All,

When we spoke with our vet, he seemed incredibly flexible in terms of what shots we should/shouldn't give our pup, since he said it depended on the dog's lifestyle. We told him we intended to take Achilles hiking, so he recommended that we get the Lepto and Lyme vaccines, but he said we did not need the Influenza vaccine. A few weeks later when we went back for Achilles' second set of shots, we mentioned a puppy playdate with friends at the local dog park, and whether or not we should at that point (we figured we knew the answer, but wanted confirmation). He confirmed that we should wait, or try and find an isolated place for the huskies to play, which was fine, but he also said that we should get the influenza vaccine for Achilles if we planned on going to dog parks.

What do you guys (esp those of you who go to dog parks) think about that? Did you get the flu shot for your pups?

Thanks in advance!

I get distemper/parvo and rabies. We follow a minimum vaccine protocol and since the reliability of lepto, lyme, and influenza aren't very fantastic, we stray away and support the immune system instead.

This is the exact protocol I follow (so do many fantastic breeders and holistic veterinarians.).

http://drjeandoddspethealthresource.tumblr.com/post/66693331640/dodds-dog-vaccination-protocol-2013-2014#.UxKx23m4lSU

Thanks for the info Megan! How is the incidence of Lyme disease there? We have already started the Lepto series (as of our last visit), so we'll likely just get the second one in the series so it's finished off. We'll definitely hold off of the influenza shot, then. It seemed a bit much for me, but I wasn't sure what other people thought.

Lyme is prevalent here in the summer. Try natural tick preventives instead.

I did both for Diz last summer, but i don't think i'll do influenza again. We'll see though, it kind of depends what starts going around this year. We go to dog parks and there are dogs everywhere here, so if the vet says something is going around the city, I like to get it done. It's a little different for us though. We really can't avoid contact with other dogs. I will definitely be doing Lyme boosters when suggested, along with preventatives for fleas and ticks. We are about 30 miles from Old Lyme, CT and like to hike, and get out and about during the summer. I know there are some thoughts that the Lyme vaccine is controversial, but I'd rather do that than have Diz get the disease.