Marj KibbyThe importance of vaccinations in preventing the spread of infectious diseases can be easily seen if you visit a country where vaccination is not generally available, however I’d suggest:

*Only get your dog vaccinated if it is absolutely healthy.
*Know the risk of particular diseases for your dog, depending on where you live and what activities you engage in.
*Weigh up the risks for non-fatal diseases like Kennel Cough.
*Don’t get different vaccinations at the same time.
*Avoid vaccinations altogether if your dog is old, has any chronic condition, immune deficiency, debilitation, is on ongoing medication, has allergies, is anemic.
*Know and trust your vet, make sure they know about alternative vaccination protocols, and alternatives to vaccination, and weigh up risks and benefits for each dog individually.

People were able to safely not vaccinate babies for Whooping Cough while most of the population were vaccinated, but now that the number of un-vaccinated people is growing babies are dying of a disease that was almost eradicated. I wouldn’t want to see the Distemper epidemics previous generations experienced.ReplyCancel

Emily PriestleyI have always looked up to you for advice regarding diet and vaccinations and I am so lucky to have a vet who is not only pro-raw, but also a minimalist when it comes to vaccines.

He never sends out vaccine reminders, and has never brought up vaccines at a visit. He also focused on strengthening Daisy’s immune system after we brought her home from the SPCA…she was kept in a cold kennel on cold concrete in October, sick and over-vaccinated (this is not a slam against the spca, mind you).

She hasn’t had a vaccine since…every year we head to the vet for her annual titer testing…so far she’s well covered. She’s better for it and it only costs me about $30. You can’t lose!

I’m also urging everyone to think twice about vaccinating themselves. I’m the only care aide at work who did not receive the flu vaccine at work last year, and I’m one of the only ones who didn’t end up sick. With the release of the swine flu vaccine just around the corner (and not tested well enough yet) it’s important to think carefully before being poked with a concoction we don’t know enough about.

Thanks again, Illona, for sharing your wisdom!ReplyCancel

MarlaYou already know I agree with you whole-heartedly but wanted to pop in and cheer you on for expressing these thoughts.

We’re convinced Dyna’s beautiful sire (owned by friends) was lost way too soon as a result of an adverse reaction to being vaccinated and I’m certainly aware of plenty of other “anecdotal” cases – from minor to major – that all add up to more than mere coincidence.

Fortunately I have a vet even more reluctant to vaccinate than I am and willing to work with us and treat each of our dogs on an individual basis w/r/t their needs.

We rely on titers (have done so for about 5 yrs now) but a word of caution about them… we travel with our guys across the border and have been advised that it is up to the discretion of the border guards as to whether or not they’ll accept titer results as proof of vaccination. It’s well worth the risk to me though and to date we’ve never had any issues, however we always draw annual titers, despite the expense, in order to ensure the results are “current”.

Thanks for the links. I’m definitely going to check them out.ReplyCancel

AnitaI have worked at vet clinics and let me tell you it is a money grab. My vet (who is also my dear friend) doesn’t believe in yearly vaccines…but the clinic that we both used to work at did. They also PUSHED (yes, PUSHED) the declawing of our feline friends. Why in gods name would anyone push the extremely painful amputation of the tip of EVERY finger on a cat (where they have to have a gd heroin patch put on their arm for days after wards to cope with the pain)? The same reason someone would push a full on attack of yearly vaccines…it’s fast and easy and makes them lots of money.

Vets don’t know everything, and it blows my mind how many people don’t realize this. Half the time they’re running into the back to look stuff up in books or ask another vet’s opinion. I think anyone who has gone into a clinic and had their vet push shitty kibble at them could tell you that. It’s on the same page as what Liz said about the vet schools being funded by pharmaceuticals, they’re also funded by kibble makers. But as she also said, that’s for another post.ReplyCancel

LizGood for you for being brave enough to speak about this. I had my eyes open this past April at a Therapeutic Paws of Canada seminar where I had set up my photography and Ottawa Dog Blog booth. I didn’t go there for the speakers, but being there changed mine and my dog’s lives.

At the seminar was a very prominent holistic vet named Dr. Eddy Beltran. He has done years of research into vaccines and antibiotics and found some shocking things. My eyes got bigger and bigger as he explained the risks and side effects including hypo-thyroidism etc. He explained that the veterinary schools are funded largely by these pharmaseutical companies who profit from the sale of these vaccines.

The very next day I switched vets. Not that my other vet wasn’t great, they really were, I just wanted Dr. Beltran. His words affected me and I knew my dogs would be in great health. After our visit with him, we found out that Corduroy, who was just over 1 year at the time, had been given 3 THREE YEAR DOSES in a row of “puppy vaccinations”. 3 YEARS?!?!?!? That means she’s been vaccinated for 9 years within the span of 2 to 3 months. Paddington was 2.5 at the time and had had her puppy vaccinations as well as another dose at 1 year – even worse! He gave us a detox for both dogs and we are performing titers in a few years to see where the dogs are at.

The way Dr. Beltran explained it to us is that the first set of vaccinations are usually beneficial, then the dog’s body clues in and says “ok, i know what to fight off now”. Every vaccination after that is redundant and the ingredients that are supposed to “vaccine” the dog end up just being absorbed into their system and that’s where problems arise.

Testing the Titer will tell you where your dog’s immune system is at. It’s expensive, but only needs to be done every couple of years meaning the money you save from the vaccines will outweigh the cost of the titer.

My dogs’ health is very important to me. For this reason we have also stopped feeling processed kibble and have moved to a home cooked diet, but that is an issue for another post.

Thank you Illona, for speaking up about this. I haven’t been brave enough to broach the subject on my blog yet, but I hope to in the future.ReplyCancel