Germantown, NY

For whatever vaccinations you decide to give to your dog, we highly recommend that you give one vaccine at a time. As Dr. Tizzard discusses, “Additional analysis indicated that the risk of adverse events was significantly greater for…dogs that received multiple vaccines on one occasion.” Every vaccine challenges the puppy’s immune system, so allowing the puppy to fully recover from one vaccine before giving the next decreases their chances of serious adverse effects.

• Distemper: The distemper vaccine has been known to have some of the most serious adverse reactions of any vaccine. As Dr. Tizzard discusses, after giving the modified live distemper vaccination, “[a]ffected animals may show neurologic signs such as aggression, incoordination, and seizures, or die suddenly.” Distemper itself has a high fatality rate, but it is rare to see Distemper nowadays. The best course of action is to ask your vet if they’ve seen Distemper in your area before making the decision to vaccinate. If you do decide that the vaccine is absolutely necessary, we recommend giving all vaccines separately to avoid overwhelming the puppy’s immune system.

• Leptospirosis: For dogs living in the city, we recommend the Leptospirosis vaccine. Leptospirosis is a sometimes fatal disease that is commonly transmitted in rat urine, so most city dogs will encounter it. The vaccine has been updated so the adverse effects are far fewer than they used to be. In our opinion, the benefits outweigh the risks if you live in the city. If you live in the countryside, we recommend that you discuss the vaccine with your veterinarian to determine if Leptospirosis is endemic in your area.

• Lyme Disease Vaccine: the Lyme disease vaccine is typically given annually. Dr. Tizzard surveyed one busy vet practice and found that the Lyme disease vaccine had the highest incidence of adverse reaction of all vaccines offered. Serious adverse reactions to the vaccine can be fatal. In comparison, Lyme disease itself is preventable with tick management and is easily treated with a course of antibiotics and, if needed, anti-inflammatories. In our opinion, taking the annual risk of vaccinating a dog against Lyme disease is not worth the potential benefits of avoiding Lyme disease. 

• Bordatella (Kennel Cough) Vaccine: Bordatella is a bacterial infection that can cause symptoms in dogs similar to a human cold. For the average English Labrador, the risk of Bordatella is similar to the risk of the cold to the average person – very low (possibly even lower, because Bordatella can be treated with antibiotics). The Bordatella vaccine must be given every six to twelve months and while adverse events are less common with this particular vaccine, they do still happen. Additionally, the modern Bordatella vaccine protects against two strains of the disease but there are hundreds of strains in the dog population, so even if the dog is vaccinated, they may not be protected from the Bordatella they encounter. In our opinion, the risks of the vaccination do not outweigh the negligible benefit of avoiding Bordatella.

Many common dog vaccines do not have a positive cost/benefit analysis. For this reason, Dr. Ian Tizzard says in a 2021 Vaccinations for Veterinarians journal article entitled Adverse Consequences of Vaccination that, “[u]nnecessary vaccinations must be discouraged.” Among the most serious reactions to vaccines are anaphylaxis and other hypersensitivity responses (which are sometimes fatal and can cause permanent health problems). These are serious risks that need to be weighed against potential benefits of each vaccine to determine if the vaccine is overall a beneficial choice for the dog.