For those of you with dogs...

[MouseMadness]

OK, so we have always gone to the Fort with the dogs. However, we lost our Daschund 3 years ago and our larger mixed breed just this past January.

Happy News! We have just acquired two new mini longhair Daschunds

So, they have their regular shots/rabies vaccines, but I am questioning the Bordatella. I know if I boarded them I would need it, but they will be in our TT the whole time. I don't plan on letting them use the dog park (too young) and will probably walk them just in the loop right outside the trailer.

Now, do I still need the Bordatella? Do they check that for dogs staying at the sites? I would rather not get that for them (they are still young 16 and 18 weeks now) but I would hate to go down there without it and it be a problem. And truly, we will be keeping them away from other dogs...no offense to anyone and their canine babies but I don't want the risk of picking up ANYTHING.

We have always camped with the dogs outside of DW too, and other campgrounds don't (from what I remember) require Boardatella...just rabies and such. Of course, our older dogs were always current on Boardatella because we would usually end up kenneling? them at least once a year for a vacation that they couldn't go on...

Does anyone know the rules on this...like I said, I checked on allears.net and they only talk about Boardatella for boarding...any thoughts?? Thanks

BTW, we will be down there in 2 1/2 weeks

 

[BradyBz12]

Congratulations!! I love long haired Dachshunds.

They don't check for Bordatella if you're not boarding. I think the only thing we've been asked for at check-in is rabies certificates, but we bring all their records, just in case.

Your dogs are still quite young, and we don't like to over-vaccinate our dogs either. If you don't think there's any chance that you may need to board them at any point, you should be fine without the Bordatella.

You might also want to check out THIS THREAD for some local vet info to keep on hand, just in case.

Because your dogs are so young, I'm not sure if you'll want to use the dog park or not. The good news is that we've found that most people pick up after their dogs in there, but unfortunately not all. I don't blame you for not wanting to take chances with your new babies.

Have a great trip!

 

[freshlybarked]

Congratulations on your new babies. We bring our two dogs with us and have never been asked for any paperwork upon checking in. We only boarded them once and did have to have everything, including Bordatella. They will be fine as kennel cough, the reason for the bordatella shot, is required boarding situations where dogs are in close quarters, shelters, kennels, etc. You should be good to go if they are just with you or being walked.

 

[SandrA9810]

I have only been asked to show the paper work when boarding, I've never had to show paperwork when staying at the campsite. Kari's parents have two dogs, and one is about 14 years old. She's definatly showing her age, but doing the yearly shots really physically affected her, so they no longer give her any shots. The second dog, she's about 5yrs or so and she's kept up on her yearly shots. But they've never had a problem with bringing them into the fort, and both dogs are walked near the RV.

I've never had a puppy, so what age do they generally give those shots??

 

[jriae2000]

You didnt mention it but make sure they have their PARVO shot. It only takes on puddle of urine for them to walk through and you may loose them. I loved our minis but had to give them to fam. w/o kids. They got very protective of mom and dad when our children were born. We still see them now and then but miss them very much.

 

[BradyBz12]

Excellent point - Parvo is absolutely critical for young pups!

Up here in the Northeast we get a lot of people bringing in truckloads of puppies from other parts of the country, and there has been a HUGE problem with the transmission of Parvo.

It's gotten so bad that many New England states have now enacted strict import and quarantine laws for all dogs coming in, and some transport people/companies are instructed to not let any dogs out of the truck en route at any point.

And sadly, the recovery rate for young dogs that contract Parvo is quite slim.

 

[Wistful_Thinking]

Let me start by saying I am not a Vet. And based on your concerns I would talk to your personal Vet about this. That said....

Is there a reason why you would not want to innoculate for Bordetella? You can vaccinate very young puppies (3-4 weeks) and they are protected within 3-4 days.

I am with jriae2000, personally I would be more concerned with Parvo. It is a horrible horrible disease. The immunization/vaccination effectiveness is based on the maternal antibodies in the puppies blood (which protect the young puppy). There is a time when the maternal antibodies are too low to provide protection against the disease, but too high to allow the vaccine to work. This is the period that puppies are most susceptable to Parvo. The older they are at the time of vaccination the better they respond to the vaccine.

 

[MouseMadness]

Thanks for everyone's info. so far. Yes, they have had all the puppy shots (even the parvo one...I'm not sure what it's called or how many) but the only thing they haven't gotten is that Bordatella.

Reason is, I just think they are so little and if they don't necessarily need it, why give it to them? Of course if I did ever need to board them (which I am sure somewhere down the road I will) then I can get it...but if it isn't really necessary right now, then why do it?

 

[BradyBz12]

I would agree with not giving unnecessary vaccines - particularly to very young, very old and dogs with compromised immune systems.

Many studies have shown that the vaccine protocols drug companies push with vets result in most of us way over-vaccinating, or vaccinating needlessly for things that either aren't critical for a normal healthy dog, or are such a low risk that it's not worth the risks associated with the vaccine itself.

I was just having this discussion with a friend this week. The last time her dog got Bordatella (a healthy 6 year old border collie) he actually GOT Bordatella and was sick for a solid week+. Since he's never boarded and is generally healthy enough to fend off a case of Bordatella if he picks one up, she will not be giving that vaccine again.

For our own dogs, we prefer to titer to check antibodies present in our dogs and only vaccinate for those diseases they are at risk for when needed. The only exception is rabies. That's regulated by state law and there isn't any legal, easy way around it.

Oh, and I'm not a vet either, and you should certainly consult your vet if you have any question about these things. But keep in mind that many vets just "go with the program" and are either just looking to pad their own profits or just don't bother to question what they're told by the drug companies. Not meaning to slam any vets here, but I've had a lot of experience with a lot of bad vets (incl. one that killed our dog during a routine procedure) and it's taking me a long time to find one I trust and isn't always trying to sell me something.

I am actively involved in a rescue group where some of our volunteers are or work with vets, and who generally research/share a lot of information and research on this stuff, so we talk about it a lot.

 

[mdoc]

We took our puppy last spring, and the only time we were asked for proof of immunizations was at the kennel the first time we took him. When we checked in at the campground, they knew the puppy was with us and did not ask about bordetella or any other immunization.

 

[Shan-man]

I would personally feel safer knowing that should something arise and we needed to board the dogs they would be clear. No one knows what the day may bring and it is better to be safe than sorry.

 

[m1tchells]

We just automatically include the Bordatello shot with all our dogs annual shots...just in case. We never plan on boarding her, but if we had any type of emergency, that would be one less hassle at that moment.