Help

I have a litter of puppies and they are due to have their 1st injection on wednesday they will be 8weeks and 1 day old.  I have informed all the new owners that this will be done.  However I took my bitch to be groomed by the stud dog owner that I used,she is adamant not to have them vaccinated as they have protection from their Mum until 12 weeks of age and by vaccinating them I could make them ill.  I have spoken to my vet regarding this issue and they have assured me that I am doing the right thing having them vaccinated and that the vacine they use will be compatable with vacines from other vets.  I feel that I cannot tell the new owners that I am not having them vacinated because I made this agreement and I don't know which way to turn.  The puppies I have had and my parents all had their 1st vaccination when we collected them. PLEASE HELP

Admin edited.

Vaccinating before they go to their new homes causes complications for the new owners.  Rightly or wrongly, :rolleyes: most Vets seem to insist on giving the pups another 2 vaccinations and disregard the initial ones that have been previously given.  That means that pups are having 3 doses of vaccine!  Not something that I would consider a good idea. :(

I see that you were given advice about this in July?

Perhaps the stud dog owner has had a very sad experience which has coloured her views.  I personally would prefer to leave vaccinations until at least 12 weeks but everyone has to make their own decision taking all factors into account, ie maternal antibodies, risk of catching disease, socialisation, vaccine reaction etc.  The reservation I have about a breeder giving a first vaccination is that some vets then seem to insist on the puppy having another full set, rather than the remaining one, which I certainly wouldn't be happy with.

My pups leave me at 8 weeks old without vac's - I tell the owner to book an appointment with their vet ASAP for a health check and 1st jab, this way everything is dealt with by the one vet and also give the vet a chance to bring up anything they are not sure about health wise (has never happened but best to cover your back).  I would not wait to do the first jab until 12 week though because I feel this delays valuable socialisation time at a crucial point.

Personally I'd rather collect an unvaccinated 8 week old pup and make the arrangements (which will include a general health check) myself. Certainly, most of the vets round here would dismiss the first vaccination and end up duplicating the job. Most pups of this age will still carry some vestiges of maternal immunity and I'd rather not subject a pup to 3 courses of vaccination.

Have to agree - would rather pick up an unvaccinated pup - the number of times the vets dismiss the first vaccination and insist of redoing the whole lot - only ever had 1 vet take the first vaccination into account.  So would rather not overload the pup.

i think sending them off with their first vac's is good because at least you know they have had at least something if the new owner goes against what you advise. most vets will only do the whole course again if the pup had only had the single parvo jab done ( what most puppy farmers use)  our dogs as pups cam already with their first jabs vet carried out the second only!

>i think sending them off with their first vac's is good because at least you know they have had at least something if the new owner goes against what you advise.

If you've selected your new owners sensibly then I can't see why they wouldn't be making an early appointment with their own vet for vaccinations. "Something" is all very well but a proper course of vaccinations rather than a duplication of "something" still strikes me as the best idea.

My vet even said to me he would NOT vaccinate the pup I had left over unless I was certain I would bring him back for the second, as it was such a bad idea to give first only and then sell and for the pup to go elsewhere for the second.

The breeder I got my male dog from was supposed to have had both his vaccs done but due to her being ill was late taking him for his first one,I then rang round locally looking for the same brand and unable to find it I drove the 50 miles back to the breeders vet to get the second one done as it didn't cost as much in petrol as it was going to start all over again, £40 locally per course £25 at the breeders vets, I was also going to get him microchipped there but they wanted £20 and locally it was only £15 on a Wednesday.

I think I'd prefer to get the pups done before they leave me to be on the safe side.

Rhona

Like most of the others I do not think you should vaccinate the pups as the new vets will, very often, prefer to start a vaccination program again.  Perhaps even having the documentation they feel they do not want to take professional responsibility for the first dose being correctly given, who knows :)
I don't worry too much about vaccinosis as it is shown to be extremely rare but it does seem a shame for the little mites to have an unnecessary injection, they are not very nice are they? :) 
I think if you were to offer a reduction in the price equal to the first injection your owners should not mind too much as it is general to have a vet check in the first few days anyway so should not be anymore inconvenient to them to have the first jab then.

When we first saw ours at 4 weeks old, we told the breeder that we didn't want her vaccinated before we got her, and she assured me that unless a pup got to over 10 weeks old before going to it's new home, she never would.
Ours had her vaccinations at 10 & 12 weeks.