Okay, for all you dog experts. When I took my puppy boy to the vet for Rabies and Parvo, the doctor really pushed other vaccinations. I am curious if these are necessary for an indoor dog. He only goes outside to potty, for walks, and car rides, any other time he is in the house. I don't really like the thought of vaccinating him for something he will probably never get. I did vaccinate the cats, not because I agree with it, but because I brought a stray and an outdoor cat into the house with a cat that has always been inside. I just didn't want to spread anything that could be prevented. The stray I got from my friend was very sick when I got her, and after her antibiotic course I vaccinated her.

I guess what I am asking, is how important is it to vaccinate a puppy against diseases others than rabies and parvo?

What vaccines are recommended to an individual pet depend on many factors: what kind of exposure to disease does the animal have, what diseases are common in the area, what kind of stress factors are present etc. When one considers the multitudes of vaccine types and combinations and the many different situations dogs & cats live within, it is not too surprising to find that almost every veterinarian recommends a different group of vaccines. The best advice is to hook up with a veterinarian that you trust and go with their recommendation. If you wish to determine what shots you want on your own. Also Keep in mind most vaccines help bring up immune antibodys, with these develop a healthy immune system over years of life. We don't make much if any profit on each vaccine sold, I push the vaccines to help the pet avoid my place of work until he does something silly like jump off the roof, or cut his leg off or, eat a dirty mailman, and well you get my point.

Okay, so I will ask him what he is recommending. I give them to my cats myself for cost issues. Multiply vaccinations x3 cats and you come up with a fortune. Is it really okay to do that, is it the same stuff you guys give? I have spent close to $300 at the vets in the last 2 months on my puppy boy and today another $40 at the groomers. He is becoming almost as expensive as my 13 yr old daughter.

I don't even want to tall you what I spent on my 10 yr old dogs root canal, extraction and fillings! I know pets are expensive, they are part of your family now and it comes with certain responsibilities. I know where I live the county offers discounted vaccines. Also try your local spca may offer a low cost clinic

Financial responsibility isn't a problem, hence the $300 in two months at the vets office. That included 2 visits, rabies, registration, Parvo, Parvo Booster, test for worms, heart worm test, nail clipping, cleaning the anal glands (or whatever they are), 3 months worth of Frontline for him, and 2 months of Frontline for 3 cats, Heartguard, Hook worm med... lol I think I covered it all. Then $40 at the groomer today for a bath, trim, and blow dry.

I am just hoping to save money where I can. If the vaccinations you can give at home are the same ones the vet gives, then I would rather do them myself.

I don't see a problem with that ask your vet the proper dosage to give and space them out a little and you should have no problem. I can beat you in the vet bill department!

I always break down and end up getting all the vaccinations and meds the Vet recommends, but I can't help but feel like I am getting a shake down when I visit. Last vet visit was $600 for my two dogs. Cat is due in August - can't wait to see that bill.

Prescrip dog food. $45 bag X2 x 12months each dog needs a diff prescrip.
dental work for 1 dog $1600
dog 1 had since 1999 3 surgeries totaling $5600
dog 2 tumor removal $2200
dog 2 eye problems $650 per year meds and specialist consult
dog 1 anal glands and nail clipping $45x12

add regular office check ups and vaccines. It's just insane

oh, we do have dog insurance, it covers about 30% on most things. They do not cover regular maintenance wich includes vaccines.

The ins co name is Veterinary pet ins.

My Mother raised Dogs for over 10 yrs, granted that was over 30 yrs ago now.
She had a very large breeding establishment of over 100 breeding females,
She gave very few needles, Don't ever remember her losing a dog to any disease.
Granted her kennel was all CKC registered and the place very immaculately clean, well heated with lots of room to romp inside and out, Nothing like these kennels you hear of today, seen a lot of kennels in my time and ain't none came remotely close to my mums setup. It wasn't a kennel, it was a luxury retreat for dogs, you'd have had to see it to believe it.

No outside animal was allowed near any of the dogs and people were not allowed free access within the main kennel either, She had people from all over the world come to buy dogs from her, Some refused to buy a dog unless it came from her, (Sal Pal Kennels).

I have had countless Dogs since then and rarely ever gave any needles to any of my dogs, and all my dogs lived longer then most of its breed, one even lived to the ripe old age of 35 before I had to have her put down.

Granted my two dogs now, Both shi-tzu's have gotten all their needles to date,
Just don't want to take any chances anymore, My Dogs mean the world to me,
however I refuse to feed any store bought dogfood, almost killed my Shi-tzu's,
never fed dogfood in my life till these two dogs, stupid of me to think I should change now,
anyway they were lucky and are getting better,

Last dog I had my x shot, when I was not around, (notice how I say X) no warning, nothing just shocked the hell out of me when he so casually said he shot my dog today.
That was 8 yrs ago now, I still dream of my dog and wake up crying every now and again.
I think after experiencing this it has made me more aware of my Dogs and the trust they place in us to keep them safe.

I think getting there shots is a good idea, ask your vet and get what's recommended,
your dog only has you, Do him proud and keep them safe

You can't buy rabies vaccines over the counter, or distemper w/out a DEA Lic.
The 8 in 1 famous farm stuff sold at feed stores make me persoanly a lot of money, because the people that purchace such shots are under the impression its vaccinating there pet, and leads to many more trips to see me instead of the original cost for the trip to the vet for what it needed in the beginning. Is there really a short cut? Yes that's why VETS want to help vaccinate your pets. Nothing in life is free, not even that sign that says free kittens/puppies, they aren't cheap. In the long run taking proper health care on one trip can lead to less unwanted trips later.

1800-usa-pets Pet insurance, just a thought. :)

My yearly vet costs 0.00$
My doctors degree in Vet med. Just shy of 10 years to pay off at 319K and some change. I think you got off cheap.

Everything that DocWill said is exactly true. There are vaccines today for a reason. Drug companies didn't spend tons of money and years of research to "invent" a vaccine for something that doesn't exist. A lot of people think that they don't have to vaccinate for those diseases if they haven't heard of them. There is a reason for that particular one though, it's because at some point it was an epidemic, an outbreak occurred. The reason why we don't hear of most of the vaccines is because we have vaccinated our pets for so long and it keeps another outbreak under control. Like he said it all depends on the area you live. People in California don't use heartworm preventative as much as people do in Texas because the mosquito problem isn't as ramped over there as it is in Texas. For vaccines it's the same thing. If you live in a rural county with lots of cows and wild life, of course your going to have the vets pushing the lepto vaccine. If you live in a noisy busy city you'll hardly ever hear of the lepto vaccine. You could end up spending thousands of dollars treating an infectious disease rather than the $100 that it took to vaccine for that disease. It's better to have the peace of mind that it took you a few dollars out of the whole dogs life with prevention than making it suffer from a preventable disease that caused it's death. Yeah a lot of vets will push new things on the market but that's why you do your own research and figure out what is best for your family member. You wouldn't just go to the doctor if your sick and let him treat you like a guinea pig and script you out tons of meds with out asking questions and doing the research first. The vets are here for a reason and they arnt here to scam you or kill your pets. Treat them like your other family doctor. Listen to them and ask questions. All in all it all depends on what he was pushing to figure if it's worth it or not. At my job we do rabies annually just because of the area that it is. Small dogs that come in and never leave the owners arms we do the 3 year. You need to give your vet the whole holiday in express attitude. ;)

Edit to add: docwill you still don't have to pay for your vet bill so that's not fair so you don't get mints. Neener neener lol

I just basically like to mess with Ladyviper, because holiday inn doesn't have mints, I like hotels that have the light on! Lmao

I see Doc, that is kind of what I was looking at. It is an all in one type deal at Petmeds and KV Vet Supply. The rabies we already have, so I don't need that one again for a year, I think.

He is healthy now that the Hookworm is gone, granted he acted completely healthy with them. So I guess I would be wise to invest more now and maybe not have to invest so much in the future if something should happen. Preventive medicine is always the best, and it sounds like always the cheapest too.

He had an injury from his last owner that she never took care of, and I am worried that will cause problems with age. His foot was ran over by some kid on a motorcycle. The vet checked it out and said the movement was fine, but he didn't x-ray or anything. He doesn't favor it at all, but I am worried about arthritis in the future. I am not sure, but I think it was about 6 months ago or so when it happened. Should I have that looked at in depth, or not worry about it now?

PS
I haven't had a dog in over 13 yrs, so I am really out of the loop.

Your doing fine just keep writing us that check, we will keep the dog healthy, lolol

Check, you guys take checks? Dang, I have been paying arms, legs, and I am moving on to kidneys now... lol

Wow you get the house special rate your Vet must love you.

Very important to vaccinate. You can't guarantee your dog will never be exposed to these diseases. And how much of your life can he share if you're afraid to take him anywhere because he hasn't been vaccinated? No parks? No agility class? No walks on the trail?

Why would you not? What's the down side? Would you rather spend $50 to prevent disease or $500 to try to save them when they're seriously ill?

On home vaccinating; I do it, but I used to be a vet tech. I have also seen a puppy bleed to death from a bungled vaccination by a breeder. So if you're good at it, I'd say do it yourself, but if not, just pay the money and protect your dog properly.

Ladyviper, if you want to save money, why don't you do the bathe, trim and blow dry at home, and order the Frontline online? There are plenty of ways to save money. Even anal glands aren't that difficult to do.

I don't have a bathtub, but I have tried it... Getting him to stay in the shower is difficult, I usually end up in there with him. It is not easy trying to find something to bathe a 55lb puppy in. The cats just get the sink, but my boy def won't fit in there.

The jack asses that owned the house before I did took out the bathtub, I don't know why but they did. My dad and I were going to gut it and start over that summer, but he passed away that March so we didn't get it done.

Ever thought of the car wash and let him ride in the back as you drive thro? OK bad idea same fee as the groomers. I tried