How to vaccin for dog

Here comes that needle again: Examining vaccination issues

Giving vaccines is a necessary part of owning a dog. The core vaccines are for distemper and parvovirus. Depending on where you live and the preva-lence of other diseases, you may want to vaccinate against leptospirosis and hepatitis. In some instances, a Lyme disease vaccine may be necessary.

Boarding kennels often require a bordatella (kennel cough) vaccine before they will accept a dog. It is very much a regional thing. The rabies vaccine is the only one that is mandatory. Every county in the country has a rabies vac-cine requirement. The other vaccines are voluntary, so you don’t have to give them if you don’t want to.

Vaccines can disrupt a training program for your dog by making him feel unwell for a few days after they have been given. Sometimes vaccines inter-rupt the ability of the dog to do scent work like tracking or scent articles in obedience competition. The effects can last from three weeks to nine months.

Some breeds of dogs have adverse reactions to vaccines and can experience swollen joints (as Great Danes can do with the rabies vaccine), some tempo-rary paralysis (such as German Shepherds and Rottweilers from the parvo-virus vaccine), seizures (such as Labradors from the rabies vaccine), and so on. Make a wise decision for you and your dog after you have researched all the facts.

To help you make a decision as to what is correct for your dog, check out What Vets Don’t Tell You About Vaccinesby Catherine O’Driscoll (Abbeywood Publishing). Catherine did a world-wide study of vaccines and reports of the long-term effects of overvaccinating. She charts diseases associated with overvaccinating and quotes the noted authorities in the United States, including Jean Dodds, DVM, and Ronald Schultz, MD, DVM, of the University of Wisconsin, on the current vaccine protocols recommended. For more information on Catherine and her research, visit www.canine-health-concern.org.uk.

Looking at the problems with overvaccinating

During the past 20 years, dog owners have seen a steady increase in the number of vaccinations that dogs receive each year. Sadly, instead of improv-ing the dogs’ health and longevity, the practice has frequently had the oppo-site effect.

Overvaccinating has created unintended and undesirable reactions to vac-cinations, which result in vaccinosis,the term used to describe those unde-sirable reactions. The reactions can range from none or barely detectable to death. And they may occur as a result of one vaccine, several vaccines given at the same time, or repeated vaccinations given in a relatively short time frame.

Too many vaccinations too close together can cause a puppy’s immune system to break down and can result in serious health problems. We aren’t against vaccinations, but we’re against random, repetitive, routine, and completely unnecessary vaccinations. Thank goodness in the last few years, vaccine protocols have changed and most up-to-date veterinarians are using vaccines more sparingly.

Where do annual booster shots fit into this picture? Actually, they don’t.

According to Kirk’s Current Veterinary TherapyXI-205 (W.B. Saunders Co.) the textbook used for many years by veterinary schools — no scientific basis or immunological reason necessitates annual revaccinations. Immunity to viruses can last for many years — even for a dog’s lifetime.

When your dog already carries the antibodies against a particular virus, a revaccination can wreak havoc with his immune system. The many adverse reactions to unnecessary vaccinations have caused breeders, dog owners, and vets to begin questioning the need for boosters and to become more cautious in the way vaccines are administered. By law, your dog only needs a rabies vaccination and the rabies booster only every three years. Don’t ever give your dog a rabies shot before he’s 6 months of age.

Some breeds of dogs have extreme — even fatal — reactions to vaccines.

Others develop odd behaviors and reactions such as the following:

✓ Aggression

✓ Anaphylactic shock

✓ Anxiety or fear

✓ Epilepsy and other seizure disorders

✓ Excessive licking

✓ Insomnia

✓ Snapping at imaginary flies

✓ Swelling of the whole body, cutting off air supply

A rabies vaccine given in conjunction with other vaccines can be responsible for aggression, epilepsy, and other seizure disorders. Labradors seems to be especially vulnerable.

How do you know if your dog will have a reaction to a vaccine? You don’t, and that’s the problem. Fortunately, you don’t have to take the chance. When you take Buddy in for his annual checkup, you can ask your vet to do a titer test,a blood test that tells you whether Buddy has antibodies(or resistance) to the diseases for which he’s already been vaccinated. If he has a high titer,or level of antibodies, to the disease, you don’t need to have him revacci-nated. Titering is becoming a more acceptable alternative to revaccinations.

(Refer to the later section “Vaccinating for boarding or schooling” for infor-mation on whether businesses accept titering in place of revaccination.)

Whether you’re rescuing a dog from the local humane society, adopting an “off-the-track” Greyhound, or buying a puppy from a pet store, be aware that the dog will probably have been vaccinated before you get him. Humane societies usually give you the dates when your rescue dog was vaccinated.

Taking him to your veterinarian for a once-over health check is a good idea, but don’t vaccinate again. Either titer the dog in the next six months or wait another year and titer before vaccinating, if necessary. However, remember that if your dog has reacted in the past to vaccination, the next time he’s vaccinated, the reaction will be worse. So be careful! See how to deal with adverse reactions in the later section “Quelling fear, anxiety, and other condi-tions with homeopathy.”

Vaccinating for boarding or schooling

Sometimes you have to vaccinate your dog. Many boarding kennels, obe-dience schools, and dog parks, for example, require proof of vaccination.

However, titers are becoming more acceptable with these businesses and schools. The Pet Care Services Association (formerly known as the American Boarding Kennel Association) considers titers acceptable. Before you board your dog at a member kennel, ask about titers.

Before you vaccinate, call any facilities to which you may take your dog. Some boarding kennels are now recognizing titer tests. If you do need to vaccinate, remember that it takes your dog three weeks to build immunity.

Because not everything’s cut and dried in this world, suppose that Buddy is one of those dogs who have adverse side effects from vaccinations, and as a result, you adamantly refuse to vaccinate him. But now you can’t find a boarding kennel that will honor your wishes. What then? Well, you’re going to have to find someone to come in and dog sit for you while you’re away.

If you can’t find a reliable local pet sitter, try Pet Sitters International (www.petsit.com), which is a country-wide organization that has trained pet sit-ters in most areas of the country. The local obedience organization also may be able to help you.

Vaccinating a healthy dog stresses his immune system, whether or not you see a reaction. And boarding a dog also is stressful — even at the nicest boarding kennels. Under stress, Buddy is vulnerable to picking up disease. It can affect his training and his ability to handle stress especially at dog shows.

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