Is your Vet STILL Overvaccinating your dog?

How many of you are still having your dog vaccinated once a year?

Did you know there was a new protocol for dog vaccination?

Has your veterinarian told you that after your dog has its puppy vaccinations for Distemper, Parvo and Hepatitis that it may never need those vaccines again?

How many of you actually knew there was more than one disease being vaccinated for in the annual shots?

How many of you still have veterinarians sending you reminder cards for your annual booster?

 Did you know that in 2000 there was a new protocol developed that suggested that dogs should be rebooster only once every three years?

 Did you know that the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) an elite veterinary organization has a set of guidelines to follow for vaccination for the dog called the 2006 Canine Vaccination Guideline?

 Well lets start informing you....

Many dog owners know about getting rabies for their dog and then “another shot” some people call it their distemper shot, others call it their parvo booster. Well to be honest the most common other vaccination given to your dog besides rabies is a 5 or a 6 in one shot. Meaning there are 5 or 6 different types of diseases your dog is being vaccinated for in one shot. The common acronym for this vaccine is DHLPP and sometimes added in there is a C. The letters each stand for a different disease – D=Distemper, H=Hepatitis (also known as Adenovirus), L=Leptospirosis, P=Parvo, P=Parainfluenza, and C=Corona.

For the new protocol lets take the three core vaccines, the three that your dog should be vaccinated for  Distemper, Parvo and Hepatitis (Adenovirus). After your dog has been initially vaccinated for these three core diseases usually as a puppy and then a year later with a booster, your dog has prolonged immunity against those diseases. What do I mean by prolonged immunity, well the research shows, your dog is immune for 6 to 9 years! Research done by reputable immunologists, such as Dr. Ronald Schultz, and promoted by other veterinarians such as  Dr. Bob Rogers (http://www.critteradvocacy.org/), Dr. Jean Dodds (http://www.itsfortheanimals.com/DODDS-CHG-VACC-PROTOCOLS.HTM) and of course myself (you can check out my website in my profile), shows that after the initial puppy vaccination and a one year booster many dogs are protected for the majority of their life. Similar to humans isn’t it?

The new guidelines drawn up by AAHA and supported by all 27 veterinary schools suggests that after puppy vaccination and the yearly booster of the three core vaccines, they only need to be boostered every three years. So according to the guidelines, instead of annual revaccination, your dog really only needs to be revaccinated every three years. I disagree I am with Dr. Schultz, Dodds, and Rogers that you really should have your dog titered every three years. In any case how many of you knew about the new guidelines? Has your vet told you about this? It has been around for over 5 years and put into print for the last two years.

 Some of this stems from the fact that annual vaccination can actually harm your dog causing immune system failure such as in allergies. IF you have an allergic dog one of the first things you need to do is stop vaccinating your dog! Other more fatal disease such as AutoImmune Hemolytic Anemia and some cancers have been linked to over vaccination.

So now the question becomes, if the vaccines have been shown to produce immunity that lasts quite a bit longer than what was originally thought and annual vaccination might be the cause of certain allergies and other immune system diseases including cancer, then why has my vet not told me about this? Why am I still being pestered to have annual vaccinations done? Why when I am late on my vaccines does the front desk make me feel like a bad dog owner? Unfortunately, the answer is money, if not money then it is pure ignorance on your vet’s part. Yes  ignorance, as in not current in their education or just an unwillingness to change because the old way is the way things have always been done. Money is the other answer and no it is not because veterinarians are greedy, but rather in many veterinary offices, 33% of the annual income comes from vaccinations. This is a large percentage of income that with the new guidelines will be cut. Veterinarians are not prepared for that kind of an income cut. Many could go out of business. Many clinics do not have the management skills or their other services are not priced correctly to compensate for that kind of an income loss. So changing to the new vaccination guidelines although would benefit your animals health can be a tough business decision for the owner of the veterinary clinic. Just remember though you have a responsibility as a pet owner for the health and well being of your pet and less vaccinations IS better for your pet, regardless of the business problems that some clinics may have going to the new guidelines.

Heres the link to the new vaccination guidelines - http://www.aahanet.org/PublicDocuments/VaccineGuidelines06Revised.pdf 

Just thought you should know!