I have an 8 week old black lab male who has had a 6 in 1 vaccine and one round of dewormer. The guy I bought him from was telling me how much cheaper it was to order your own vaccines as opposed to taking dog to vet. Can someone advise me on a schedule of which vaccines to give when? Heart worm prevention? Wormer? Rabies?

Combo vaccines are given every 3 weeks, usually 6,9,12 and 15 weeks old. You can get them at feed stores/ co-ops. Only problem is how they have been handled. If they didnt get put in the refrigerator in a timely manner and got to warm then the vaccine is no good. If the vet does your vaccines on his schedule and your dog gets sick, the vaccine company will pay the tab, doing them yourself you are on your own.

You can't buy Rabies, it has to be given by the vet clinic. The dog has to be at least 12 weeks old. Dewormers can be purchased over the counter or even at your vet clinic to give yourself. Find something that does hook, round and whipworms.

Heart worm prevention is usually started around 4-6 months. Unless you use ivomec, then you are supposed to have a prescription for any of the other products from your vet. Some online places wiggle through doing that somehow. Some vets will write the script and some won't.

Let me know if you need anything else.

Tractor supply sells vaccines. I have had good luck with them. Usually vets or animal control put on a clinic once or twice a year for rabies shots in the bigger cities.

I couldn't have said it better myself. I had a close friend that lost both of his labs to the big C in less than a month. He bought a puppy from a guy "who does it all himself". Dog comes up with severe Parvovirus. Can I prove that the dog came down because of faulty practices or vaccines? Nope. Can I prove a shot was given? Not post exposure. Do dogs taken to the vet get diseases the are "protected" from? Absolutely. A lot of it has to do with the misconception of what vaccines are and how they work. I can write a novel about it, and if someone likes that I will. My point is, yes if a vet gives the vaccine it is stood behind by the vaccine manufacturer and they will help with treatment if that dog becomes ill with a disease it's to prevent.

I will give a disclaimer that I am a veterinary professional, so obviously I am biased. But there is a reason we go to school 7+ years, and it damn sure ain't the money.

Iam kind of on both sides of the fence on this. I give all my dogs their 9 in 1 shots. puppys 6,9,12,and 15weeks, and my grown dogs get one every spring until they are 5 years old. Ive never had any problems, but as stated, if I did i wouldnt have a leg to stand on as far as any litagation. Its a risk I choose to take. As far as heartworms and intestinal worms I bite the bullet and use Trifexis. 8 dogs equals about $125-$130 per month, or about $16 per dog. I know some sad stories with self administered Ivermectin in dogs, and thats a chance I choose not to take. All mine get an annual checkup at the vet after hunting season.
I dont think its anything wrong with doing things yourself to help your dog(s) (just like we dont take our kids to the doctor everytime they sneeze). I think knowing when to get your dog Professional care is imperative. Maybe our resident vet here can give us some more info on when we need to get our dogs to a Vet.

I agree with the fact that it is, and should be 100% up to the animals owner what vaccine, where they get it, and who administers it. The only concern I have is that 90% of the people I have seen that do it, have absolutely no idea what they're doing and the risks associated with doing so. I thoroughly commend you in taking the dogs in to get yearly physical exams. I wish I could get everyone to do it. I see cases almost weekly where the outcome could have been much different if it had been caught earlier.

I however am 100% against antibiotics being for sale to the general public, and it's simply about antibiotic resistance. I am also against the attempts to mandate that veterinarians script out all of their prescriptions to pharmacies. 99% of prescriptions to pharmacists are for human medicines. Many of the protocols for treatment of animals are much different (dosages, intervals, etc) than humans, and I've seen pharmacists assume we meant what they're use to and change the dosages without consulting the vet. Many drugs we use are FDA approved for use in animals, and it is illegal to use a human drug to treat based solely on the basis of cost. There's a lot of technicalities involved in the law but that's the basis. WalMart and all the big pharmacies want to get involved into the vet industry and get it monopolized so they are the sole provider of products to pet owners. That Trifexis you're getting for 16 bucks a dog is gonna go to 30. They have much more money than the companies backing veterinarians, and put out propaganda pushing that the reason vets are against it is because it takes money out of their pockets. Margins on prescription drugs are pretty minimal.

I'll get off my soapbox. I am always open to questions, and will help in any way I can.

Iam good friends with 2 vets, so I hear the same concerns you have. Iam with you on the antibiotics also. Penicillin, amoxicillin, etc etc etc isn't the cure all end all drug that people think they are. The whole pharmacy thing is big government lobbyists BS. Case in point I had a dog that found out what a porcupine was out west several years ago. He was treated at a local vet clinic, they gave me(him) a scrip for Tramadol for pain. Wal Mart pharmacy tech wanted to know why a 3 year old was given a scrip for 10 50mg Tramadol. Didn't bother to look or didn't know what DVM stood for. Anyway got the meds after talking to the pharmisist. I kept the bottle, it's got the dogs name then my last name on the label. What a bunch of goof balls!

Find a good vet and stick with them. We use a vet in Millbrook, that we trust and has fair prices. My .02.

I use Zimectrin gold, whole tube in 35cc of water one cc for ever twenty pound of dog for intestinal worms. Ivermectin one tenth cc for 20 pound of dog for heartworms. Permethrin and bayer complete insect for flea and ticks. This routine was verified by our local vet.

I have been raising registered labs for years and always take them to the vet for their shots. The new owner is provided with a shot record book in their new puppy pack showing what was given and the dates they were taken. It is more expensive but I feel like I'm providing the most healthy pup I can. I also take my personal dogs in once a year for checkups and shots. I have $3000 to $5000 dollars invested in a dog so spending $75 to help keep them healthy and at the top of their game is a bargain.

Dogs do not need so called booster or revacinaions every year. The more crap yu put in your dog the bigger cance if shortening its,life nd risking it,health and othe problems. all they need is the set of 3 puppy shots. The only shot that has to be readministered is rabies every three years. vets and booster shots are a cash cow. Don't believe it, get your dg tested by way of a titers test. Anout 40.00 at your reputable vets. I have doxies who have not had anythng but ranues ater they finishd there puppy shots and they are upwards of 16 years ofcage with some of them nd the level of protection shown by a titers check is still 100% . Same with bordetella shots. Its a cash cow. It takes 2 weeks to become effective so you go to the vet, get the shot then carry your dog to be boarded. Most borders require this bordatella shot. But they are boarded and back home before the shot is effective. Vets,now this but they are not ling to givecaway thee secrets, like the booster shots being a cash cow. Same or Lepto. It can be deadly to a doxie or ither small dogs. There us only 200+ strains if lepto but the lepto shot only covers 2 strains. Not really good odds and besides all animal urine and dropings do not contain leptospirosis. Use a topical heartworm preventative that also contains a flea and tick preventive. These preventives also kill all internal parasites. Only way dogs get tapeworms is through fleas. So flea,prevention does away with tapeworms. Dogs in Alabama really need to be on heartworm and flea and tick preventatives 12 months of the year. Give Advantage Multi a try. It covers it all. consiering it does it all and there is nofurther need to yse flea and tick killer it actually comes out cheaper in the long run. never had heartworms on any of our dogs and been flea free for over 15 years now. We have 20 dogs total and have yet to find a tick on them. Once wirmed as pups and started on Advantage Multi we have not gad any with worms.