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HEALTH |
VACCINATING
Last update:
November 04, 2009
Some breeders have been "vaccine-free" for 10 years or more, and are exclusively feeding BARF diets (raw meat, veggies, etc. - no kibble) to naturally boost their dogs' immune systems. Vaccines are believed to be detrimental to some dogs, and many breeders believe vaccines can actually CAUSE heart conditions, cancer, as well as the diseases they are meant to protect against. After all, a vaccine is full of disease...so every year that we inject our beloved animals with horrible diseases, are we really helping?
At Kaboom, I have been continually researching this HOT topic, and am working with my veterinarian regularly to determine what is necessary and what is not. Some breeders are completely vaccine-free, while others vaccinate every single dog, every single year like clockwork. People seem to believe very strongly about either vaccinating, or natural rearing... I am trying to learn all I can about what is best for my dogs.
Cara and her brother Twix were vaccinated once at 7 weeks, and once at 11 months, and that was it. Cara, in her 7th year, developed a small tumour on her tail. I only vaccinated Cara's puppies (born July 2004) whose owners strongly requested it. Ruby and Cami were not vaccinated as puppies, and will be vaccine-free for their lifetimes unless I find strong evidence to suggest vaccination. Cami's litter (June 2007) was also not be vaccinated unless their owners decided the benefits outweigh the risks.
My male Brussels Griffon has never been vaccinated and has passed his health testing with flying colours.
Puppies sold on co-ownerships with me cannot be vaccinated due to my strong beliefs that vaccines are a contributing factor in many of the health conditions in the Boxer today - allergies, heart conditions, and cancer. Full ownership contracts do allow the new owner to vaccinate, but I make sure each owner is aware of the potential dangers prior to that first injection.
According to some veterinarians, a breeding program with numerous dogs may have different vaccination requirements than a one-dog household, and some adults may need to be vaccinated approximately every 3-5 years to keep the shedding of disease cells to a minimum. I am keeping minimum numbers of adults at my home, as I think they are better off in a 1- or 2- dog household where they can get lots of individual time with their family, rather than be in a 6- or 8- dog household (or with some breeders, 20 or more dogs), constantly scrambling for attention or trying just to stay clean. I co-own several other puppies and adults for future show/breeding, and this arrangement works well for everyone involved.
Adults can carry diseases and not be affected by them (Parvo, Distemper), but young immune systems (a litter of puppies) are more susceptible. When I have a litter, I take care in feeding a high quality immune-boosting raw diet, I continually clean & disinfect where the puppies are and have been, and also supplement with vitamin C, another immunity-booster.
Titre-testing (bloodwork) can be done yearly to test the levels of antibodies in the dog's system. This will tell the owner if they should vaccinate. The difficulty with this method that dogs don't all have the same set level or number where they are all immune. Each dog has its own "saftey zone" of titre levels, so it can be difficult to determine precisely how immune the dog really is.
I want to increase the lifespan and overall health of the Boxer breed, and believe a balance can be achieved with selective vaccinating (only if necessary), feeding a healthy natural diet, and choosing breeding dogs from a line of longer living Boxers.
I encourage my puppy-buyers to raise their new family member naturally, on a meaty diet, with no vaccines. When taking applications for puppies, those who will be raising their puppy on raw food and free of vaccinations are given priority.
Please, do your own research and decide for yourself, and your dog.
Did you know?
...Fetal calf serum is used to grow the viruses for vaccine
production. Bovine protein has been found in canine blood samples during vaccine
studies. The close similarity in structure of the bovine proteins to dog
proteins results in a situation whereby the antibodies produced by the
vaccinated dogs may cross-react with dog tissue proteins in a process similar to
autoimmunity.
...Experiments in other animal species suggest that these autoantibodies might eventually cause diseases in the vaccinated animals.
...In Europe, vaccines are prohibited once the disease is eliminated because the fear of reversion to virulence of the modified live virus.
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