The pups received their first vaccination today. They have been wormed 3 times so far with Nemex2 wormer, as well. The vaccination was from Ford Dodge, Duramune Max 5/4L which includes Canine Distemper, Adenovirus Type 2, Parainfluenza, Parvovirus and Lepto. In the past we have been cautious about administering Lepto, as some dogs can have an anaphylactic reaction to it and our Aryan did. However, our vet has advised that there is an increase in the Lepto cases they are seeing and we felt it was best to include it again. We keep an eye on the pups after their vaccinations for swelling or respiratory difficulty that would signal the need for an antihistamine. The pups are still taking a swig off mom every day and so have continued to receive immunity through her. Now that they are venturing into the big, wide world, they need their own system.
We give our own vaccinations, except for rabies which must be administered by a licensed vet. We prefer to avoid bringing young puppies to the waiting room of a place where sick animals go! There was one puppy who protested and apparently has a lower pain threshold (or was just unhappy about being held and poked) and that was D'jango. We will see how the pain threshold test turns out on Wednesday, as part of the Vollhard Puppy Aptitude test. In general, I have seen all of them take tumbles and run into things with nary a hesitation and no whiners.
Diablo and Dark were selected for the Car Ride of the Day, and accompanied me to the gas station to pick up the morning newspaper. They rode well, no messes or up-chucks and got to come out and get loved on, so all was well.
When we went to bed last night, Diablo was in one crate in their night pen and Doc was in the other. There was too much room in the crate, and not enough outside and the night was too long; we did have a poop in one of the crates (will have to do DNA or check the rifling to be sure of the culprit!) ....so that may be an experiment whose time has not yet come.
