Doggie Vaccinations/Medications

Comments

• Greensage

  May 2008 edited May 2008

  With my previous dog, Woodie, I discontinued his Rabies shots at 8 years of age. I flat out refused to continue because I had heard rumors that one of the reasons dogs develop so many subcutaneous fatty tumors as well as increased incidences of blindness in a dogs later years was a result of over vaccinating. I know that alot of suspension solutions are made with Mercury (such as human vaccinations; ie Flu shots) and with Aluminum sulfides. Both of which are known causes of problems. I just could not fathom doing that to him.
  
  Now either I was graced with the healthiest dog in the world due to genetics or I actually made the right choice. At 18-years-old Woodie was neither over weight or under weight, his eyes were crystal clear, hearing completely intact, and he had all of his teeth. I really cannot definitively say why, but I am grateful.
  
  When I moved to this city I contacted my current vet (yes the overly critical one), and I told her I needed her for any future problems because I knew he was in a very geriatric time in his life and I explained the shot situation. She could have refuse but instead agreed that Rabies shots would not do him any good since he was completely a house-member.
  
  When Woodie finally got sick was the very same time that America was having so much trouble with Chinese Dog Products. Ironically, his kidneys started to shut down and he was vomiting after eating. Yes, I was giving him those very treats from China. I am almost certain, as is the vet, that in his condition just prior to getting sick that he should have lived to see 20. She could not believe he was so healthy. Then he was gone.
  
  At any rate, I am fully convinced I will be the same way with Rudi. I will be just as diligent with his diet as with his health needs. I will not subject him to what the Law seems to be a means of registering dogs through vaccinations. I would never hold out on health care or medicines if those were needed, but I will not subject him to unneccessary lifelong rabies vaccinations.
  
  Sorry to seem so opinionated, I just think that there is a correlation to Woodie's fabulously long life.
  
  Ron
  
  Oh and one more thing. I will never trust China ever again. It is not about the people, it is about their Govt. I have been so careful to boycott Chinese products at all costs, both human and animal.
• baanton

  May 2008 edited November -1

  I'm so sorry to hear of your loss of Woodie! Damn greedy capitalists (reformed socialists)!
  
  There are so many perils for dogs and humans in the environment, too. Just today we were wondering if we lost our dog prematurely (age 12 due to cancer) because our neighbor had the Chemlawn service again. Or maybe it was other excesses of questionable benefit like the vaccinations? What could a house dog who is for the most part accompanied on every walk become exposed to that is warranting the intrusion of these powerful meds in his system? Anyway, agree wholeheartedly with your approach. More power to you, and a long life to Rudi!
• tsukitsune

  May 2008 edited November -1

  I'm currently doing a lot, lot, lot of research on the benefits vs. harm of vaccinations. My dogs are so young that I think to get their 3 year vaccines won't be a terrible thing, than we have 3 years to really make an educated call about their future vaccines. ALTHOUGH - having gone through a bout of Kennel Cough this past winter, having the Bordatella Vaccine (if you will be in constant contact with rescue, shelter or other dogs) is not such a terrible thing!
  
  For "Pro" vaccine, I have tons of handouts from my vet.
  Here are some (mostly con) articles I have found and bookmarked:
  Articles on "Vaccinosis" and problems associated with "Over-Vaccination"
  including excerpts from Heartland Central Pug Rescue "When Your Pet's Vaccinations Go Awry"
  http://home.earthlink.net/~texas2step/Vaccinosis.html
  
  Veterinarian Warns Over Vaccination Can Harm Pets
  www.wistv.com/Global/story.asp?S=3408959&nav=0RaPaSJX
  
  Vaccination Issues
  www.katberard.com/hol_vaccination.htm
  
  The PetCenter.com: The Internet Animal Hospital written by veterinarians (6/30/05)
  www.thepetcenter.com/exa/vac.html
• kwyld

  May 2008 edited November -1

  I did all the regular puppy shots for mine along with a Rabies shot at 4 months. I revaccinated at one year with the combo shots and Rabies again at one year. I only vaccinate every 3 years with the DHPP shots and Rabies. I do Lepto once a year because it is very common in Michigan and we see wayyy too many dogs come in that pick it up. I do not do the Bordetella shot, it is similar to a flu shot, there are so many different strains of canine upper respiratory infections, it cannot cover all of them. Word to the wise though, if you take your dog in the woods or near streams or puddles that wildlife are around, you really should vaccinate for Lepto, it is transmitted through wildlife urine and can be picked up from your dog drinking water infected with the urine from an animal with Lepto. Dogs can go into acute renal failure if they get it.
• baanton

  May 2008 edited November -1

  Here's some more from my husband on this topic, based on his internet research. This is long, read and enjoy! Or hopscotch your way through it! Interesting theories, presumably backed by science. Our brother-in-law is a vet, will ask his opinion when he's next back here from Oregon. In the meantime, my husband has gotten Josephine a couple boosters, but actually had our vet recommend against one or two other vaccines that were, in theory, on the docket.
  
  AustinHolistic.com
  Holistic for Health - Holistic for Life
  
  Vaccinations: A Word of Caution for Our Animals – Part I
  
  Efficacy ( Does it Work?)
  Every procedure we do to ourselves or those in our care should be a useful one or there is no reason to do it. This may seem obvious, but bears mentioning, especially in the world of modern medicine. While vaccinations may confer immunity in animals, how effective or useful is it to repeat this procedure every year, as is the standard recommendation in this country today?
  Immunology has recognized for a great many years that viruses in vaccinations confer a long-lived immunity. This is why your physician is not sending you postcards every year to repeat your small pox or polio vaccinations annually. They understand your immune system was adequately stimulated in childhood, and a cellular memory exists in you that will 'wake up' if any future challenges from these viruses occur. Is there some profound difference in animals that makes us think they need to repeat their vaccinations yearly? Let me quote from the experts. The following was printed in Current Veterinary Therapy, volume XI, published several years ago (this is a very well respected, peer-reviewed book that is updated every four years). The authors are veterinary immunologists Ronald Schultz ( University of Wisconsin) and Tom Phillips (Scrips Research Institute).
  'A practice that was started many years ago and that lacks scientific validity or verification is annual revaccination. Almost without exception there is no immunologic requirement for annual revaccination. Immunity to viruses persists for years or for the life of the animal...... Furthermore, revaccination with most viral vaccines fails to stimulate an anamnestic (secondary) response.... The practice of annual vaccination in our opinion should be considered of questionable efficacy...'
  In plain English, that means you are wasting a lot of money (and, as we'll see later, risking your animals' health) without much likelihood that your animal is actually becoming 'boosted' each year. In other words, the immunity that was established in early life persists, and it is that immunity that actually interferes with subsequent vaccinations. It's much like the case of vaccinating very young puppies. If you vaccinate a puppy (or kitten) at a too young age, the maternal antibodies from the mother's immune system are still present, and the vaccine will be thwarted in its attempt to provoke an immune response.
  I had the pleasure to meet Dr. Schultz at a veterinary conference a few years ago. He has done research for many of the companies that market vaccines. It was very interesting to hear his perspective of 25 years in this field. He clearly had not come to this understanding lightly. One most interesting fact was the way that rabies vaccine comes to be labeled. We currently have a 'One-year rabies' and a 'Three-year rabies' vaccine. On the labels, the one-year must be repeated yearly and the three- year must be repeated every three years. The reason behind this is the length of time the experimental animals were studied. At the end of one year after their vaccination, the animals were challenged with live rabies virus, the survivors tallied, and the vaccine marketed. The same vaccine was studied for three years , the data gathered, and this vaccine lot was marketed as 'Three-year rabies vaccine.' Rabies vaccine is so effective in immunizing that there is likely life-long protection. Why then do we vaccinate annually? And why, in light of the understanding above, are we Texas veterinarians required to use the three-year vaccine annually? Unfortunately, we have a law in place that fails to recognize immunological facts. In Texas, all dogs and cats are required to be vaccinated annually against rabies.
  What about the other vaccinations? They are also viral vaccines, so there should be 'no immunological requirement' for repeating them yearly. Also know that none of the others are required by law to be repeated annually. Some are even useless to give at any age, others at any age over one year.
  A lot of what conventional medicine recommends is based on is fear. If there's a 'bad germ' out there that might 'get us' (or our pets), we want to use something to protect against that germ. We've all heard horror stories about dogs dying of Parvovirus infection, so we are admonished to get yearly (or even twice yearly!) vaccinations against this deadly disease. Yet how many adult dogs die of Parvo each year? Ask your veterinarian this question. Parvo is almost always a disease of puppies under one year of age, and very occasionally old dogs who have weakened immune systems from unhealthy living (commercial diets and frequent vaccinations!). Why, then should we vaccinate against it yearly throughout life? Coronavirus also causes puppy diarrhea and vomiting, but differs from Parvo in that it is not fatal. Is it worthwhile injecting viruses into our animals for a disease from which they will surely survive? Dr. Schultz and others feel it is not. Yet this and other non-fatal viruses are in common use in every 'annual (non-)booster' given.
  You might ask why this annual vaccination habit exists. It's a very good question, and one that conventional medicine is examining more and more frequently as time goes on. A recent watershed occurred when a renowned University of California-Davis veterinary researcher and professor, Neils Pedersen, commented on the practice in a very well respected conventional magazine called AAHA Trends (AAHA is the American Animal Hospital Association). 'current vaccine practices are medically unsound. It is time to question the wisdom of annual booster, multivalent products (combination vaccines, the most common being DHLPP for dogs and FVRCP for cats), and unnecessary vaccines. Doing so will return companion animals' immunization to its status as a medical and not an economical procedure.'
  What will get us a lot closer to what we really want (healthy animals who are resistant to all disease) is to focus on raising our individual animals in the way that allows them to do what nature intended: to live freely, happily, and fully alive, with an immune system that responds directly to any challenge that confronts them. In our haste to protect our pets, let's not forget that it's the animal's immune system that protects, not some solution of viruses in a syringe.
  In Part II, I address another aspect of the vaccine question: safety. For now, suffice it to say that if your dog or cat is an adult who has had vaccinations, there is no immunologic need to continue vaccinating annually: the immunity is present from the early vaccines and will not get any better through yearly repetition.
  Read Part II
  About the Author
  Dr. Will Falconer, DVM, enjoys a full-time classical homeopathic practice in Austin, Texas. To learn what Dr. Falconer has been recommending to his clients on all matter of natural health care for years, visit www.Alt4Animals.com.
  He graduated with his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the University of Missouri in 1980 and has been in practice ever since. For the first seven years, he practiced very conventionally, using drugs and surgery to treat animals. Since then, he has gradually changed his practice style and philosophy to incorporate a more holistic approach to health care. He has taken certification training in veterinary acupuncture and veterinary homeopathy, and has received Certification as a Veterinary Homeopath from the Academy of Veterinary Homeopathy.
  Dr. Falconer is a member of the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association, the Academy of Veterinary Homeopathy, and the National Center for Homeopathy. He writes articles for national pet magazines and medical journals, gives public lectures to animal owners, and shares homeopathic case reports with conventional and holistic veterinarians. He enjoys a full-time classical homeopathic practice in Austin, Texas.