Should my puppy get the lyme vaccine? Why or why not?

I was wondering why some people say absolutely not to get the lyme vaccine. What are the problems associated with it?He is a 18 week shih tzu.

The Lyme vaccine can cause an untreatable form of Lyme disease and, like all bacterial diseases, provides short-term immunity and needs to be repeated frequently. It is not recommended at any of the vet schools in the United States. The human Lyme vaccine was withdrawn from the market. And there is one more, very compelling, reason to question the benefit of Lyme vaccination for dogs. There are other tick borne diseases that are much more serious than Lyme, for which we have no vaccines. So even if a very safe and effective Lyme vaccine were developed for dogs, vaccination isn't going to lessen the need for tick prevention. Which to my mind puts tick prevention in the forefront of Lyme prevention, and the vaccine’s risk vs. benefit analysis heavy on the risk side.

If you live in a heavily wooded area, then yes, I recommend it. Here is a site about vaccines:http://www.thepetcenter.com/exa/vac.html

Only get the Lyme shot if your dog is at high risk for getting Lyme disease. The shot is a bit risky itself and if your dog doesn't need it, then he shouldn't get it. Same with Leptospirosis. Texas doesn't have Lepto and there is no Lyme disease in my area. Plus my dog doesn't spend any time in the woods or areas she can get ticks that carry lyme.

I use to use the shots but now they have K-9 Advantic every 3 weeks which my vet says its fine since the ticks and fleas are very bad and i live in a very wooded area.

The Lyme vaccine is recommended if you live in a wooded area where ticks are prevalent. The Borreliosis/Lyme disease vaccine is recommended for dogs that live in an endemic area where risk of exposure to the tick vector is high or dogs that travel to these endemic areas. (According to the Centers for Disease Control). This map will tell you if you are in a high risk area: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/lyme/riskmap.htmIf you ARE in a high risk environment, YES, the Lyme vaccine would be a great preventive measure to take in order to safe guard your dog, and avoid a miserable condition.

The lyme vaccine is not a core vaccine.Meaning it is not essential for all pets only those who are at risk.If you live in an endemic area and your pet will be exposed to ticks its a good idea to vaccinate.Monthly prevention with frontline and advantix is necessary to help prevent transmission as well.Daily tick checks even with the use of a tick preventative is key to preventing the potentially life threatening disease.A few years ago there was a paper published that stated the vaccine could cause damage to the kidneys.This has proven to be false.Its the actual disease itself that does the damage to the kidneys and it should be prevented at all costs.Since you have a lap dog he will not be roaming in the woods or going hunting...I am assuming. So he is not at high risk.If you live in a heavily wooded area I would vaccinate.If he only goes outdoors to pee and poop (in a non wooded area), is covered by frontline,advantix or a preventic collar the vaccine is not absolutely necessary.Merial offers the safest lyme vaccine that does not have unnecessary agents in it. Ask your vet which lyme vaccine they carry.As with any vaccine the Lyme vaccine can cause an anaphalatic reaction. It typically happens when it is first boostered. Merials lyme vaccine is recombinant and lessens the likelihood of a reaction.

Will your dog be at risk?Will he be in the woods exposed to ticks?Are you using some form of tick protection?All of these things come in to play when making that decision.