WHAT'S GOING ON AT POUNDLANE FROM 2020
  • The POUNDLANE Spaniel blog

When to start vaccination?

6/16/2021

11 Comments

 
Vaccinating pups has for breeders become a massive pain and is why we have stopped doing them before pups leave us. From the information I have garnered, I personally prefer to start them at 12 weeks or over, but that is my personal choice and would say to anyone worried about when to vaccinate. "That they should ask their vet, as unlike me. They have insurance to claim against if the advice given turns out to cause problems for your puppy."
Anyway I found this very interesting blog post written by a vet on a veterinary clinic's website ​Puppy Vaccinations - Why Should I Wait Until 10 Weeks. I thought I would put it up for those worried about when to get your puppy vaccinated and think they need to be vaccinating them as soon as they hit 8 weeks. You can read the blog entry (below) in full. Yes, giving a puppy it's first DHP over ten weeks old, you give one and they are covered in the same time as a pup being started at 8 weeks and having two jabs. 
Also add that at Poundlane our Mum's self wean, so pups are suckling still from Mum up until leaving us, so much more likely to have good doses of antibodies from Mum, as Mum is vaccinated for DHP and Lepto4. Hence the reason why if you vaccinate at 8 weeks you have to do two jabs, because at 8 weeks Mum's antibodies can still stop the vaccines uptake in them and by 10 weeks most pups, Mum's antibodies in them have depleted enough for the vaccine to fully work. 
"26 Jun 2020

​Puppy Vaccinations – Why Should I Wait Until 10 Weeks?

Before Covid-19, we used to offer 2 different vaccination schedules for puppies, one that started when they were 8 weeks old, one that started when they were 10 weeks old. Here’s how the schedules compare:
8-week start
  • 8 weeks old:
    • 1st vaccination for DHP (Distemper, Hepatitis and Parvovirus)
    • 1st vaccination for L4 (Leptospirosis)
  • 10 weeks old:
    • 2nd vaccination for DHP
  • 11 weeks old:
    • Safe to go out, avoiding high-risk areas for leptospirosis (eg. farms, stables, waterways)
  • 12 weeks old:
    • 2nd vaccination for L4
  • 15 weeks old:
    • Safe to go out anywhere, including high-risk areas for leptospirosis
The main advantage of this schedule is that puppies get some protection against the DHP components of the vaccine earlier. They are also safe to go to areas that are high-risk for leptospirosis earlier than they are with a 10-week start. However, by starting before 10 weeks, they end up needing 2 lots of the DHP vaccines rather than just one, and need 3 visits to the vets in total.
10-week start
  • 10 weeks old:
    • 1st vaccination for DHP (Distemper, Hepatitis, and Parvovirus)
    • 1st vaccination for L4 (Leptospirosis)
  • 11 weeks old:
    • Safe to go out, avoiding high-risk areas for leptospirosis (eg. farms, stables, waterways)
  • 14 weeks old:
    • 2nd vaccination for L4
  • 17 weeks old:
    • Safe to go out anywhere, including high-risk areas for leptospirosis
As you can see, puppies who follow a 10-week start schedule can still go out and socialise from 11 weeks – just not in areas that are high-risk for leptospirosis. Because their immune systems are more mature at 10 weeks, they only need one of the DHP vaccines rather than two. This means they only need 2 visits in total, rather than 3.
Given the risk of coronavirus transmission to owners and staff that every vet visit brings, we believe that for most puppies, it is sensible to start the vaccines at 10 weeks rather than 8, avoiding the need for a third visit. This is why a 10-week start is currently our standard regime.
If your puppy meets any of the following criteria, there may be an argument for starting vaccinations at 8-weeks instead:
  • Comes from a high-risk infection environment eg. a puppy farm or breeding facility with more than one litter at a time.
  • Will be living in an area with a high leptospirosis risk eg. stables or farm.
We hope that answers any questions you have about starting vaccinations at 10 weeks rather than 8."
11 Comments
Helen Perryman
6/16/2021 07:19:19 am

I also recommend a final vaccination for DHP at 16 weeks or older. This is because maternal antibody can last longer than 10 weeks and interfere with finishing the vaccine course at this age. If that happens, the puppy is then left without protection once the maternal antibodies have gone until their first 'booster' vaccination, normally at around 15 months of age. The WSAVA vaccine guidelines are for core vaccines to be given every 2-4 weeks until 16 weeks of age and then a 'booster' vaccination at 26 weeks (see https://wsava.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/WSAVA-Vaccination-Guidelines-2015.pdf for more details). A titre test at 19-20 weeks of age can inform you as to whether your pup has responded appropriately to the vaccine.

Reply
Jane
6/16/2021 08:09:29 am

That's a lot of vaccine.

Reply
Helen Perryman
6/16/2021 07:26:19 am

Forgot to say, the length of time the puppies are suckling doesn't have any effect on the transfer of antibodies. The antibodies are in the colostrum and first milk, and a few days after birth the puppy's gut will not absorb further antibodies. So the critical factor is the concentration of antibodies in the mother's early milk (likely to be higher the more recently she has been vaccinated), and the amount of colostrum that puppy had.

Reply
Jane
6/16/2021 08:07:59 am

I would argue the point that levels of antibodies are elevated the first few days after birth and then decrease, but are present in the bitches milk throughout her lactation.
'Colostrogenesis
Immunoglobulin concentrations in canine mammary secretions are elevated during the first two days post-partum compared with later in lactation,' https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7125514/#:~:text=Colostrogenesis,phase%20in%20the%20canine%20species.

Reply
Helen Perryman
6/16/2021 09:00:19 am

Yes, they might be present in the milk throughout lactation, but the puppy doesn't absorb them after the first few days as the gut develops. Which is why getting the colostrum is really critical. With regards to the amount of vaccine, I don't tend to recommend a 26 week vaccine, I think 16 weeks is perfectly adequate, but I would be wary of giving a single DHP at 10 weeks and then not doing anything for another 12 months. It might be okay in most dogs but I know colleagues who have seen cases of parvovirus in dogs like this, and personally I wouldn't take that risk. Titre testing is a sensible alternative for anyone concerned about over-vaccination.

Jane
6/16/2021 09:34:13 am

Yes, getting colostrum in the first few days is very important, as this is when it is at its highest level. Yes the pups stomach stops being able to absorb colostrum, but a bitch does not produce colostrum after a couple days and may even be why the milk changes so dramatically from a very yellow viscous liquid to milk looking similar to what we might put in our tea.
A theory could be that the bitch has those high levels for a couple days and then decreases and the milk changes to accomodate the gut changes to just topping up the immune system and topping up would be no good if you have not received the first full dose. Just a theory though.

Jane
6/16/2021 09:53:34 am

Your reply and what a vet has written in a blog are a great example of why vaccinating is a nightmare for breeders and pet owners.

Helen Perryman
6/16/2021 11:01:06 am

Lol, yes, when I first graduated, things like timing of vaccinations and neutering felt so simple, but the more research that comes out on the risks and benefits of each, the more complicated it becomes!

Lynda link
6/16/2021 08:11:31 am

Thanks Jane!
Really informative reading and makes sense to me

As you know we collected Ted from you at 8 weeks but we waited a two week “adjustment period “ here at home with us before he had
1st vaccination so he would have been 10 weeks and we have had no health problems or vet visits since so we will be following the same for little Ruby too.

Reply
Lynda link
6/16/2021 11:44:17 am

I meant to add that Ted has his 2nd dose 2 weeks later at 12 weeks and will have a yearly booster too

Reply
Lynn
6/16/2021 11:21:46 am

Thanks so much Jane, every day is a school day!
As you know, Oscar will be 9 weeks on collection and his first checkup (and potentially vaccine) will be at 10 weeks.
I see no hurry if sensible precautions are taken however, insurance companies may think otherwise. More homework to do.

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Picture
    Active, sporting, sound little spaniels
    Click on this link The POUNDLANE Spaniel to view our main website

    Contacting us

    We ask that first contact to be done by phone. I (Jane) can be contacted by phone at 01769 560969 for a friendly, no pressure chat.
    ​Click 
    HERE to know what our facebook page is for.
    Picture
    Blottie and Granddaughter Polly
    ​“Humans are aware of very little, it seems to me, the artificial brainy side of life, the worries and bills and the mechanisms of jobs, the doltish psychologies we've placed over our lives like a stencil. A dog keeps his life simple and unadorned.” Brad Watson, Last Days of the Dog-Men: Stories
    Picture
    Author (Jane) with Teagol and Puddin'

    Author

    Welcome to this blog. I am Jane, a hobby breeder, situated in North Devon, England, UK (map at bottom of page ,shows where we are) on a quest to breed a healthier small spaniel similar to the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. 
    If you are reading this, you have most probably come from my main website The POUNDLANE spaniel ​
    Problems with putting anymore blogs on that website, I have now started this blog from 2020. 

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020

    RSS Feed

    WE DO NOT EXPORT PUPPIES 
    ​Why I don't export
    Picture
    Four generations of health tested Mums at Poundlane
    ​​AT POUNDLANE
    Our breeding dogs are multi generational extensively health tested. With all our breeding stock having recommended and relevant DNA tests for their breed/breeds. We also have breeding stock annually eye examined on the BVA Hereditary Eye Disease Scheme for dogs, MRI scanned on the BVA scheme  using the​ BVA chiari malformation /syringomyelia breeding protocol, and heart examined using The Kennel Club Heart Scheme for Cavalier King Charles breeding protocol

Where we are

  • The POUNDLANE Spaniel blog