I just got a response back from the vet. They are aware he received one prior, but are still recommending a 4th.
This was their response “We usually recommend 3-4 DHPP vaccines. Lately the recommendation has been 4 because we are starting to see resistance with Parvo, especially with Dobermans, Rottweilers, Shepherds. They seem to have higher incidence of Parvo.”
That is correct and not at all an uncommon suggestion. Your Vet is trying to help you make darn sure your Doberman is protected against Parvo. It could also very well be that your particular Vet has noticed an uptick of Parvo cases in YOUR particular area.
Had a Vet / breeder of mine explain the same thing to me over 15 years ago about how Dobermans were more susceptible to Parvo than many other breeds and about how it does no harm to err on the side of caution.
Every Doberman I have had since that talk has / had received 4 rounds specifically for the Parvo vaccination reasons. Have never experienced any adverse reactions due to any of those shots thus far and have never had a Doberman come down with Parvo either.
Not sure if you know anyone that has ever experienced Parvo but you may want to look into it. It is nothing to play with.
Something else to consider as well - Your dog is not fully protected the minute after it gets that last shot. It takes a week or two AFTER that last shot for their body to fully develop those antibodies. My general rule of thumb is 2 weeks
after the last round I consider them 'safe' to be out and about in public.
I generally fall into the camp that is very much against 'over vaccination' and very much pro titer testing and such but that is with respect to adult dogs. A puppy has almost no antibodies at all built up yet. We got to protect them until they are ready.
Rits mentioned taking him to stores and him riding in the basket so I feel the need to share an experience I had doing that with my current girls when they were pups.
Didn't want them walking on potentially nasty floors before they were fully vaccinated but didn't want to leave them in the truck so thought it would be ok to put them in the basket and let them ride along with me while I did my shopping. Was all fine and good until I got back out to the truck and went to go open the truck door to start loading it up - One of the girls got impatient (was likely my dog Patience but can't remember for sure) and she took a leap out of the basket as soon as she saw the truck door open up. Damn dog face planted in the pavement of the parking lot right on her snout. Busted her chin / blood everywhere. I darn near had a heart attack thinking she knocked all her darn teeth out (she didn't).
The dog shook it off just fine and recovered with no problems in short order but damn that freaked me out seeing her jump out like that and then face plant like she did. Would never, ever do that basket thing again. If they are not old enough to walk around on their own due to shots or whatever - they can wait in the truck until they
are old enough.
To this day I still feel like an idiot for not doing a better job of making sure that accident could not have happened in the first place. I honestly just never thought about something like that even happening because it had never happened before. I hate learning the hard way from my own mistakes.
This would be me if I was a lady and had a Doberman puppy not finished with the shots yet -
