Bordatella vaccine not working!

[Guest Anonymous]

Hi,
I was just to the vet and Bailey, mixed breed female dog was diagnosed with bordatella. She was vaccinated in May. I am not sure what to do about it all. She is being treated and all but why didn't the vaccine work? Am I wasting every 6 months on a vaccine that is not effective? If there is any one else this has happened to please share you story with me. Thanks

[Horsefeathers!]

Gwen, I'm so sorry to hear about your sick pooch. I'm certainly not an expert, but I can commiserate with you. I have eight dogs who get their bordatella vaccines regularly. I've tried the 6 month intranasal stuff and the yearly shot, but two of my dogs always, without fail, get kennel cough about once a year regardless and the rest never do, though they are obviously exposed to it. The way I'm understanding is that the vaccine doesn't necessarily cover every strain of bacteria(?)... that it just decreases the odds of them getting kennel cough. Kind of like some people who get flu shots still get the flu. I could be way off base, but that's the way it was once explained to me (or at least the way I took it). Maybe someone with a more technical explanation can help. I can really only commiserate and tell you the way I understand it.

[Guest Anonymous]

Gwen Thornhill napisał(a):

Hi,
I was just to the vet and Bailey, mixed breed female dog was diagnosed with bordatella. She was vaccinated in May. I am not sure what to do about it all. She is being treated and all but why didn't the vaccine work? Am I wasting every 6 months on a vaccine that is not effective? If there is any one else this has happened to please share you story with me. Thanks

This is the kind of thing I think a good vet explains to people so you might want to wonder why your vet did not
anyway
The vaccine works fine for the strains it covers. Unfortunately kennel cough is rather like the human cold in that it has infinite variations due to mutation and the vaccines only cover a portion of the strains out there.
If your dog is regularly exposed to other dogs be it at a show, a dog park, a boarding kennel etc its worth doing the preventative vaccine to limit the number of times your dog gets sick with a 'cold' like virus. Some of them are more hazardous than others and the vaccine I believe in general targets those.

[Horsefeathers!]

I was right? :o


I mean, I was right! :D

[Guest Anonymous]

Unfortunately, some dogs do still get kennel cough even after receiving the preventative, but if you board your dog, you still have to get it for them. It is also my understanding that although it cannot and does not prevent KC in all cases, in most cases it prevents the dog from getting a more serious form, and will get a milder version of KC.

[sixjollydogs]

:( Sorry to hear your dog was sick. I seem to recall a vet telling me that there is a latency period on this vaccine and it does not protect for some period of time...think maybe a couple of weeks.

Perhaps your dog was already carrying the virus.