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Veterinarians sometimes ask me, “Can I give a half dose of a vaccine to small breed dogs?” But more often they say, “An owner wants me to give their small dog a half dose of a vaccine because they are worried about adverse effects. Should I do that?

The short answer

I’ve written a lot in general about the risks of rabies and other infectious diseases from imported dogs. However, we have to remember that borders are political, not biological, and that rabies (like certain US presidents) doesn’t respect such borders, whether they’re between countries or between provinces. 

Whenever we move animals or people, we risk

If I asked 100 random people on the street “should we be giving antibiotics to healthy animals?” I’m pretty sure most or all of them would say “no.

That makes sense in a lot of ways. We should save antimicrobials to treat sick individuals (especially people), and we shouldn’t use antimicrobials in

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Recently, the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) designated leptospirosis vaccination to be a “core” vaccination in dogs. That means it’s recommended for all dogs. I’ve had a lot of veterinarians asking questions about this, since traditionally leptospirosis vaccination has been positioned as “optional” based on an individual dog’s risk of exposure.

I’ve considered this