Puppy Vaccines
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- Published on Thursday, 05 May 2011 13:34
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Q – Two weeks after purchasing our new Bully, Max, from you, we took him to the vet for a booster shot. Our vet recommended that in addition we give him a nasal Bordetella vaccine. Four to five days after receiving the vaccine, Max began to cough for several days. He later developed pneumonia to the tune of $1500 in vet bills. Unfortunately, I chose to take the vet’s advice instead of yours. Thinking back, I remember that you said NOT to give him a Bordetella vaccination of any kind. Our vet said it was just a common Bulldog respiratory issue and had nothing to do with the shot. What is you opinion?
The BIGBULLDOG: In the past, initially each of my Bulldog puppies received a nasal Bordetella (kennel cough) vaccine called Intra Track 3 by Schering Plough Animal Health at 6 weeks of age according to the manufacturer’s recommendations. Fifty percent of the time my puppies developed some sort of cough within 5 days. Of that 50 percent, 5-10 percent would end up contracting pneumonia. Previously, I thought it was just a common Bulldog respiratory issue that happens. I thought I had to expect a percentage of each litter to end up with a cold or cough. I connected it with the administration of the Bordetella vaccine after a discussion with one of my partner breeders.
I went back and forth with Schering Ploughs Vets and they never conceded that their product caused any health issues. Therefore, I did a test study of my own. I gave the vaccine to 16 totally healthy Bulldog puppies and one of my adult Frenchies according to manufacturer’s instructions. What do you think happened? I soon had 16 coughing, hacking baby Bulldogs and one adult Frenchie that I had to medically treat for two weeks. I suppose it is possible that I had a bad batch of vaccines. However, this is the policy that I have adopted: Under no circumstances do any of my puppies receive a nasal Bordetella shot while in my care. The puppy’s new owner and their vet must decide if they wish to give it to their pup. One last thing - since we stopped giving the nasal Bordetella vaccine, our upper respiratory issues have decreased by approximately 90%.
However, in order to publicly kennel your Bully, facilities require your dog to be up to date on all required shots including Bordetella. If you must give Bully a Bordetella vaccine, it has been told to me that injection rather than by nasal application is safer. I have learned from other breeders that if you give it the shot at 4 weeks of age then no problems will occur. Either way, I am uncomfortable administering a Bordetella shot to a Bulldog and I do not recommend doing so.
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