[malluver1005]

I mentioned earlier in a thread that Aspen and I are going to Canada to visit relatives. I know he needs a health certificate, but is that all...? Some vets have recommended Lyme and Giardia vaccines, but I said no because I didn't know whether they are really necessary...

He just had his 3 year rabies in October 2009. As well as the DHLP and Corona.

 

[chowder]

We just took Rocky and Chelsy on two 30 day trips. The first one went across the top of the US thru North Dakota, to Oregon. Not exactly into Canada but close. The second one went along the southern US thru Texas and New Mexico within sight of the Mexican border.

The only vaccines they have are the rabies and Rocky has his puppy DHP shots that he had at 4 months with one booster at 1 year that I was talked into. I don't give him the Lepto shot. I have never given him any other vaccines (and I've never gotten the flu shot and have never gotten the flu!). The only problem I encountered with either one was a severe case of diarhea that Rocky got in California that took a week to clear up with pumpkin and kaopectate. I have no idea what caused it but he got better just fine.

We hiked all over deserts and mountains and he saw lots of coyotes and wild animals and never caught anything. I'm not sure what, if anything, there would be in Canada that isn't in the northern US but I suppose you could check with the Canadian Government website about any required vaccines.

When we lived in Vermont we saw a lot of dogs that camped and hiked where I worked and the only ones that I saw that got sick from Giardia were ones that had something else wrong with them. You can try to keep Aspen from drinking out of streams but Rocky is always drinking out of ditches and puddles around here and there's not much I can do about it. I personally made a point of not drinking directly out of the streams in Wyoming but I let the dogs do it because they are dogs! As far as Lyme disease, I think that is mainly in the Eastern US. You can put the Frontline on him and do a nightly tick check like I do here in the south. I'm not sure about the vaccine for that, it's not one I've ever researched or have given my dogs. Tick's are a constant thing that we live with here so I just check for them and pull them off and don't worry about it. If I were you I would research the vaccine and talk to the vet about the dangers of the vaccine versus the odds of the disease. I have a theory that since my dogs eat so well and are not over exposed to vaccines and medications, they have a healthier immune system. They are also exposed to woods, fields, and basically the entire United States so I'm hoping that builds up their immune systems also. It is probably too late for Chelsy since she is 13 and already has allergies really bad but I started this with Rocky at 8 weeks old so he is in really good condition and I have high hopes for his health and longevity.

Have fun in Canada......I really miss snow.

 

[malluver1005]

We just took Rocky and Chelsy on two 30 day trips. The first one went across the top of the US thru North Dakota, to Oregon. Not exactly into Canada but close. The second one went along the southern US thru Texas and New Mexico within sight of the Mexican border.

The only vaccines they have are the rabies and Rocky has his puppy DHP shots that he had at 4 months with one booster at 1 year that I was talked into. I don't give him the Lepto shot. I have never given him any other vaccines (and I've never gotten the flu shot and have never gotten the flu!). The only problem I encountered with either one was a severe case of diarhea that Rocky got in California that took a week to clear up with pumpkin and kaopectate. I have no idea what caused it but he got better just fine.

We hiked all over deserts and mountains and he saw lots of coyotes and wild animals and never caught anything. I'm not sure what, if anything, there would be in Canada that isn't in the northern US but I suppose you could check with the Canadian Government website about any required vaccines.

When we lived in Vermont we saw a lot of dogs that camped and hiked where I worked and the only ones that I saw that got sick from Giardia were ones that had something else wrong with them. You can try to keep Aspen from drinking out of streams but Rocky is always drinking out of ditches and puddles around here and there's not much I can do about it. I personally made a point of not drinking directly out of the streams in Wyoming but I let the dogs do it because they are dogs! As far as Lyme disease, I think that is mainly in the Eastern US. You can put the Frontline on him and do a nightly tick check like I do here in the south. I'm not sure about the vaccine for that, it's not one I've ever researched or have given my dogs. Tick's are a constant thing that we live with here so I just check for them and pull them off and don't worry about it. If I were you I would research the vaccine and talk to the vet about the dangers of the vaccine versus the odds of the disease. I have a theory that since my dogs eat so well and are not over exposed to vaccines and medications, they have a healthier immune system. They are also exposed to woods, fields, and basically the entire United States so I'm hoping that builds up their immune systems also. It is probably too late for Chelsy since she is 13 and already has allergies really bad but I started this with Rocky at 8 weeks old so he is in really good condition and I have high hopes for his health and longevity.

Have fun in Canada......I really miss snow.

Do you have trouble looking for ticks on Rocky, because of his coat...?

What exactly is Giardia and how can he get it...?

 

[MandyPug]

Have his health record booklet on hand (do they have those there?) that proves vaccination for rabies. That's all you need and really most of the time they don't even bother asking when i take my pugs into the states so i can assume coming to Canada they won't care.

If you're coming here in winter don't worry about Lyme as the ticks are pretty much dead, it's been -20s C here so they're all pretty much dead for now. Giardia is your call, it's basically Beaver Fever. If you eat the snow or drink the water that might have wild animal feces in it then you'll be experiencing some painful side effects. So as long as you keep him from eating snow and drinking from streams and lakes you should be fine.

 

[chowder]

Giardia is a little intestinal protozoa that lives in the water and people and animals get it when they drink from mountain streams. If you are healthy you can sometimes just let it flush out of your system and have no ill effects from it. If not, you can get really bad diarrhea from it. It is not always easy to find on a sample when you first have the dog checked so you have to make sure you tell the vet that the dog has been hiking in the mountains. It takes a special medicine to kill, like when a dog has coccidia.....which Rocky had when we first got him. Normally a puppy has no problem with that but we got him from a rescue and changed his food and his home all in the same week so he was stressed.

I check Rocky for ticks by basically feeling him all over like I am giving him a massage. The ticks like to go for the places where the hair is thinner. Mostly I will find them on his ears, inside his back legs, around his face, etc. Almost never in the really hairy places like on his back or tail or in his ruff. My dogs learn to lay down and let me massage them which is really a tick check. Rocky is young so he isn't real crazy about sitting still very long so I do it in stages on the floor while we watch tv at night and then he gets a cookie. Sometimes I do it while he has a chewie bone to keep him busy. We don't usually have a flea problem but we do have a very bad tick problem here. I have woken up at night with a tick crawling up my leg in the bed! You learn to grab it, flush it, and go back to bed without even turning a light on! Growing up in the north it was a whole new experience for me when we moved here but I've learned to deal with it. And we plan on moving out of here as soon as the kids graduate!

 

[malluver1005]

Let's say I do get the giardia vaccine for Aspen, is it a potent vaccine...? I mean, does it have any negative effect on his immune system...? And how long does the vaccine last...?

 

[DaneMama]

Let's say I do get the giardia vaccine for Aspen, is it a potent vaccine...? I mean, does it have any negative effect on his immune system...? And how long does the vaccine last...?

Don't get it. We have offered it at work for a while now and have been weeding it out and discontinuing it because it is ineffective in preventing the disease symptoms in some animals.

Technically the vaccine lasts a year, but read below:

I personally think it is totally bogus. WHY?

Because it doesn't keep your dog from getting the disease (virtually impossible because Giardia are protozoa that are very prevalent in the environment and have to just be ingested to infect a dog). It just makes the symptoms less severe, and your dog still has to be "treated" because he will continue to carry the parasite.

Most dogs will build up a natural immunity to the effect of the parasite, and basically just become vectors of the parasite. They wont show any signs of carrying it, but are able to infect other dogs, people, cats, etc.

Just make sure that you wash your hands and don't let your dog french kiss you, if at all possible LOL :biggrin:

If I were you, just have an updated Rabies vaccination and a current health certificate. It is also a very good idea that you carry all other records of vaccinations with you as well as contact information for your dog's veterinarian just in case you get stopped.

 

[malluver1005]

Don't get it. We have offered it at work for a while now and have been weeding it out and discontinuing it because it is ineffective in preventing the disease symptoms in some animals.

Technically the vaccine lasts a year, but read below:

I personally think it is totally bogus. WHY?

Because it doesn't keep your dog from getting the disease (virtually impossible because Giardia are protozoa that are very prevalent in the environment and have to just be ingested to infect a dog). It just makes the symptoms less severe, and your dog still has to be "treated" because he will continue to carry the parasite.

Most dogs will build up a natural immunity to the effect of the parasite, and basically just become vectors of the parasite. They wont show any signs of carrying it, but are able to infect other dogs, people, cats, etc.

Just make sure that you wash your hands and don't let your dog french kiss you, if at all possible LOL :biggrin:

If I were you, just have an updated Rabies vaccination and a current health certificate. It is also a very good idea that you carry all other records of vaccinations with you as well as contact information for your dog's veterinarian just in case you get stopped.

OK, so we are all set then! We leave this Friday around 5am...

Thanks everyone for the info! :smile:

 

[RawFedDogs]

Let's say I do get the giardia vaccine for Aspen, is it a potent vaccine...? I mean, does it have any negative effect on his immune system...?

All vaccines have a negative effect on the immune system. The fewer you give, the better.

And how long does the vaccine last...?

For life.

 

[malluver1005]

All vaccines have a negative effect on the immune system. The fewer you give, the better.



For life.

I kind of had the feeling of less is better. That's why I was a little hesitant on giving giardia. Now that I know this info, he's not gonna get it!!

 

[whiteleo]

I live on the canadian border and they only require the rabies vaccine to cross the border with your pet. Just have a signed vet certificate showing the date he recieved it and when it expires, along with his tag.