Vaccination Schedule*

*Using Intervet's Progard® brand vaccine

Anyone who has read our book knows about the trouble we had with Parvovirus about five years ago, and how we finally got it under control. In the book we outlined the vaccination program that we had used for about five years, which has worked very well for us and others that we know. However, about nine months ago we had to change our vaccination program again and thought we would mention this for others who live in parvo-endemic areas and might be experiencing the same failure we encountered.

At the time, we had been getting some feedback from a few people who had followed this program carefully and still had pups come down with parvo. At first we chalked this up to possible improper vaccine handling or storage or something like that, until the beginning of 1996 when we ourselves began to experience problems in a litter of vaccinated nine week old puppies and a couple of older pups who had been vaccinated up to 22 weeks of age. Dreading another situation like we'd had back in '90 (the one we wrote about in our book) we immediately did some research and talked to veterinarians in our area and several of them recommended a relatively new vaccine made by Intervet called Progard. Supposedly this vaccine was now the best thing out there, and studies had been done that showed Progard to be #1, with Fort Dodge's Duramune coming in second and the Vanguard vaccine a very distant third. Frighteningly (though this didn't surprise us too much after our own experiences with those vaccines) the same study showed some vaccines apparently afforded no protection at all, even after multiple vaccinations. We switched to the Progard vaccine in February of this year and also changed our schedule somewhat to follow what the manufacturer recommended, which is as follows:

High Risk Situations: (i.e. kennels, animal shelters, etc. where chances of exposure to parvovirus are high) Progard-CPv Parvo shot at 4 weeks followed by Progard-5 or Progard-7 combo boosters every 2-3 weeks until 12 weeks.

Normal Circumstances: Progard-5 or Progard-7 combo shot at 6, 9, & 12 weeks.

We were hesitant to change our program so drastically after it had worked so well for us for so long, but apparently it was not working any more so we went ahead. The problem we were having was stopped dead in it's tracks, and (knock on wood...) we have had no further problems since then. It's a lot easier on us and our pups not to have to vaccinate them every single week, we might add.

We would also strongly advise you limit your pup's exposure to strange dogs and areas where other dogs may have urinated and/or defecated (such as public parks) until he or she is at least four months old and/or has had all of his or her puppy vaccinations. The immunity a pup receives from it's mother's milk at birth protects the pup from disease early on, but also may interfere with vaccinations given. There is unfortunately an unavoidable period of time where the maternal immunity may still be strong enough to de-activate a vaccine given, but not strong enough to fight off an actual disease such as parvovirus if the puppy is exposed. This is why it is important to continue the puppy's vaccination program until an age at which one can be reasonably sure the maternal immunity has worn off, and try to avoid any possible exposure to disease until that time.

Please Note: It might seem very shocking to suggest stopping vaccination at 12 weeks -- at least it did to us, being the problem we have always had has been with overcoming maternal immunity levels (which is why we had to vaccinate so frequently and to such an advanced age) but Progard's CPV strain 154 vaccines are capable, according to their studies, of providing effective protection at this age, even in pups that initially had high maternal antibody titres. Intervet's Progard vaccines have a label claim for the last vaccination to be given at 12 weeks; for any other vaccines, this would be most likely be too soon to stop vaccinating -- additional boosters up until the age of 16 to 22 weeks are advisable. Check the vaccine's package insert or consult your veterinarian.

A while back, we read that Intervet was guaranteeing the effectiveness of it's Progard vaccine to the effect that if a dog vaccinated with the Progard vaccine by a veterinarian (following their recommended schedule) came down with parvo they would pay the vet bill, which was probably a bit of a publicity stunt but does show they are pretty confident in their claims. Intervet will send a packet of information to anyone who requests it (call 1-800-992-8051) which includes copies of the studies they did. Obviously, one always has to take anything like that with a grain of salt when it comes directly from the manufacturer, but the studies are pretty impressive and conversations and correspondence we've had with veterinarians and other breeders, as well as our own experience so far, seem to support their claims. We found a web site that shows some of the charts from Intervet's Progard information packet. This company, American Eagle Pet Products sells the vaccine as well as other dog supplies. We have never ordered from them, but their prices for the Progard vaccines seem competitive.

Rabies

First vaccination is usually between four and six months of age (check with your veterinarian) followed by a booster a year later and then boosters every three years thereafter (some states require a rabies booster every year rather than every three years). Rabies vaccinations are required by law in most states and must be given by a licensed veterinarian.

Annual Vaccinations