I have an unvaccinated, ten month old Sheltie/Border collie/Aussie mix, here for about sixty hours, vet appointment tomorrow morning.
I have looked through the various threads and do not see anything about what to do in this situation. Dr. Dodds reccomendations deal with puppies and up, not my situation of a ten month old.
Rabies by law, yes. ( I am in Michigan) I am pretty sure i will hear the " Parvo" or "distemper" or whatever is rampant in my area. I know that the opinions vary greatly, i don't need huge arguments, just personal opinions so i can make a decision that best fits the circumstances here. As i said, i have been looking through most of the other threads and have a bit of an idea but not with a puppy at this age. I think i would be comfortable using the core vaccines---which variants? I already have one suggestion of killed DHLP parvo, then a month later rabies, only if she is healthy. I'll know more after her initial checkup.
Thank you all for your time
Respectfully,
ken

Well, if you want to do titers instead, you could have the vet run them for parvo and distemper. If the pup shows antibodies, you could skip those vacc's entirely.

I would not do any other vacc's, other than rabies. JMO...

way to go being careful! I had an awwwfull experiance! my pup had to get his shots in order for the vet to allow him to travel by cargo to us. 5 days later he was sick. long story short...

1 week no eatting
vomiting diareah (some blood here and there)
depressed
ER visists over night stay at the vet ( only cause i know him pretty darn good)
tests all negative for anything and everything viral
3 sets of x-rays
Opened him up to make sure his intestins didn't telescope
wont even talk about the cost
and they finally just sent him home on an IV to die. Neither vet i went to had ANY idea what was wrong and still doesn't. he slept in our bed next to me just so i could do somthing if he stopped breathing..it was really really bad! He's a little fighter and pulled through ok..back up to par and is again a hand full. Please please please do as much research as you can before you vaccinate. oh...and my pup was only 9 weeks old. he is now 14 weeks and I will never vaccinate him again (except rabbies becaues of the law) You can also increase a dogs imune system with echanatia. just a couple drops in every water bowl. also garlic is amazing too..and if you are ever worried about parvo (which is about as common as an adult getting chicken pox..it does happen but not often) look into parvaid online and get a kit just in case. It is a organic all natural treatment for parvo..and i do believe they have somthing for distemper as well. also here is the link from leerburg's info on shots..i think i remember it saying somthing about type of shots to give and types not to give (if you are to give them at all)
http://leerburg.com/vaccinosis.htm

Since I understand your new young dog has never been to the vet, there would be no antibodies to titer. (although I and our holistic vet are big fans of titer testing in the future to avoid unnecessary vaccinations.)

I like your plan of rabies (because you have to), and a Distemper + Parvovirus combo, but spread the two out by a month. I see no need for any others. I never board my dogs so we don't give bordatella.

 Quote: Tracy Collins

Since I understand your new young dog has never been to the vet, there would be no antibodies to titer.

How come?

Has anyone ever seen any articles about vaccinating an older puppy like this?
I really am leaning toward just the rabies, fluctuating about my feelings about Distemper + Parvovirus combo.
She has an appt in the morning to check overall health, heartworms, worms, etc. She is intact and dripping blood so i will not get any shots until she is health cleared, not in heat.
She is basically a wild dog, has only been around children for a time. I put up a post last night under multiple househod dogs. She is doing nicely in a short time, in her crate as a type, quiet, room by herself. Spent the day on and off charging the mark, trying to figure which treats she likes best.
So far so good.

I may be wrong but, I thought that garlic could be toxic to dogs.

 Quote: Michael_Wise

 Quote: Tracy Collins

Since I understand your new young dog has never been to the vet, there would be no antibodies to titer.

How come?

My understanding is that antibodies are present as a reaction to either exposure to a natural disease or the vaccination for it. That's how vaccines work--they expose the body to a tiny dose of the disease antigen (or a dead version of it.)

Unless this dog had, for example, Pavovirus--or a vaccination against Parvo--there could be no antibody for a titer test to detect.

Once exposed, as in a vaccine, the antibodies that protect against the antigen may be active for several years. That's what a titer test determines--if the antibodies produced from the last shot are still working, or if you need a new vaccine.

But, as Connie likes to say, I'm not a vet.

I gotcha. That's the way I understand it, as well. I just figured that with a 10 month old dog, there might be a chance they had already came into contact with the virus.

I imagine it would be pretty rare for a pup to survive parvo, distemper, or rabies without having ever seen a vet.