Vaccinations. Good or bad for your pets?

Question

Two years ago I had my dog Mikey (boston Terrier) vaccinated at a pet clinic and then two days later he went into kidney failure. Our regular vet was able to save him but he had to stay in the hospital for 5 days. He is fully recovered but we have not gotten his shots again out of fear. Then just Wednesday Oct 3rd, 2007 we had our other boston terrier Maggie vaccinated at our regular vet. On Saturday Oct 6, 2007 she went into a grand mall seizure and respitory failure and sadly never recovered. Now my husband and I are extremely reluctant to have any of our other pets vaccinated out of fear it will either make them severly sick or possibly kill them as it just recently did. We are not sure if the vaccinations did this but we are nervous that it has now happened twice.

Answer 1

Very good question! There is a lot of evidence (which your vet won't inform you of unless you push) that the RABIES vaccine, especially the yearly, causes death, tumors, and other averse affects in dogs and cats. It is required in all towns, too, and they won't give you a license for your dog w/o one. Problem is, there have been NO rabies cases in the US (in pets) for the past fifty years, and rabies is all but erradicated. But because of the fear or your dog turning mad, your town will require the shot. Science has proven that one rabies shot provides antibodies for up to ten years, so giving shot after shot is way too much. Ask for the three year shot (demand it!), or call city hall to see if they will accept a test (forgot the name) showing that your dog has antibodies to rabies (positive titer test...? not sure). Other than this, the shots you give your puppy when they come home (parvo, kennel cough) ARE necessary, but your vet will try to get you to purchase some others too (Lyme disease, more) even though they are not required or even relevant to your area of the country! Every region is different. Call your city hall to find out which shots are absolutely needed, and politely decline the others that your vet offers you. DO fight for your right not to give a harmful yearly rabies shot to your pet, science has proven that these shots are causing both short and long term harm to our pets! One more thing: did you know that the lifespan of dogs is less now than it was in the past? Back "in the day" our great grandparents fed dogs a natural diet of meat, carbs, and veggies from the same pot they themselves ate from. In today's fast food, pre-packaged nation, our dogs eat kibble that is chemically preserved and made from cheap animal by-products (meaning the worst cuts of meat from questionable sources-in LA the animal shelters were sending their euthanized pets to rendering plants, turning the dead dogs and cats into by-products!). Plus, the first ingredient in these cheap foods is often corn or other grain, which should never be the main part of a carnivore's diet! We are slowly poisoning our pets, plus filling them with unneeded vaccines! Commit to feeding your dog the highest quality food (Pet Promise is one that has no by-products) COMBINED with fresh, human grade meat, veggies, and carbs. You would not like to live on a diet of chemically petrified road kill, so please feed your dog only what you would feed your kids, and watch her live longer and have less health problems! I am happy to see that someone out there doesn't just buy everything that their vet is selling them. Vets don't take nutrition courses, they are often paid by pet-food companies to push their products, and they make their money by selling us too many shots and unneeded surgeries. This is not a tirade against vets, there are great vets, but our culture is heading ther wrong way with pet care.

Answer 2

All dogs NEED vaccinations for certain things: rabies (and yes, there HAVE been cases both in domestic and wild animals and in humans EVERY YEAR in the U.S., Parvovirus, distemper, and certain other things depending on your region. Do they need to be vaccinated every single year? Probably not. Many states now allow vaccination with a rabies vaccine that is good for three years. Some states allow you to have a titre done (blood test) to determine whether the dog still has immunity and won't require the shots if the dog does still have immunity.

Dogs that are around other dogs or other animals a lot need the vaccinations much more than dogs that are never around other animals. Show dogs generally need MORE vaccinations because of the increased chances of picking up things in the show sites (confined area, lots of dogs means more stuff to pick up).

Bostons and other breeds are sometimes allergic to one or more vaccines or components of the vaccines. If you know that your dog is from a line with this problem you can deal with it better. That's yet another reason to buy from a reputable breeder. If a dog has parents or ancestors known to have reacted to a particular vaccine (lepto vaccine is a very common one for allergies), then you can consult with your vet about whether you really need that vaccine. I know someone who has a dog from lines that are very allergic to the rabies vaccine. Since the law requires that vaccine, no exceptions even for allergies, they deal with it by having the vet give the dog a large dose of antihistimine, waiting the in vet's office for a half hour or so, then giving the rabies vaccine and staying at the vet's office for the next hour. This allows immediate emergency care if needed. So far as I know, they have never needed the emergency care when giving the antihistamine in advance.

I'm sorry that your dogs have had some problems and esp. that you lost one to this. Why not read up on Dr. Jean Dodd's vaccination recommendations (she's become an authority on this) and talk to your vet about this?

http://www.doglogic.com/vaccination.htm

Answer 3

I lost an elderyly dog from his booster shots several years ago. I now have much more conscientious vets who are up on the latest recommended protocols for vaccinations. They believe (and it's what I do) that puppies need all their shots, the booster 1 year later, then they only get shots every 3 years. You can also run titers on parvo and distemper to check to see whether or not they actually need the boosters. Rabies must be given every 3 years by law, but never in conjunction with the other shots - it's too hard on a dog's system.

Answer 4

Wow. That is really scary (I have a Boston too). We have always gotten him vaccinated with no problems. In fact, I just took him in last week for his updated shots and he was fine.

I would usually say that it is better to be safe than sorry, so you should always get your dogs vaccinated. I would let your Vet know (if you start going to a new one) the issues you have had in the past before getting them any more shots.

Maybe there are a few varieties of each vaccine and they had reactions to a certain ingredient in the vaccine. I wish I was an expert but I would keep asking questions because Vaccines are important, especially if your dogs are around other dogs.

Good luck!

Answer 5

It is good to have your pets vaccinated (since they can become even more sick without them), but in your case, I'm not sure exactly, and this is what I think:

Maybe you might want to try a different vet. Maybe your dogs just had a bad reaction to the vaccination or maybe they had a problem before it. There can be a lot of variables. Ask your vet and get a few opinions from other vets so you can make your own decision about it.

Answer 6

Yes many animals are allergic to vaccines. My corgi mix is very sensitive and I have his titers checked every 6mo. I will not vaccinate unless they get low. He has not been vaccinated in a year and a half since his titers are still high enough. some vaccinations have egg products and milk products that can cause these reactions. The best thing is just to keep your dogs on a good food like wellness or solid gold or Merrick and they will have a high natural immunity. I don't think any dog over 5 years really needs a vaccine except kennel cough and even that one doesn't work very well. Good luck do what you feel is best.

Answer 7

I know that a lot of owners of show dogs in the UK do not have their dogs vaccinated because of this. Instead the dogs are Titre tested (I believe this is the right spelling) which involves taking blood from the dog and testing it for antibodies to the diseases that one would normally vaccinate against. These people are also alerted by vets if there are any cases of Parvo and Distemper in their area so they know to keep their dogs out of public places.

I won't say I know much about Titre testing and what it involves, but I am sure there is lots there out on the web about it.

It might be worth looking into and may be an option for you instead of vaccination.

I have had my dogs vaccinated by the way, with no problems at all, but I do know it can be a worry to people and know of people who have had independent post mortems on their dogs to confirm that the vaccine was indeed the cause of death.

Answer 8

I understand why you would question whether to vaccinate or not.
As a CVT I see pets get vaccinated all day long. It is rare that I see any vaccine reactions.
Reactions that I have seen range from vomiting and diarrhea to collapse.
I have never seen a pet die from a vaccine reaction. Although if a reaction is not addressed a pet surely could die if having an serious reaction.

Talk with your vet and tell him or her your concerns. Pretreating wih benadryl and or dexamethasone will significantly decreases the likelihood of a vaccine reaction.

Vaccines are important. Diseases like distemper,rabies,parvo,leptosporosis will kill an animal. There is protection for these disease through vaccination.

As far as the answerer who wrote there is no rabies well thats just wrong. Ive seen kittens and recently heard of a dog who tested positive for Rabies. A vaccine could of saved their lives.

Answer 9

I just lost my sweet chihuahua (1 1/2 yrs old) from her rabies booster. She sadly slipped into a coma the evening of her shot and passed away . I am heartbroken. She had NO reaction to the first shot but after much reading on the subject (after the fact) I found that this is not uncommon with smaller breeds. She was small even for chihuahua standards but I am not going to subject any of my other doags (3 chi's) to any more of the Rabies vaccines.

Answer 10

I no longer so the yearly shot. I go with the puppy series which is important and then the cycle of the rabies - 1st shot then a booster a year later then every three years.

My first two I did this with had vet check ups ant the three year rabies last month and got great clean bills of health.
I also believe we over vaccinate our children.