what to do about dog's vaccinations

dawnie1972

I have refrained from replying to this thread as I am feeling very fragile at the moment but just wanted to add one thing.
I have 3 dogs - all of which i've had since puppies, the eldest is 9.5yrs old, the next 8.5 yrs old and the other 7. NONE of them are vaccinated. I did a lot of research into this and at the time was working for the head of Animal Welfare at a large rescue centre and I made the choice not to vaccinate as i feel that we are adding unnecessary chemicals to their bodies and interfering with their natural immune systems. Yes we're not living in the dark ages anymore, they are not wild dogs anymore and by domesticating them we have also interfered with their natural ways etc. The other reason I did not want to reply is because my 2nd dog is currently in the vet hospital fighting for his life, he has liver failure/gollagel hepatitis and is very very sick, yes i beat myself up about the fact that he wasnt vaccinated etc so i asked the vet the question and the vet has confirmed and categorically assured me that had he been vaccinated it would not have made one ounce of difference he still would have got ill and would still be fighting for his life. Also as a result of this illness IF he pulls through he will not be able to be vaccinated in the future as he will not be able to have any chemicals put into his body. Its personal choice but i just wanted to add that.

RedFraggle

Hope your dog makes it through Dawnie.

Just another comment for the OP, ask your vet about using a different brand of vaccine this can make a big difference.

Paradigm

dawnie1972 wrote: »

I have 3 dogs - all of which i've had since puppies, the eldest is 9.5yrs old, the next 8.5 yrs old and the other 7. NONE of them are vaccinated. I did a lot of research into this and at the time was working for the head of Animal Welfare at a large rescue centre and I made the choice not to vaccinate as i feel that we are adding unnecessary chemicals to their bodies and interfering with their natural immune systems.

I pretty much agree with all you say but you've gone one step further than I would in not even having the puppy course but, as you say, it's personal choice & it worked for you.

dawnie1972 wrote: »

2nd dog is currently in the vet hospital fighting for his life, he has liver failure/gollagel hepatitis and is very very sick.

Hope the little guy pulls through.

zaksmum

Hope your dog will be ok Dawnie.


Fraggle, thanks, I'll ask about a different combination or brand...that might make a difference.

Paradigm

zaksmum wrote: »

Fraggle, thanks, I'll ask about a different combination or brand...that might make a difference.

Yep a good move but also ask... does he need any at all? It will be interesting to know the vets response

Especially when they are saying he needs to complete the primary course again.... it's absolute nonsense!

manda1205

Sooz00 wrote: »

Hi - if he's only 6 weeks over, he could have his boosters without needing to start the primary course again.

One of my dogs was ill for 48 hours after his boosters in 2010. My vet reported it to the manufacturer and the manufacturer came back and said they would pay for titre blood tests a few weeks before his 2011 boosters were due, to understand what his antibody levels were and allow us to make an informed decision whether to give them or not so that's what we did. You can pay for titre testing too but I'm not sure how much it costs, but it is an option if your dog was particularly ill.

Did you have this done then? What were his levels, did he still need the booster jab? Just interested to see if his levels of protection were still high.
We choose not to have our dog(or cat) vacinated every year. She had her first puppy ones, then her first yearly one, since then she has had nothing and will not. We will probably pay to get her bloods tested in a few years time to see if she still has imunisation, if not I may reconsider and have her vacinated again, although I would be surprised if that is the case. The exact same goes for our cat too. I just wish we could have more research done into it in this country as the US have.

dawnie1972

Paradigm wrote: »

I pretty much agree with all you say but you've gone one step further than I would in not even having the puppy course but, as you say, it's personal choice & it worked for you. .

I didnt say they didnt have the puppy course - they did - all of them.:)

Paradigm

dawnie1972 wrote: »

I didnt say they didnt have the puppy course - they did - all of them.:)

Ooops sorry. I read it to mean they hadn't had any vaccs.

Apologies

zaksmum

Just got back from the vet's - they agreed my dog could have the booster rather than a primary course, and gave him an antihistamine to help stop him being sick.

Fingers crossed he'll be ok, but he's already gone very quiet, poor little fella.

Sooz00

zaksmum wrote: »

Thanks everyone for the input. It's quite a dilemma really. Humans don't need boosters every year when vaccinated and I can't really see why dogs should. My dog's a whippet/labrador cross and quite slimly built due to his whippet dad, and he really was so unwell last year after the booster - shaking, shivering, throwing up...the picture of misery. Only for a day and a half, but still...

It's hard to inflict that on him again. I checked my insurance and it does say they won't pay out for a condition he should've been vaccinated against. If I do have him done, I definitely don't want the primary course...that's TWO lots of the poor little fella feeling like death.

I made an appointment for Monday and I'll see what the vet says, but I'm not at all happy about knowingly making him so sick.

How is your dog doing now he's had his booster Zaksmum? Hope he's been okay this time. My dog had exactly the same reaction as yours, but for slightly longer. It was horrible but my vet was very good and diligent which helped.