I was speaking to someone today who said their 11 week old puppy had already had 2 jabs(at 6 and 10 weeks) plus she would be having a 3rd extra Parvo jab at 16 weeks,she said this new regime was because of there(according to the vet) being an outbreak of Parvo in the area.
Is this something other vets are doing-and do you think it is necessary to give so many jabs to a young puppy?

My puppy only had 2 she had first at 8 weeks then 2nd at 10 weeks, and does not need anymore till her booster at 1yr old.
so not too sure, i suppose if if there is an outbreak then maybe they need to give a 3rd but i never been told about it..

My puppy was the same, was given one at 6 weeks, that was just for Parvo to cover him until the next jab, and then he had a 3rd one.  I did query it with the vet, but she said the one given at 6 weeks is only an interim one and doesn't last, they still have to have the usual two after that.

are you sure its not the kennel cough vaccine given seperatly?

i think 6wks is a bit young for a first shot, i have mine start at 8wks.

the thing is the puppy at 6 weeks should still be covered by mothers immunity which will actually stop the jab from working anyway.

It's the reason for the two jabs in the course anyway because the first may not give protection.

Ooopps just re read post and you say parvo. so not kc vaccine obviously. still havent heard of the 3 jabs though.

I know I'll cause an uproar here but a puppy has maternal protection against parvo/distemper etc as long as the mother has been vaccinated and has protection.  A puppy is protected by maternal antibodies up to 12 weeks and after 12 weeks needs only ONE vaccination against parvo and distemper - the reason two are given is that if the vaccination is given too early (before 12 weeks) then it cancels out the protection and that is why they need a second vaccine.  This info was from a reliable source (an expert in this field).

i have read that some where before. so if i take a 12/13wk pup to vet tommorow he would tell me ' ok its one shot needed and off you go'? lol. my vet has told me in the past that they have to follow the manufacturers instructions, so do you think they are told to start at 8wks? we will never know

Personally, I would be pretty horrified if my vet agreed, let alone suggested, jabbing a pup at 6 weeks old!! Does the vet have shares in the Parvo vaccine?!

Yes,I thought it was a bit young too.There's been articles in the local papers about the Parvo outbreak with local vets urging people to get their dogs boostered and I had a card come through the door with a photo of a cordoned off street and a warning- deadly Parvo is in your area - saying my dogs were overdue for their boosters.
Interesting post Perry.

My vet was offering a few breeds the third jag to cover parvo as we had a out break in our area, Doberman was one of the breeds i cant remember the others , the third jag was given at 16 weeks , the 1st and 2nd were given at the usual age

> Personally, I would be pretty horrified if my vet agreed, let alone suggested, jabbing a pup at 6 weeks old!! Does the vet have shares in the Parvo vaccine?!

Last year someone cancelled a puppy they had reserved from me.  Reason?  Because I wouldn't have the jab at 6 weeks.  Her vet said she shouldn't by the pup if it hadn't been done at 6 weeks.

> I know I'll cause an uproar

Nope, there won't be any uproar from me.  The 8 week old pup that I've kept from my current litter will be done at 12 weeks.  I've never asked my vet what he thinks about it to be perfectly honest. 

I prefer to leave my own pups to have their jabs at 10 and 12 weeks.

Have had puppies vaccinated against parvo at 6 weeks and a third vaccination at 16 weeks.

The dam was titre tested and she did not have a great deal of immunity to parvo (although she was up to date with all her vaccinations), as there were some outbreaks of parvo in the area the whole litter was given their first vaccination at 6 weeks and the one that I kept had her last vaccination for parvo at 16 weeks.  

My pup had Parvo at 7 weeks even though I was assured the mum had been vaccinated. I very nearly lost her, but she is a fighter and with the help of the very expensive new medicine from Australia ( first time my vet had used it ) she pulled through - cost £1200, but money did not come into it. She then went on to have 2 Parvo vaccinations although she was probably the most immune pup in the world at that time, but after seeing the devastating effect of this awful illness I will never hesitate to vaccinate a pup as and when it is needed and if the vet suggests 3 times, then 3 times it is.
My daughter had a pup from the same litter and although he had a little bleeding in his poos he tested negative to Parvo, so again it goes to show that some will get it and some won't. Vet explained that some pups get more of the antibodies from the mum than others so some are more protected.

>so if i take a 12/13wk pup to vet tommorow he would tell me ' ok its one shot needed and off you go'?

No, because the leptospirosis vaccine needs two injections two weeks apart. It's the DHP part that only needs one injection if the puppy is over 12 weeks.

> No, because the leptospirosis vaccine needs two injections two weeks apart. It's the DHP part that only needs one injection if the puppy is over 12 weeks

Of course some vets might not have the lepto on it's own. I asked my vet abut this when I got my latest youngster last year, she said she doesn't stock the leptospirosis vaccine on it's own and you can't buy a single dose so pup had to have two of the combined injections 2 weeks apart.

>Of course some vets might not have the lepto on it's own.

If the vet uses Canigen or Nobivac the lepto is a single vaccine anyway, which needs to be added to the DHP (by the vet) for the combined vaccine. The lepto vaccine is the one that's given singly annually, with the DHP added every 3rd year.

Humpff, this was of course from my old vets, another reason to be glad I moved :-(

Our vet will only jab after 10 weeks anyway, she isnt 1 for giving jabs willy nilly, she is great.

There are a few breeds, Rottweilers being one that have a smaller genetic pool (thats the simplist way for me to explain) so therefore need three jabs, ideally at 8/9 weeks again two weeks later and again at 16 weeks.  The 16 weeks one is just parvo as thats the one the dogs often can't hold.  I have no problem vaccinated puppies, after working in a vets and seeing young dogs and puppies die from parvo I would never ever take the risk by not doing it. I like the idea of nosodes but even the homeopathic society admit they cant prove that they work.  I do however, have a problem with boosters being given year after year.  Totally unneccessary imo. 
This is a debate that alot of people feel very strongly about and no doubt some will have their opinions posted here very soon! :-)

Yes, Roxylady, not something that one would want to risk ever again having experienced if first hand.   I feel the same.  Still remember as a child before dogs were vaccinated, when whole litters succumbed to hardpad, distemper - it was devastating.

Then again when parvo first became identified, whole litters that were decimated, very frightening times, when everything was disinfected, containers put down in which visitors and family had to walk through before being allowed in, completely changing all clothes if one went out then came back home, before going in to see the puppies.   The bitch that at 6 months developed parvo (before vaccination), she was one of the lucky ones, went onto to recover, but it left her with intestinal problems, can still remember the pieces of bowel that she passed and the blood and that terrible smell, which you never forget.  Never want to go through that again, we have come such a long way from those days.

I have also always understood that puppies are protected by immunity from their mother, and shouldn't need a parvo jab at 6 weeks.  I don't think I would personally have it done that young, I don't believe it would be good for their immune system, but when we got our puppy, he had already been done by the breeder's vet.

Then again when parvo first became identified, whole litters that were decimated, very frightening times, when everything was disinfected, containers put down in which visitors and family had to walk through before being allowed in, completely changing all clothes if one went out then came back home, before going in to see the puppies. Yes Dogsdinner, I was in complete isolation from my daughters pup and family over Christmas and several weeks after (I have the annex in her house) I spent Christmas and had Xmas dinner on my own with my 3 dogs and the webcam, where I was in contact with the rest of the family on the computer. We had parvocide to walk through on shared areas. All in all a bit of a nightmare, but at least now pup is fine (apart from demodex now) and the rest is just a memory, but a lesson learnt to make sure my dogs are up to date on vaccinations

Pleased to hear that your pup is now okay.   Don't know if it is related but puppies sometimes after parvo loose all their fur, it does grow back again.  All dogs have demodex to a degree, but does not usually cause any problems, i.e. the immune system keeps it under control, but it may have got a hold because your pup was under the weather and it takes a while for a puppy to have their immune system fully up and running.

The only dogs I've known to be vaccined at 6 weeks are those going to 'puppy retail outlets'  [mine included - ones I've bought not sent btw]. This is an interim vaccine as they are taken from their mothers and exposed to the stress of, often long distance, travel, and have contact with many unknown people and dogs before they reach the normal age/s for jabs; therefore, they need this extra boost.
I don't know anything about whether there should be 1 or 2 jabs at 8 and 12 weeks though, - I just have done this [2 lots] on vets' word.