Poll: Vaccinating pets

[heathergirl67]

Do you vaccinate your dog or cat?

[AllyRae]

My dog is fully vaxed. DS 1 is almost fully vaxed except for the live vaxes and pertussis. DD1 is almost fully vaxed except for the live vaxes. DD2 is unvaxed.

[My*Scorpio]

My cats were vaccinated, but I do not take them for yearly boosters. They were vaccinated prior to us adopting them. Also, they are indoor pets.

I think it would be a good idea to get rabies vaccinations if you thought there was even a remote chance your pet may bit someone. (Otherwise there is the risk that the animal could be destroyed for rabies testing.)

[ASusan]

There is a vax that my cat no longer gets, as she reacts badly to it. She does get the "required" ones for where-ever she lives. (She's moved to Arkansas and now Texas.)

DS will likely be selectively vaxed, but has none yet, at 2.5 yrs.

[Katerz2u]

Our dog only gets the rabies vaccine per law. We don't vaccinate our kids.

[CrazyCatLady]

Picking from the poll was kind of hard. My pets get the rabies, because legally I kind of have to. Just like my kids all get the Hep B series starting at birth, because legally I have to (I'm Hep B+).

I'm very anti-vax and those are the only exceptions I make (and I'm not too thrilled about it either). The risk of the one vax each is worth it to me to not have to worry about having my pets or kids taken away.

[hildare]

.. i believe in the rabies vax for animals. we don't vax the kid, though.
there are several reasons for the rabies vax, that make it necessary in my way of thinking:
our dogs are exposed to a variety of wildlife. there have been rabies cases in our county. there is a lack of treatment for this disease (as far as i know)
and if your dog actually bites a person, you have to prove the rabies status of your pet or the county will take the dog and keep it for observation (or euthanize and test, i have been told. i haven't gotten confirmation about that though).. it's much easier to circumvent problems with the dog vax.
but, like i tell my dh, dogs are not people.

[PoetryLover]

I have 2 indoor cats and I haven't vaxed them. If I were to move to the country and let them go outdoors, I would get the rabies vax. So far my son is not vaxed and we plan on selective/delay vaxing if at all.

[Llyra]

All of my dependent mammalian life forms are selectively vaxed.

[JessicaS]

We vax the dog. It is required by law, dog groomers require it and we get all sorts of animals in our yard because there are not a lot of fences around here.

We selective/delay vax

[ammiga]

I only get our dog the vaxes that are required to board and groom her. I do not believe in the efficacy or safety of pet vaccines any more than human vaccines. But, we travel and own a dog that requires grooming. We don't have a choice that I can find. If I could, I wouldn't vaccinate our dog.

We do not vaccinate any humans in this house, children or adults.

[CrazyCatLady]

Off topic for a second. But when I was a dog groomer at PetSmart,"we" highly recommended that the dogs be vaccinated. But all that was actually required was the rabies. So maybe that's an option for some who need groomers but don't want to do so many pet vaccines.

[JessicaS]

Thanks our dog is poofy and I am so inept with hair cutting (don't laugh...I am seriously stupid with scissors I don't know what is wrong with me) that we really need to use a groomer.

Whenever my sister and I cut our barbie's hair off her barbies always looked fashionable and mine looked like Billy Idol.

My mom cuts my children's hair.

[an_domhan]

One of my dogs (I have two) is severely vaccine damaged from the rabies vax. This injury predates my choices to delay to forego vaccines in general.

I have two fully, over vaccinated kids, one partially vaxxed and one not vaxxed. My other dog has received no vaccines.

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

I selectively vax the pets based on need and laws and I dont vax the kids at all.

My feral cats get no vax, my indoor cats had there first couple years of rabies shots until I realized how silly it was to keep doing it since they NEVER went outside.

My new Boxer puppy got her first 3 puppy shots, parvo/distemper, the first one I didnt want her to have but the breeder did it anyway. She just got her last puppy shots a week ago and despite the vet wanting me to I will not be doing a 4th round.

She is due to go back June 1st for her Rabies the vet wasnt thrilled with me delaying it but said it was my choice. I was wanting to delay longer as close to a year old as possible but state law says 3 months so she is already past due and if something where to happen she could be taken away and put to sleep. So not risking that.

[MyFillingQuiver]

I don't vax my children, and I don't vax my pets.

We have 2 indoor cats, and a primarily indoor dog..when she is outdoor, she is with our non-vax'd family in the backyard. Though, we got her 2 years ago, and she has papers, all of which had shots up to date listed...so when we got her spayed (they were going to breed her) they saw her papers and didn't ask anything...I'm sure if she hadn't been vax'ed they would have "required" at least rabies and perhaps distemper.

[Sileree]

No. My cat got cancer on the top of his neck from a vaccine he was given. The vet confirmed this and I have seen websites and yahoo groups for hundreds of people who have lost pets in this way. Nowadays I believe they give the vaccine in the leg so that if cancer comes up later it can be amputated and the animal can survive.

[PoetryLover]

Originally Posted by sileree

no. My cat got cancer on the top of his neck from a vaccine he was given. The vet confirmed this and i have seen websites and yahoo groups for hundreds of people who have lost pets in this way. Nowadays i believe they give the vaccine in the leg so that if cancer comes up later it can be amputated and the animal can survive.

wow.

[thtr4me]

We adopted our dogs, and both were vaccinated prior to the adoptions. We did update rabies when necessary, but none of the others. DS received most of his regular vaxes during the first year, but on a delayed schedule. He has not received MMR, CP, and the final shots in a couple of series. Baby #2 will most likely not be vaccinated, or will have only a couple. Any that we decide on will be delayed.

[kittywitty]

I do not vax my kids. BUT per state law, my pets have to have rabies vax to be seen at the vet. So I get my dog's annually and my cats only when fixed or needing a vet. I wouldn't if it wasn't the law.