In previous posts in this series, I discussed the impact on the occurrence of vaccine adverse events of giving multiple different vaccines to a pet at the same visit or different visits, We also need to consider the impact of giving multiple vaccines at once on overall response to vaccination.
There are some vague
Determining the optimal duration of treatment for infectious diseases in animals is an ongoing challenge. We typically have very little data to guide us, but lots of deeply ingrained habits and dogma about how to do it. The durations used for treatment of many infectious diseases in pets are longer than those used in comparable
This post may look familiar, as it’s a repost of a piece from earlier this year, but it fits really well in this series (and it lets me be a bit lazy for the weekend).
Does Splitting Vaccines in Small Dogs Help Avoid Adverse Events?
The short answer: I don’t know, but probably not
Earlier this week (in part 2 of this series) I covered minimal intervals for giving pets different vaccines (when they’re not given on the same day). This post will cover intervals for giving boosters of the same vaccine, particularly in pets being vaccinated for the first time (I covered boosters for overdue pets in part
TL;DR: There’s no proven premedication strategy that reliably prevents adverse reactions to vaccines; instead focus on patient risk assessment, appropriate vaccine selection, close monitoring, and prompt treatment if an adverse event occurs.
Vaccine adverse events (AEs) in pets are uncommon, but that doesn’t mean their inconsequential. Clients (and veterinarians) worry about them a
Picture this: An owner takes their dog to a veterinarian for routine vaccines. The veterinarian recommends a DAPP vaccine (distemper, adenovirus, parvovirus, parainfluenza), as well as vaccination for rabies and leptospirosis. After some discussion, the owner declines the lepto vaccine, but proceeds with the others. The next day, they call back after doing some reading
Let’s face it, approaches to vaccination in companion animals are based partly on direct evidence, partly on extrapolation from other species, partly on expert opinion, and partly on “this is what we do because it’s what we’ve always done.” The evidence base for much of what we do is incomplete, and for a
I doubt I’ve posted anything here about hairballs in cats before, despite having cats that sometimes leave them around the house, as it’s not really an infectious disease issue. However, Dr. Samantha Taylor, a feline and internal medicine specialist who’s been at the forefront of navigating the new realities of antiviral use for feline infectious
Two separate stories regarding Salmonella contamination of unrelated pet products have been in the news lately.
The most recent one was a recall of Salmonella-contaminated pet supplements from Fi, a New York based company (see the link for specific products and lots affected). Details are pretty sparse, but the recall was apparently triggered because
Antibiotics get used a lot in dogs and cats (and other species) that undergo surgery. A lot of the time, the antibiotics are unnecessary. I suspect in many cases veterinarians know it’s unnecessary, but they still use them out of habit, fear of complications, fear of complaints from owners, lack of consideration of the potential
