Are We Overdoing It?

[melissa]

So many of the posts ring a bell & are true . Our dog we had while growing up, was never wormed or flea treated, she did have her vacs I think but not every year. She was never spayed & never had a litter. Agree about the food now being so much more prosessed as our dog ate scraps everyday, I also remember being slighly jealous that my mum would get up early before work to poach an egg for the dog & i had to have cereal prepared by myself! I can remember a little dog called bullet who was allowed to roam & she was always pregnant - she bit a child in the family and was put to sleep, I can remember my mum saying how disgusting to let her keep having litters & they never bothered with her so its no wonder she turned on them, she even used to buy cheap slices of cooked meat (brawn i think it was?)- I can remeber her begging outside our house...maybe thats where I got my love of dogs from, thanks mum!

Another thing, dogs didn't seem to fight so much? I can just remeber all the dogs sniffing about each other & no real aggression, maybe I was just lucky where we walked..I had better stop this trip down memory lane be here all night! & no I don't think its essential to worm & flea treat to the letter but I do believe Vaccinations are important...just in case I would feel so awful if they got something, but don't pretend to know enough about not giving them to really comment

[ranirottie]

I worm and de flea my dogs every 5/6 months and I vaccinate for the first vaccine and two boosters and then I stop. I attended a vet seminar many years ago where they said that over vaccinating lowered a dogs immune system and once they had enough vaccine in their system their natural antibodies would take over. One vaccination and one or two boosters was thought to be the optimum amount. I plumped for two boosters just to be on the safe side. I was also told that mixing a dog with another that had kennel cough would let it catch it once and then build up a natural immunity, a bit like the measles/chicken pox parties some mums took their kids to! Ithink we are over cautious these days. x

[safneo]

Many of the same memories as already mentioned. My childhood dog Pip, was born to a local bitch who was always pregnant So much so that the rest of his litter died through ill health, they said calcium deficiency. He only survived because my mum used to bring him over to our house to feed him up (being the runt) and he was fed saucers of milk and tins of chappie He was however totally blind. Pip was like all the other dogs, he was a latch key dog. We lived in a 'close' so he hopped from one house to the other, having a sniff along the way and then round to the back garden and in the gate. I trained him myself with the aid of biscuits on his nose so he could smell them, and he slept with me, sat on the chair with me and followed me if we were going to the fields. He was always at my heels and I looked out for him. The only time he saw a vet was when he developed a skin irritation, (like wet exczema) which he got each summer, and had to have cream. He was never vacc'd or wormed or neutered. He lead a fairly healthy and quite happy life. Only time that things bothered me was when we used to go on holiday and leave him in the house alone with a neighbour coming over to feed and let him out. I hated holidays and used to cry before we went and was always the first to want to go home. My baby went at the age of 15 and a half. Mum had him PTS because of sudden ill health.

Pip, my childhood dog. His mum was JRT x and his dad white GSD. He was size of a small springer. Not as big as he looks in pic.

 

Also, we had a couple of local dogs that we thought were heinz 57. One was another local latchkey dog called Zak that used to chase and hump all the kids. Not good as he was bigger than most of us Now I know he was a lurcher, maybe deerhound cross. The other i now know was a wolfhound. I could never understand why his owners wouldnt let him out to play. We all used to be in awe of his size when he came out of his garden. We used to spy through the hole in the fence to get a look at him.

[zico's mum]

Great thread. I grew up in NZ on farms so our dogs were all working - we as children were not allowed to make them "pets" as they had a job to do.However they used to accompany us as we roamed all over the farm - and neighbours farms too.They all slept in the barns - and believe me they were far warmer in there insulated by the hay bales then we were indoors with no heating.I doubt very much they were wormed - although we have hydatids in NZ so they were never fed raw offal.They all got the top of the milk every morning and like others mentioned lived on table scraps - and there were plenty of those with farm workers living there as well.Another thing I never remember is dogs with skin allergies.I often wonder if dogs living indoors with central heating and carpets has contributed to the massive rise in this?

[EGAR]

Another thing, dogs didn't seem to fight so much? I can just remeber all the dogs sniffing about each other & no real aggression, maybe I was just lucky where we walked..

 

No, you are right it was the same where I grew up but then the dogs were allowed to roam, knew each other, had perfect doggy language due to early and often unsupervised socialisation.

[Alison]

..... a bit like the measles/chicken pox parties some mums took their kids to!

How well I remember those! Being dragged off to play for the afternoon with an infected family and wondering why.

 

I'm so glad that someone's brought this up! I always feel a bit looked at as an "irresponsible owner" for not worming, defleaing and vaxxing my dogs according to "the instructions on the box"

Same here - I'm always open to advice where animal health is concerned but haven't found anything to change my mind on these issues so far. It comes down to so many factors doesn't it? Like the terrain your dog roams (or doesn't), levels of socialisation with other dogs, whether they feast on rotting rabbit carcasses, eat the faeces of other animals and so on.

 

Like Billy's Mal, none of my pets have been very attractive to fleas - or ticks - for some reason, ergo that must reduce the risk of at least certain types of worms too.

 

Mine is a part and part approach; some preventative measures and some "waiting for it to happen then do something". I only delouse a pet when I see evidence of parasites. I have honestly in the last 20 years (3 dogs and 1 cat) only ever needed to spray on 5 occasions during all that time. I think anyone who knows me can imagine how much fuss and grooming my pets get so it's not as though I'm missing evidence like flea poo or anything. I would rather treat as and when given the essentially toxic nature of the chemicals.

 

As for worming, I do do that preventatively and do it with whatever the vet recommends (Drontal for as long as I can remember) every 8 months or so. Vaxxing is something I just personally feel I should do given that Sol spends time where there are wild rats and I fret about Lepto. My vet charges shocking prices but I do trust him; he might rip me off at the till but I feel perfectly confident that he'd never advocate an unnecessary treatment or preventative in order to make money out of me. I've sought his expensive pearls of wisdom regarding my approach to the parasite/ vaxxing issues and he's happy that it's right for my pets.

 

One of my oldest friends, a lifelong (and very caring) dog owner, takes a completely different view and I don't think his 15 year old Lancashire Heeler has ever been to the vet at all. My friend - a GP - believes that the side effects of these things may be more dangerous than the consequences which he deems unlikely in any case. His dog is never wormed, deloused or vaccinated and is very fit and well. My sister on the other hand has a JRT who is constantly hunting and really does need to be Frontlined regularly. Sis worms every 3 months on the advice of the same vet I use, different advice because he knows the differing lifestyles of the dogs involved.

 

These things are very subjective and I think we all worry at times that we're either too lax or completely OTT.

 

Just by the by, does anyone know if a dog eats cow/sheep/horse manure, might any worming treatment that that animal has received affect the dog?

[JACKYSIAN]

Great thread!!

 

Growing up our dog (Tinker) was a right sod!! He roamed where ever and when ever he wanted, I've no doubt there were many Tinker clones running round as well!! He was vaccinated as a pup, ate Chappie and scraps and certainly not wormed or de-fleaed! He lived until he was 17 and I think the only time he went to the vets was when he got run over by a car!! Didn't stop him breaking out of the garden a week after his op!!

 

As we got older my parents handed over the animals welfare to the kids, we had to walk the dogs twice a day, feed them twice a day and clean up after them (and we had chickens, dogs, cats, rabbits, gerbils, mice and fish...so alot of cleaning!!). We didn't eat until the animals were fed and woe betide us if the dogs weren't walked..come rain or shine!!! I'm sure that's why I'm now obsessive about my dogs walks, my dad to this day even though he's retired walks his 2 at 7.30am and 4.30pm sharp...you can set your clock by his dogs and their routine!!!

 

I don't vaccinate or de-flea my lot now. They all have had 2 years of vacc's and I think that's enough. They do get wormed but only because they eat a raw diet and an awful lot of horse sh*t!! I've never de-fleaed and apart from the occational sheep tick they've never had any need to be done.

[JACKYSIAN]

Just by the by, does anyone know if a dog eats cow/sheep/horse manure, might any worming treatment that that animal has received affect the dog?

 

Any good horse owners ensure that any manure is collected in the 24 hours after worming to prevent re-infestation anyway so any they eat should be fine after the 24 hour period is passed. We keep our lot in the small field after worming so we can easily collect it all. I'd be surprised if sheep or cows were wormed at all tbh!!

[celeste]

I've gone down the titre testing route with mine, Daisy hasn't had it done yet as she's only 2, but appart from Lepto Spud hasn't needed a booster for 3 yrs, he's due next month and I think this one will be very interesting.

[alisonsophieb]

Oh dear now I’m confused.

 

My 2 oldies never had a vaccination in their lives (stayed away from vets they could have been type) and I can count on 1 hand in 13 years how many times I needed through illness to take them to the vet. 3 of mine are due now for their booster, well their late end of December.

 

Googled last night, a couple of different views, 1 was saying vaccinate every 3 years.

 

Interesting someone mentioned about clauses in insurance.

 

6 of mine are rescue therefore it’s in the contract to vaccinate.

 

What about foster dogs coming in from unknown backgrounds ? 1 of mine came in from rescue with kennel cough she did not mix with my 2 oldies but it went through them all. If god forbid 1 came in with for instance parvo how much more at risk are unvaccinated dogs?

 

A couple of summers ago I helped out at a neighbours boarding kennels and used to take 3 of them with me they were ‘kennel coughed’ as it is a requirement of the kennels and I have to say it knocked my akita for 6 for about 2-3 weeks he was under the weather, sick, sneezing ,runny nose.

 

sorry for being a bit dim but with my 2 oldies it was never a worry because of the way they looked they didn’t go anywhere or mix.

 

Oh what to do for the best!!!

 

I often wonder also about vaccinations/wormer/flee treatment being a guaranteed income for the vets.

 

I recently changed my vets and we spoke about wormer and flee treatment and said I look for the offers on line, she explained to me how a small practice couldn’t compete with those prices and gave me a bit of a sob story. But with 7 dogs 9 cats and 2 horses pennies have to be saved where ever possible, and by the size of her stone built farm house and surrounding acres she isn’t doing to bad.

 

[reds]

Just by the by, does anyone know if a dog eats cow/sheep/horse manure, might any worming treatment that that animal has received affect the dog?

 

I must say that I'm always cautious about horse droppings when out on a walk because there is a risk to collies at least from ivermectin based wormers.

[alisonsophieb]

I must say that I'm always cautious about horse droppings when out on a walk because there is a risk to collies at least from ivermectin based wormers.

 

As far as I know it’s only collies that have a problem with horse wormer. My dogs (not collies) run in the horses field and I asked my vet if their was a risk to them she said not . But as my lot adore horse poo I am still careful, just don‘t think it‘s worth taking the risk.

 

[one.eyed.dog]

I really do not know what to do with Lottie this year. Her vaccinations were done when she was a pup and last year she had them all twice again as she was a couple of months late with them. This was before I had her. The booster was due in January but, she has not had it as yet. I don't want to make her ill.

 

I only worm and flea once a year.

[reds]

I really do not know what to do with Lottie this year. Her vaccinations were done when she was a pup and last year she had them all twice again as she was a couple of months late with them. This was before I had her.

 

 

Interesting. I always used to think that if late they would need the set doing again but not so! I was advised by our ob. trainer to have them boostered every 15 months instead of the 12. I left it until about 14 months this time and the vet didn't bat an eyelid. I think 15months would have been absolutely fine, they weren't at all bothered. They used to say that it couldn't be late but not any more - probably the best they'll do compromise wise considering they don't actively talk about the 3 yr thing, money grabbers!

[alisonsophieb]

Interesting. I always used to think that if late they would need the set doing again but not so! I was advised by our ob. trainer to have them boostered every 15 months instead of the 12. I left it until about 14 months this time and the vet didn't bat an eyelid. I think 15months would have been absolutely fine, they weren't at all bothered. They used to say that it couldn't be late but not any more - probably the best they'll do compromise wise considering they don't actively talk about the 3 yr thing, money grabbers!

 

I believe you can go over by 6 months before the need to start from scratch.