpected.
Occasionally - accidents do happen. And Fifi or Fido may need that extra bit of care that can literally run into the thousands of dollars...what do you do? To this particular blog I'm going to give you a link to pet insurance called VPI Pet Insurance I have personally used and have had experience with - just like for people, there is also health insurance available for pets as well that most if not all vets accept. Be sure to check with your local veterinarian and read and go through all the insurance information to see which one fits your needs and your household best - but in a pinch I have seen first hand that these can LITERALLY be a lifesaver...dogs that were hurt and injured were able to receive care that the owner would not have been able to provide and afford otherwise and would have to have been euthanized.
Yes, the cost of medical care for dogs is definitely on the top 7 hate list - but it is manageable with careful thought and planning, especially if taken into consideration and prepared for before bringing a new dog home. Our little furry family members are worth it.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
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People who are concerned about the health of their pets should read the latest international guidelines for dog and cat vaccination.
ReplyDeleteIn 2007 the World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) published Dog and Cat
Vaccination Guidelines (built on the US AAHA (Canine) and AAFP (Feline) guidelines) for global application.
Type: WSAVA Dog and Cat Vaccination Guidelines
into your search engine to find the guidelines.
Type: WSAVA to find the Home website.
The WSAVA guidelines include a number of significant statements:
• We should aim to vaccinate every animal, and to vaccinate each individual less frequently. (p. 2)
• …we should aim to reduce the ‘vaccine load’ on individual animals in order to minimise the potential for adverse reactions to vaccine products. (p. 3)
• Vaccines should not be given needlessly. Core vaccines should not be given any more frequently than every three years after the 12 month booster injection following the puppy/kitten series. (p. 2)
• In the case of dogs, the Fact Sheets of the WSAVA guidelines note that duration of immunity after vaccination with MLV vaccines is 7 years or longer, based on challenge and serological studies, for Canine Parvovirus Type 2 (CPV-2), Canine Adenovirus (CAV-2) and Canine Distemper Virus (CDV) vaccines. (pp. 15-17)
In regards to duration of immunity, Professor Ronald Schultz, an expert in immunology and a member of the WSAVA Vaccination Guidelines Group, notes:
“I believe that dogs and cats vaccinated as puppies and kittens should be revaccinated at 1 year of age with the vaccines used earlier. After that I do not believe there is an immunologic need to revaccinate annually with CDV, CPV-2, CAV-2…” (Ref: Current and future canine and feline vaccination programs. Veterinary Medicine, March 1998, 233-254).
In an article published in August 1995 (14 years ago…), Professor Schultz stated:
“I don’t think there is a need to vaccinate adult dogs, since early vaccination will be sufficient to stimulate memory cells.” (Ref: Are we vaccinating too much? Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, Vol 207, No. 4, 421-425, August 15, 1995).
If your vet sends you an annual reminder to have your adult dog revaccinated with the core MLV vaccines for parvovirus, adenovirus and distemper, challenge him. The latest scientifically based guidelines state that it is not necessary for adult dogs to have these vaccinations every year of their life. It is of no benefit and actually puts the dog needlessly at risk of an adverse reaction.
I learned this the hard way when my dog (Sasha - an eight year old Maltese x Silky terrier) became very sick with what was diagnosed as “haemorrhagic gastroenteritis” eight days after her last unnecessary revaccination with core MLV vaccines (C5 booster). It is very interesting to note that “haemorrhagic gastroenteritis” seems to have the same symptoms as parvovirus… My dog had six annual boosters during her life, most of which were unnecessary, and needlessly put her at risk of an adverse reaction. Sasha is now dead, put to sleep four days after the visible onset of her illness.
The veterinarian who vaccinated her refused to consider her illness (and subsequent death) might have been caused or influenced by the vaccination. I now have to make an “adverse event” report myself.
I have been researching this subject since Sasha’s death last September and I am shocked by what I have discovered. Australia is way behind on this issue. A culture of unnecessary and possibly harmful annual over-vaccination with core MLV vaccines has become entrenched. The US is moving towards triennial revaccination, but I understand, like annual vaccination, there is no scientific basis for this.
The whole system is weighted against acknowledging and reporting delayed reactions that might have been caused by vaccination. According to a paper by an expert in this area, Dr Jean Dodds, vaccination reactions can occur up to 45 days later, or even longer. (Ref: Vaccination Protocols for Dogs Predisposed to Vaccine Reactions. Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association, May/June 2001, Vol 37, pp 211-214.)
Who knows how many other people’s pets have gotten sick or died a week, a month or even longer after a revaccination and they haven’t made the connection that the revaccination could have been at fault? The veterinarians aren’t likely to mention it are they? It might impact on their income… The WSAVA guidelines make the point that adverse events are grossly under-reported. (p. 8). So dogs and cats can end up with chronic illnesses, or even die, and the pet owners would never know that over-vaccination may have been the cause – a case of veterinarians “burying their mistakes”.
If I hadn’t decided to do some research after Sasha died, I wouldn’t have found out about this. Sasha would have been just another unknown and uncared for statistic. I also am in touch with other concerned people who believe their pets were similarly affected.
As more and more people discover that there are veterinarians who are actually putting their beloved pets needlessly at risk with unnecessary over-vaccination with core MLV vaccines, there is likely to be a significant backlash against the veterinary profession.
Those veterinarians who value the integrity of their profession need to address this untenable situation and work to ensure that the unethical practice of unnecessary over-vaccination is ceased immediately. This scandal has been going on for years and scientifically based information on duration of immunity has been withheld from pet owners.
Read the WSAVA Dog and Cat Vaccination Guidelines and decide for yourself, including the Fact Sheets (Appendices) from page 15 onwards. Note, the WSAVA Guidelines are built on the AAHA (Canine) and AAFP (Feline) Guidelines.
People should be informed before they make the decision to revaccinate their pets. There are serious - and unnecessary - risks involved with over-vaccination.
Elizabeth Hart
Australia
Elizabeth - that is some very interesting and seriously important information - thank you for bringing it to light - as time goes on I hope we can cover this topic more thoroughly and would enjoy your input!
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