vax during gestation

Question
QUESTION: I am looking for a second opinion.. I finally talked my vet into carrying the vaccine for the new parvo strain and want to make sure my dog and pups will be protected, she just got it in. We have had 3 parvo cases in clinic in the past 3 weeks and I've done all my safety procedures with 30% clorox and immediately stripping down when I come home but I am still concerned and want to make sure my dogs are protected.  My bitch is 12 days out now and my vet said it's safe to give her the vaccine...but she's never bred dogs ...  I've read of incidences of parvo during gestation contributing to heart defects in the puppies and I don't want that.... it's a "killed" vaccine.... would it be safe to give it at this point?


ANSWER: Hi Linda. I don't know if I can really help you here, but I can tell you my opinions. My opinion is that a pregnant dog should be be vaccinated. Infast, if the dog was bred and her shots were due after she was bred, then I would wait until the pups get their first shots to vaccinate mom. And this is why....vaccines last a lot longer than people think. A lot of people are having titers done to see if the dog actually even needs vaccines, to see if the dog is still protected from it's last shots. If it is, there's no reason to re-vaccinate, it's overkill of sorts. If your dog has ever had her shots, then I would ask for a titer done. If it shows that she is well protected still, I wouldn't do them. I would wait until after the pups were born. I do know that there are certain breeds that are prone to parvo and their owners actually have the parvo shot done every 6 months to help protect their dogs. You didn't say what breed your girl was, so I don't know if she's one of them. Do you work at the vet office? One more thing to consider.....it's super easy to bring parvo home, you can bring it home from the super market, from anywhere and not even know it. Many dogs have been exposed to parvo by their owners, and them not even knowinf they brought it home. If the dog is healthy, and has had it shotas at some point, then most don't come down with it. It's the very young/old, sickly, or dogs that has never had their shots that are prone to it. My best thought here would be to have a titer done. If she needs it, then do it, if not, then wait. Good luck!

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QUESTION: Yes I work at the vet office.... I keep a fresh spray bottle of clorox water in my vehicle at all times and use the clorox wipes on EVERYTHING... I'm probably a little neurotic, but I don't have sick dogs or pups. The bitch is a Staffordshire Terrier...... she is current on her vaccines,..... but my concern was for the new strain of parvo,.. she has never had that vaccine and thats what were seeing now, dogs over a year old, fully vaccinated, with this new strain of parvo.....thats why I was panicing!

Answer
Hi. My answer should have read : a pregnant dog should NOT be vaccinated. Sorry, my fingers get a head of my brain sometimes.

Again, this is just my opinion. I don't like to give anything to a pregnant dog. However, if you feel that this is best for your girl to protect her, then I suggest talking to the vaccines manufact. and ask them if it is safe for pregnant dogs. Then, do some research on it on the net. The thing is, we can carry this stuff in on our hair, clothing, shoes, ect. I know you know that, and we can't Clorox our whole body.:-) My opinion here would be to do what you feel best for your girl and your other dogs. I'd do some quick research on it first though. Most vaccine companies have a number that you can call, I'd call them and look it up on the net. If all things point to it being safe, then give it.