# Puppy shots: given by the vet or the breeder?



## Harley_chik

Harley didn't come from a very good breeder and I was too naive to insist on vaccination records. I was told that the breeder gave the pups their shots themselves. Harley came down w/ parvo the weekend before he was scheduled to get the next round of shots. TG he pulled through; it was caught early. From talking w/ the vet, we decided 1) either the breeder flat out lied about the vaccinations or 2) the breeder mishandled the vaccines or didn't give them correctly. 

I know many breeders do give shots themselves, but this kind of concerns me. Which is better? I guess taking an entire litter to the vet's office would expose them to disease. At the same time, if I'm going to pay $1500 for a puppy, I think getting puppy shots from the vet is the least a breeder can do. I'm thinking there is less chance that vaccines from the vet will be mishandled or given incorrectly. Plus, if they are given by the vet you get official shot records. Thoughts?


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## Winnow

I would say always by the Vet

If you have a large litter you can ask the vet to come to your house


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## plumcrazy

I'm not a breeder, but I do a lot of foster and rescue and I used to buy the DA2PP vaccinations at our local pet supply store (they have a refrigerator in the store where they keep things like that plus some of their stinky fish food sort of stuff). I stopped by one day to pick up a vaccination for one of my rescue pups (in my state, anyone can give the distemper/parvo multi shot, but the vet must give the rabies) and when I opened the fridge, the horrible warm blast of very stinky air came out!!! :scared: 

When I asked the employee, WTH? She said, "OH... When we came in this morning, everything in the refrigerator was frozen, so we turned it off and must've forgotten to turn it back on." Uhhhhhhhh, *WHAT??????*

So, here I am, ready to purchase a vaccine for a rescue/foster dog and if I wouldn't have discovered the warm refrigerator (I'm sure they turned it back on after I left) I probably would've purchased a vaccine that had been frozen, thawed, made warm and then cooled off again... That was enough to turn me off to buying things out of that fridge forever! 

Now I purchase the vaccines directly from my vet (who packages them with a cold pack) and I bring them directly home and into my fridge (or into the pet) whichever my plans include. At least with my vet I can be fairly certain of how they were handled previous to my purchase of them.

Scary stuff, that...


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## ArreauStandardPoodle

plumcrazy said:


> I'm not a breeder, but I do a lot of foster and rescue and I used to buy the DA2PP vaccinations at our local pet supply store (they have a refrigerator in the store where they keep things like that plus some of their stinky fish food sort of stuff). I stopped by one day to pick up a vaccination for one of my rescue pups (in my state, anyone can give the distemper/parvo multi shot, but the vet must give the rabies) and when I opened the fridge, the horrible warm blast of very stinky air came out!!! :scared:
> 
> When I asked the employee, WTH? She said, "OH... When we came in this morning, everything in the refrigerator was frozen, so we turned it off and must've forgotten to turn it back on." Uhhhhhhhh, *WHAT??????*
> 
> So, here I am, ready to purchase a vaccine for a rescue/foster dog and if I wouldn't have discovered the warm refrigerator (I'm sure they turned it back on after I left) I probably would've purchased a vaccine that had been frozen, thawed, made warm and then cooled off again... That was enough to turn me off to buying things out of that fridge forever!
> 
> Now I purchase the vaccines directly from my vet (who packages them with a cold pack) and I bring them directly home and into my fridge (or into the pet) whichever my plans include. At least with my vet I can be fairly certain of how they were handled previous to my purchase of them.
> 
> Scary stuff, that...


Ooooh...that is NOT good!!! I got a breeder friend to order me vaccines for the last litter, and she shipped them to me special deliver in a cooler with an icepack. Well Canada Post is so amazingly inefficient that they took a couple of days to arrive with the icepack thawed and the vaccine warm, so I threw the works out and will never attempt this again. I have to take the pups for a physical and international health certificate anyway, so I will just get them do it. A bit more money, but better to pay it than spend what I did and toss everything.


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## bigredpoodle

I buy all of my shots and needles and have the vet do everything, I like for the shots to all be from the same lot just in case.. I like the full exam that they get , I feel like if they are gonna have a reaction to the shot I want it to be there and not at home ...
I have the vet do tails and dews too, he listens to their hearts and examines Mom, it reasurring to say the least....


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## ArreauStandardPoodle

We do our own tails and dews to avoid taking three day old pups into a vets office. And I have yet to see vet done tails that are the right length. Too long is okay, you can doctor that. Too short and they can ruin an otherwise beautiful dog by making it look like a bunny. I am terrified of the little ones picking something up at a vets office when they are so tiny and vulnerable. And Mama dog could bring something back into the home on her feet. But, we all have our own thoughts on this stuff.


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## bigredpoodle

Hubby goes in with the vet and helps and they mark where to dock... I go down the street with Mom I cannot stand to hear them.. ...No way could I do that myself....


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## bigpoodleperson

I personally would Never trust Any vaccinations you could buy in the store. Who knows how reliable and trustworthy the brand is. You dont know how long they have been sitting in the warm truck before going into the fridge (or fridge problems like mentioned). You know nothing about them! 

If you can either have the vaccines done by a vet, or pick them up from a vet it would be best. Whats a couple dollars saved through a store if the vaccines are worthless and dangerous?


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## cbrand

I do my own Parvo/Distemper shots so that I am able to control what my puppies get. The vets in my area use bundled vaccines that include up 5-7 different vaccines at once. I do not think this is good for a puppy's immune system. 

Giving the Parvo/Distemper shots is very easy. It is simply a subcutaneous injection. Pull up the skin between the shoulders... pop in the needle... done!

I would do my own tails and dewclaws if I had more experience. Since I am an infrequent breeder, however, I just don't feel like I have enough experience to do it. I might add, though, that a lot of vets don't have a lot of experience either. One vet told me that they don't teach tail docking in vet school anymore and in my own community, so few people breed dogs that a vet could go all year without doing tails on puppies. I make sure that I am right there with the vet when the tails are done so that I can be very, very, very specific about where they are docked!!!!


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## Purple Poodle

I am not a breeder but I do rescue dogs and give my own shots. 



> I personally would Never trust Any vaccinations you could buy in the store. Who knows how reliable and trustworthy the brand is. You dont know how long they have been sitting in the warm truck before going into the fridge (or fridge problems like mentioned). You know nothing about them!


The same thing could happen in a Vets office, they get them shipped just like any other place.

I have inoculated 100+ dogs and puppies in the past 5 years and have only lost one litter of puppies to Parvo, I believe they were all already sick when I acquired them. Only one of the puppies lived, she showed no signs but later had to be put down due to aggression issues.

Anyway I do not see anything wrong with a breeder giving the shots them selves and its easy to keep a paper record of what shots were given to what puppy as the stickers on the vile come off and can be attached to the puppies paper work.


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## bigpoodleperson

I didnt say that i have a problem with the breeders themselves giving the vaccinations. Like Carol said, its easy. I have a problem with the store bought vaccines. I know people who work at say Farm and Fleet. They dont unpack the trucks for sometimes days and then the vaccines are worthless. 

Yes, vets have things shipped too. We have a very reliable provider though. Our vaccines come next day, are still cold on ice and we unpack them and get them in the fridge immideatly. We know how to handle them, and we are about them (unlike stores).


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## Purple Poodle

Never heard of a store not unpacking a truck for a few days. Most deliveries are unpacked same day with in a few hours of the truck showing up. They just don't drop off a trailer and come back later.

I buy all of my shots from local feed stores, they keep all kinds of livestock vaccines on hand.

To each their own and if you trust the supplier then I see no problem with it.


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## roxy25

I used to give my kittens their first shots my self and I would order them from 
http://www.revivalanimal.com/
I never buy store vaccines ( i just don't trust them ) 

I also used to dock the tails my self if we got full tail kittens. I just don't do it any more but I think I would do a good job on my own pups if I had to. 

For new kitten owners I order this 
http://www.upco.com/certificates-of-treatment-pkg-of-10

I also ordered little health booklets/passport from them and I would take the stickers off the vaccines once given to the kittens and stick it on the certificate so the new owners can see I gave them a vaccine. 

Some times if the kittens where older and need their last vaccines I would give shot right in front of the new owners and stick sticker on certificate of in the health booklet. I even gave them a hand written pedigree if they did not want the real papers which was the case with most owners.


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## Winnow

Since the puppies go for there first shot at the same time you do the micro chips and health exam I see no reason to do it myself if it is allowed here.

But I would think that if the pup got sick that the puppy buyers would think that I had not given him the shot and well not be happy with me as a breeder.


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