Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi everyone! Sorry, haven't been on in a while. Midterms & everything else in our life has been keeping us busy! Kali is doing well, she's gone through her 2nd round of chemo and will get her 2nd round of pamidronate in a couple weeks. Luckily, she's been handling the treatments well & is actually getting back to her old self of being goofy & playful 🙂
I was wondering though .. she's due for her vaccinations but didn't know if that would be safe since she's in a active state of cancer & undergoing chemo/bisphosphonate therapy. Her specialists are off on the weekends so I just wanted to get everyone's input on this. Any would be greatly helpful 🙂
Hi Kali and family
My vets advised against getting vaccinations during treatment, although I don't think anything thought it was a big issue one way or the other. I did begin heartworm meds (one per month or whatever the dose is), although I could tell by the vet's look that she thought I was being a bit overly optimistic to think it would matter. My dog was middle-aged and generally dogs of that age have built up pretty good immunity. I have the impression that most people tend to avoid routine vaccinations during treatments, but not sure of that.
I seem to recall Trouble talking about this issue, for she has lived over two years with cancer. Of course the vets didn't expect her to do so well, so skipping some vaccinations did not seem a big issue (Go Trouble!).
If Kali is due for a rabies shot, it might be different for there may be laws about how often those shots are needed.
When Tazzie was younger and had another medical issue (with kidneys, from ingesting Advil), I used to have titers done to see if his immune response was strong enough to justify not vaccinating, for the vets did not want to add more insult to his weak kidneys. Many people use titers on a regular basis, only vaccinating their dogs if the blood counts are low.
Hi,
I'm glad to hear Kali is doing well, I've thought about her & wondered how she was.
As a disclaimer, I should say, I use an alternative vet and am very vaccine phobic for mature dogs & cats, especially seniors with preexisting health problems.
There is an emerging body of conventional (& not so) evidence regarding length of vaccine immunity. Vaccine labels themselves recommend vaccinating healthy animals only.
The 2010 WSVA vaccination guidelines state "we should aim to vaccinate every animal with core vaccines, and to vaccinate each indinvidual less frequently by only giving non-core vaccines that are necessary for that animal"
You can always choose to titer most core vaccines (if documentation is needed). If rabies is required by law, you might look into a veterinary waiver and rabies antibody test if necessary. There is information available at http://www.rabi.....fund.org
If you opt to vaccinate, Merial produces a thimerosal (mercury containing preservative) free vaccine. The label will indicate TF.
You also might ask for a monovalent vaccine, indicating it contains only 1 bacteria or virus. If not available, the next desirable vaccine in bivalent.
If you have access to a holistic vet, you might consider working with them on an appropriate protocol for Kali. There are homeopathic remedies that can be given with vaccines, to minimize toxic effects
Dr Jean Dodds has written some valuable opinions, supported by what scientific data is available. Please be sure when you research her data, that it is her work. There is a lot of chatter on the internet, referencing her work, that isn't.
I don't know how any of this interprets outside of the US.
Good Luck,
Cynthia
My experience was that not only did the vet recommend against vaccinations, 27 months later he still recommends against it. I, too, think initially he didn't think it would make a long term difference since statistics on osteosarcoma is ~12 months. As time went on, I think he just doesn't want to take the risk with an already compromised immune system.
When I still traveled with Trouble, he provided a letter stating she was not vaccinated, but was free of disease and under veterinary care and included his contact information if anyone needed to inquire further.
Shanna & Spirit Trouble ~ Trouble gained her wings 3/16/2011, a 27 1/2 month cancer survivor, tail wagging. RIP sweetheart, you are my heart and soul. Run free at Rainbow Bridge.
The November Five - Spirits Max, Cherry, Tika, Trouble & Nova. 11/2008 - 3/2013 An era ends as Queen Nova crossed the Bridge.
I do not vaccinate my dogs anymore especially Mack with the cancer.
Mack is my second dog to have cancer, my first was Cleo a cocker spaniel with lymphoma. I had vaccinated her every year and every 6 mos for kennel cough. Until she was diagnosed and I stopped right away.
So I do not believe in overvaccinating pets. Now in saying that I do not mean that I do not believe in vaccinating at all. I work for a vet and do rescue so I believe that dogs should have all 3 rounds of "puppy shots" and then again at one year old and maybe one more set within the next 3 years after that. I have seen to many dogs sick and die from parvo so some vaccines are vital.
I am also not saying that vaccines caused the cancer in my dogs but after much research and talking to various vets it is just a good choice for me and my pets.
So in my opinion I would never vaccinate a dog with cancer, whether going through chemo or not. I know the vets I work for will not vaccinate a "sick" dog.
I am also pretty minimal on vaccines. For my own pets I do the full round of puppy shots (every 3-4 weeks until 16 weeks of age). I then booster at 1 year of age and then I might do 1 more DHPP 3 years later and then no more vaccines except Rabies as required by law. I do agree that the Imrab Rabies vaccine by Merial is superior. In some parts of the country you might want to consider special vaccines for Leptospirosis or Lyme disease. These are now available in genetic subunit vaccines that are much less reactive than vaccines we used in the past. You can do titers but keep in mind that a negative titer does not mean the dog needs a booster since cellular immunity can't be measured that way. You can check out the info by Jean Dodds as well as Ron Schultz, a professor I had at Univ of WI who has advocated minimal vaccines for many years.
I would be hesitant to give any vaccines to a dog who is currently fighting cancer. Most older animals already have a great immunity bulit up to distemper, parvo, and rabies viruses and vaccines could do more harm than good. I think heartworm prevention is still okay and is especially important if you live in the south.
Pam
Holly did not have any vaccines while she was undergoing chemo. A few months after she finished the vet ran titers and decided she needed the bortadella vaccine for when we board her.
Thanks for posting this - it is full of good information, and I plan to read through the suggestions before Holly's next round of vaccines are due.
Holly joined the world of tripawds on 12/29/2009. She has a big little sister, Zuzu, who idolizes Holly and tries to make all of her toys into tripawds in Holly's honor. And she's enjoying life one hop at a time!
http://anyemery.....ipawds.com
There is a short article w/information from Dr. Schultz in Whole Dog Journal, August 2008.
Great question, and important one which many have asked including ourselves.
Listen to our recent Tripawd Talk Radio interview with veterinary oncologist Dr. Johnny Chretin for his input on the subject.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
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