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Too Many Needles For Pets


PuggaWuggles
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Too many needles for pets - http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0...05-3102,00.html

HUNDREDS of thousands of cats and dogs are being over-medicated with unnecessary annual vaccinations.

The Federal Government's Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority has warned against the labelling of veterinary drugs that either imply or direct that family pets need annual revaccinations.

Vaccines are usually done as part of yearly check-ups.

The APVMA says that only in unusual circumstances – such as areas with high prevalence of infection and incomplete vaccination records – might annual vaccinations be advisable.

It wants drug product labels amended to align with that policy and says there are several vaccines which provide at least three years' protection.

Research by pet industry lobby group the Australian Companion Animal Council has found that it costs $746 a year to keep the family pooch and $583 for a cat.

Australia has one of the world's highest pet ownership rates, with almost two-thirds of people owning at least one pet.

Australian Veterinary Association president Mark Lawrie said his organisation updated its policy last year to recommend vaccinations be conducted every three years.

"It's vital that people still get kittens and puppies done. As with people, vaccines save many lives," Dr Lawrie said.

He said all vets were aware of the association's policy.

Michael Giorgas of Hamilton has an eight-week-old miniature foxie called Charlie which he has had vaccinated.

He said anything to relieve vet fees would be a help with Charlie, who often played with neighbor Maddy Bell, 10.

"He's a cute little thing," Mr Giorgas said.

"If only I could teach him to go outside and pee."

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There seems to be a lot of resistence to a new vaccination regime. The AVA may have changed its policy, but they sure haven't given their members a kick in the pants, as requried to break down the long-established and lucrative practice of vaccinating annually.

I run a boarding kennel. I try not to be part of the problem by telling people of the change in recommended vaccination regimes and telling them I'll accept any date the vet signs off on . . . suggesting that three years would be in line with recommendations. Everyone seems happy to get the news, but as of yet I haven't seen anyone in with their vaccination cards signed with a 'next due' date of 2012 or 2013. I think vets are still sending out their annual reminders about vaccinations.

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I'm confused then. Does this mean they shouldn't have any yearly vacs? Or are there only certain ones that need to be done yearly? How do you know if you live in a high risk area? This is the first I've heard about 3 yearly vaccinations..

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Great to get some more media coverage in this.

We switched our clinic to the new protocol when we took over from the new owner and 99% of owners have appreciated it. We've had a few who were not so sure and opted to continue annuals, but mostly, we've had a pleasing response.

I was peaved recently though, after discussing the new protocol with a client on her annual visit, to have her return a week later to have the vacc done anyway. Seems her son's girlfriend is a vet nurse at another clinic and told our client that what we told her re 3 yearly vaccines didn't sound like a very good idea at all, so she came back to have it done. :(

I think I might look at printing out some of the statements from the AVA as well as the news reports to have on hand in the waiting room for people to read for themselves.

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Great to get some more media coverage in this.

We switched our clinic to the new protocol when we took over from the new owner and 99% of owners have appreciated it. We've had a few who were not so sure and opted to continue annuals, but mostly, we've had a pleasing response.

I'm curious as I've been told by a vet that the "new" protocols are only for *some* vaccines. I have been told that the Canine Cough vaccine is recommended to be given every 6 months under the new guidelines - is this correct?

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Great to get some more media coverage in this.

We switched our clinic to the new protocol when we took over from the new owner and 99% of owners have appreciated it. We've had a few who were not so sure and opted to continue annuals, but mostly, we've had a pleasing response.

I'm curious as I've been told by a vet that the "new" protocols are only for *some* vaccines. I have been told that the Canine Cough vaccine is recommended to be given every 6 months under the new guidelines - is this correct?

Nope wrong. Yes there are vacc's registered for 3 yearly use, but the AVA have said that ALL core vacc's are likely to also last 3 years. They specifically state that the new protocol will likely mean administering vacc's as an 'off label' dose.

Go to the AVA's website - plenty of info there! I just printed out a few pages to put in the waiting room :(

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I'm thinking of making the trip to your surgery Stormie, so I can get my younger dogs a standard C3 and be signed off for the next three years. I'm not interested in the "new" 3 year vacc, so if you're prepared to sign off on the old one, it's worth the 3 hours drive. :(

That would be cool!!

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Great to get some more media coverage in this.

We switched our clinic to the new protocol when we took over from the new owner and 99% of owners have appreciated it. We've had a few who were not so sure and opted to continue annuals, but mostly, we've had a pleasing response.

I'm curious as I've been told by a vet that the "new" protocols are only for *some* vaccines. I have been told that the Canine Cough vaccine is recommended to be given every 6 months under the new guidelines - is this correct?

Nope wrong. Yes there are vacc's registered for 3 yearly use, but the AVA have said that ALL core vacc's are likely to also last 3 years. They specifically state that the new protocol will likely mean administering vacc's as an 'off label' dose.

Go to the AVA's website - plenty of info there! I just printed out a few pages to put in the waiting room :(

Okay... for the dumbies... what is an "off label dose"??? And will it be accepted by training clubs and kennels?

And, any chance you could post the linky for this dumbo to the website - I went looking a while ago and got awfully lost :love:

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Great to get some more media coverage in this.

We switched our clinic to the new protocol when we took over from the new owner and 99% of owners have appreciated it. We've had a few who were not so sure and opted to continue annuals, but mostly, we've had a pleasing response.

I'm curious as I've been told by a vet that the "new" protocols are only for *some* vaccines. I have been told that the Canine Cough vaccine is recommended to be given every 6 months under the new guidelines - is this correct?

Nope wrong. Yes there are vacc's registered for 3 yearly use, but the AVA have said that ALL core vacc's are likely to also last 3 years. They specifically state that the new protocol will likely mean administering vacc's as an 'off label' dose.

Go to the AVA's website - plenty of info there! I just printed out a few pages to put in the waiting room :love:

Okay... for the dumbies... what is an "off label dose"??? And will it be accepted by training clubs and kennels?

And, any chance you could post the linky for this dumbo to the website - I went looking a while ago and got awfully lost ;)

I found this in my search: http://ava.informz.net/ava/data/images/doc...inal-june09.pdf

It's still only marginally useful for me though, as it's in vet-speak :( it does give me something to bring up with my vet, though.

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I'm thinking of making the trip to your surgery Stormie, so I can get my younger dogs a standard C3 and be signed off for the next three years. I'm not interested in the "new" 3 year vacc, so if you're prepared to sign off on the old one, it's worth the 3 hours drive. :love:

That would be cool!!

Clear the waiting room :(

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Off label as in, not going by the dosage instructions on the label (which for most vaccines will say yearly).

The first release we got from the AVA said that kennels should NOT be dictating a different recommendation to vets. However, being a privately run business, like vets, they are allowed to accept and reject whatever they like. They already do it now with the types of KC vaccines. We discuss the matter with all our clients first prior to being done, so those who board regularly need to check with their kennels whether they are accepting the new protocol.

http://avacms.eseries.hengesystems.com.au/...ContentID=14289

Definition of core vaccine:

Core vaccines should be administered to all animals to protect them against severe,

life-threatening diseases that have a global distribution.

Dogs: canine distemper virus, canine adenovirus and canine parvovirus.

Cats: feline parvovirus, feline calicivirus and feline herpesvirus.

The Australian Veterinary Association (AVA) believes that in most cases, core vaccines need

not be administered any more frequently than triennially and that even less frequent vaccination

may be considered appropriate if an individual animal’s circumstances warrant it. However,

local factors may dictate more frequent vaccination scheduling. These recommendations may

be ‘off label’ for some vaccines.

Edited by stormie
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Off label as in, not going by the dosage instructions on the label (which for most vaccines will say yearly).

The first release we got from the AVA said that kennels should NOT be dictating a different recommendation to vets. However, being a privately run business, like vets, they are allowed to accept and reject whatever they like. They already do it now with the types of KC vaccines. We discuss the matter with all our clients first prior to being done, so those who board regularly need to check with their kennels whether they are accepting the new protocol.

http://avacms.eseries.hengesystems.com.au/...ContentID=14289

Definition of core vaccine:

Core vaccines should be administered to all animals to protect them against severe,

life-threatening diseases that have a global distribution.

Dogs: canine distemper virus, canine adenovirus and canine parvovirus.

Cats: feline parvovirus, feline calicivirus and feline herpesvirus.

The Australian Veterinary Association (AVA) believes that in most cases, core vaccines need

not be administered any more frequently than triennially and that even less frequent vaccination

may be considered appropriate if an individual animal’s circumstances warrant it. However,

local factors may dictate more frequent vaccination scheduling. These recommendations may

be ‘off label’ for some vaccines.

Sorry to be a pain, but I am still confused. From reading that, the Canine Cough vaccine (Bordtella) is *not* a core vaccine... so how is it covered by the three-yearly recommendation???

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I took this information to my vets a little while ago and tried to discuss three yearly vacs for my dog.

They just sort of fobbed me off with we follow the protocol the vaccine company provide for their product. They say you need to administer them yearly so that's what we recommend.

They wouldn't entertain the idea of three year vaccines. I really don't know how they can just dismiss what the AVA are saying. I was very disappointed, but they are really good vets for everything else and I have no other vet to go to.

I decided not to get my dog vaccinated again. So far they haven't harassed me, we have a silent agreement not to bring it up.

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The big issue for me is kennels. Don't they legally have to require annual vaccinations or titre tests?

In WA we have no legal requirements that I know of. However, for reasons of liability and insurance coverage, I need to see that a vet has signed off on the vaccination due date. I don't feel that decisions relating to frequency of vaccination should be made by kennel owners -- that is a vet's function.

With respect to KC, it's complicated.

When K9 cough goes through a kennel some of the vaccinated dogs often get it while some of the unvaccinated (for KC) don't. I recommend, but stopped requiring KC in my kennels after having been told by a couple vets that they don't use it on their own dogs; not to mention having a litter of pups apparently get KC from the vaccine. Another vet I use told me that if you really want to protect your dog from KC, get it jabbed (or nasal puffed) two weeks before taking it to kennels. Last time I read the AVA recommendations they still recommend KC as an annual shot. I'm left shaking my head. But the disease is very rarely fatal, and in many cases it is so unserious that you barely notice the two or three days the dog has a mild cough. So the outcome of making a wrong decision isn't horrible.

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Sorry to be a pain, but I am still confused. From reading that, the Canine Cough vaccine (Bordtella) is *not* a core vaccine... so how is it covered by the three-yearly recommendation???

Not being a pain at all!

You're right, Kennel Cough is not a core vaccination and still needs to be done annually if you elect to have your dog vaccinated against it. So for example, our clients who still want the KC vaccine will come in annually for that vaccine, but only every 3 years for the C3. (the KC vaccines are seperate injections to the C3).

It's interesting isn't it, Sandgrubber. I'm pretty sure I read somewhere on the AVA site that same recommendation - the KC injection/intranasal 2 weeks prior to boarding and that in fact the KC vaccine probably only really lasts 8 months.

Laeral - our previous boss wouldn't think about it either. His attitude was the same as your vet - the vaccine label said annually so that's what he'd do. No amount of me producing information from the AVA or anything was going to change his mind. He figured he'd lose too much money from annual visits.

The way I see it, if the vet is honest enough and open enough with clients, they will stay loyal. My new boss (we were both employed at the same clinic prior to his family buying the new clinic and running it himself and taking me with them) is one of those really great vets who genuinly isn't it the job for the money and clients love that. We are averaging just over 1 new client here every day, which is pretty impressive really. Obviously it's early days and we've only just changed the protocol, but I only see us getting busier. He keeps up with the latest information and passes it on the clients whenever he can.

Edited by stormie
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This is all new to me too :laugh:

But if you have your dog done yearly, because the vet insists etc....is it harmful to the dog to get it every year?

Does this Triannual vaccinations apply to cats too?

Bluefairy

Most dogs and cats won't show any signs of ill effects from annual vaccines. But, there is a slight growing concern about vaccines and the potential link to immune related diseases.

Basically, research is showing the vacc lasts atleast 3 years, so it's really an issue of if this is the case, why do it annually?

Yes - it applies to the feline F3 vaccine, but not to the non core vaccines like Fel Leuk, Aids, etc

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