I have two youngsters here who have been raised in a Holistic and Homeopathic manner. They are RAW fed and are the offspring of a RAW fed mother and have never been subjected to any chemical flea treatments....chemical wormers...e-numbers additives, preservatives, commercial diets etc. They are protected by Homeopathic Nosodes and have never received a veterinary vaccination.

As they are now at the stage where they would be due an annual booster I have had both my Gorgeous Boy and my Gorgeous Girly TITER TESTED. I ran a full panel of Parvo/Adenovirus/Lepto and Distemper on my Boy and just Parvovirus on my Girl.

Boy has 1 in 2560 antibodies to Parvovirus and 1 in 320 to Adenovirus. Nothing detectable for Lepto or Distemper
Girly has 1 in 1280 antibodies to Parvovirus.

This means that as their Mother's maternal antibodies have waned they have developed immunity naturally. Living in a semi-rural property I was surprised that there were no detectable antibodies to Leptospirosis (although this doesn't mean that their memory cells aren't ready and waiting just in case they come across it)

Please please people think long and hard before subjecting your precious companions to Annual Boosters. Become informed and question what is actually in the needle....?? Does your dog actually need a 5 way/ 7 way vaccine every year when current research shows that immunity once established is good for 7 years if not for life...??

I am not advocating leaving your little ones unprotected but think long and hard about your vaccination protocol for your precious puppies. Age at which to vaccinate....can your vet provide single vaccines...?? If your puppy suffers a side effect from it's first shot....do you need to delay the next one until he/she is fully recovered...?? Is it life threatening enough to even consider giving it at all...??  In some cases the assault on a developing immune system.....really can be just that..... a total shock to the system.

Seriously consider TITER TESTING.....it may be a little more expensive than having the booster but may just save your companion from chronic ill health in the future.

Do not allow your companion to become a lucrative "furry pin-cushion" for the big pharmaceuticals without first questioning the motives.

(The Leptospirosis component of a vaccine is currently causing more adverse reactions and side effects than any other vaccine)

> Does your dog actually need a 5 way/ 7 way vaccine every year

I didn't know that vets still did that.  I know that my own vet checks exactly which protection is needed on the booster visit.

He always asks for the dogs card and says now let's see which isn't needed this year.

My vet does too...and would vaccinate every two years...but when I had my oldest dog titre tested a few years ago, his antibody results were so very high, that they said he never needs another booster in his life.  So a vet can't actually tell, and now all my dogs are titre tested.

Do you have to use your own vet, or can you do the test direct with a lab?

The vet takes the blood and then it is sent off to a lab, unless they have their own.

Titre testing is all very well, however there are a few caveats:

1 It can often be MUCH more expensive than inoculation
2 Check with your insurance company that they will pay out if your dog develops an illness which could have been prevented by vaccination
3 It will not prevent you having to do the lepto and others
4 It is incredibly expensive to get single vaccines as the vet will have to buy a multiple pack and charge you for the lot
5 Also you need to think of whether or not you will ever kennel your dog and if any dog clubs you belong to accept the titre testing as proof of jabs etc.

I agree with you,Freedomofspirit-I would certainly never have another puppy or adult dog given the lepto jab especially considering the advice given by the WSAVA.

As I need to kennel mine, it's just not an option to titre test, as few kennels (and not the ones I use) accept it.

The best compromise I can find is to use the Nobivac protocol, which has only a mini-booster for 2 yrs, followed by a full booster.  At least that way you're not having a full booster every year.  And kennels accept it.

> 4 It is incredibly expensive to get single vaccine

I decided to go down the route of just having lepto for one of mine instead of the mini booster, it worked out more expensive to do just the one vaccination compared to the mini booster..
Parvo is on the rise again, which is a worry..

If you can afford to do the titre testing and the single vaccines when its required then I feel thats the best way, but again if you need to home board or dogs need to go into kennels very few will accept them without up to date vaccination records.
Also same goes for many dog clubs, I know when I started agility it had to be shown, also hydrotherapy it has to be shown too.

this worries me as ive read so many bad things about yearly innoculations.Jess had her first booster last jan,so il be getting a little reminder card from the vets soon.i must find out how much they charge for titre testing,Although my dogs in the past only ever had their"puppy jabs",and were fine.Im not happy about the 3monthly worming,either,didnt that used to be 6monthly?Obviously I dont want to run any risks,better do some more research,eh!

> Does your dog actually need a 5 way/ 7 way vaccine every year - I didn't know that vets still did that.

Along with annual booster reminder letters...there are all sorts of "marketing ploys" used by the profession. One of the most despicable in my opinion is "The Amnesty" mailshot. If your dog has gone past the date when he should have gone in for his booster....and past the (imaginary..?) date when apparently all protection has waned..... then "The Amnesty" mailshot invites you to take your dog in for the whole vaccination series again...at a reduced price..

My dogs have been to various vets in relation to health testing....and I have received "The Amnesty" mailshot from several of these...! Obviously we have become fair game to be added to their mailing list  

Titre testing is all very well, however there are a few caveats:
1 It can often be MUCH more expensive than inoculation

True...but once you have a Titer Test result showing antibodies to a particular dis-ease....then the animal has life-long immunity to that dis-ease.

4 It is incredibly expensive to get single vaccines as the vet will have to buy a multiple pack and charge you for the lot

If enough pet owners start asking for single vaccines.....then a market will be created for single vaccines

5 Also you need to think of whether or not you will ever kennel your dog and if any dog clubs you belong to accept the titre testing as proof of jabs etc.

Some kennels will accept a Homeopathic Nosode Certificate of Supply (One of the big horse events now accept Homeopathic Certificates.... as the problem of vaccinosis isn't restricted only to dogs...it is becoming a recognisable condition in all animals who are regularly vaccinated)

>but once you have a Titer Test result showing antibodies to a particular dis-ease....then the animal has life-long immunity to that dis-ease.

Not true. Immunity to viral diseases wanes more slowly than immunity to bacterial diseases, but unless it's repeatedly stimulated (either by exposure of vaccination) then the immunity certainly fails over time. This has been proven in human beings many times with many diseases. Also as an individual ages the immune response becomes weaker; elderly dogs are more seriously affected by kennel cough than younger ones.

this worries me as ive read so many bad things about yearly innoculations. Jess had her first booster last jan,so il be getting a little reminder card from the vets soon. i must find out how much they charge for titre testing, Although my dogs in the past only ever had their"puppy jabs",and were fine. Im not happy about the 3monthly worming,either,didnt that used to be 6monthly? Obviously I dont want to run any risks,better do some more research,eh!

I share your concern Colliepam....I grew up around Border Collies too.....my very first Border Collie of my own (last of the litter and 11 weeks old) bought before I had even unpacked my belongings when I first moved out of my parents house...was never vaccinated. He came everywhere with me...and lived to be 15 years old. If we think back 25 - 30 years ago.....there are health conditions around today that were virtually unheard of back then....??

I have a suspicion that some of the heart problems and cardiomyopathies and auto-immune dis-eases...appearing in some breeds have their roots in the seemingly "unstoppable march" of the pharmaceutical industry :(

Not true. Immunity to viral diseases wanes more slowly than immunity to bacterial diseases, but unless it's repeatedly stimulated (either by exposure of vaccination) then the immunity certainly fails over time. This has been proven in human beings many times with many diseases. Also as an individual ages the immune response becomes weaker; elderly dogs are more seriously affected by kennel cough than younger ones.

I think a lot of this depends on how much you can foster wellness in your animals during their lifetime....and how much you can use natural alternatives and diet to support their immune system.....Elderly animals have bought so much joy to their guardians over their years.... and they deserve a graceful and dignified old age....

I think it depends on the individual...my younger dogs have had bad doses of kennel cough over the years more than once...even after being vaccinated...and yet my old collie who had no vaccines, never suffered from anything.....and she lived til nearly 17.

If we think back 25 - 30 years ago.....there are health conditions around today that were virtually unheard of back then....??

I have a suspicion that some of the heart problems and cardiomyopathies and auto-immune dis-eases...appearing in some breeds have their roots in the seemingly "unstoppable march" of the pharmaceutical industry

Possible, or they just weren't diagnosed back then even though it may have existed.

Vera

I agree with you,Freedomofspirit-I would certainly never have another puppy or adult dog given the lepto jab especially considering the advice given by the WSAVA.

Me neither....you would think living rurally that my dogs have a significant risk of leptospirosis. The titer tests show that they haven't come across it but the negative result still wouldn't convince me to vaccinate them. I value their health above all. Luckily there are people out there who care enough about our companions to try and halt the systematic abuse of their immune systems.

The STOP THE SHOTS NOW campaign is gaining momentum and Canine Health Concern's response to the VMD can be viewed here

http://petvaccine.weebly.com/uploads/3/0/3/6/3036695/letter_to_vmd_august_2010.pdf

Some, including Dr Ronald D Schultz - the hero of the World Small Animal Veterinary Association Vaccine Guidance Group (WSAVA VGG) wouldn't use the lepto vaccine in any circumstances, since it is associated with horrendous adverse effects.
Science is, ideally, the open pursuit of truth. After years of untruth, it seems that we are coming very close to the point where the veterinary profession will stop harming the animals they have sworn to heal. The WSAVA has made its clarified guidance known and is soon to embark upon an educational tour of vets around the world. Even the VMD has published guidance that appears to advocate a reduced vaccine schedule. However, the WSAVA should not need to go on an educational tour. Governments should be legislating.

With you on this one,my dogs are no longer vaccinated after one developed an auto immune disease.I have no way of proving this was due to over vaccination but its best guess.
In the end I took advice from several saluki breeders(with 30 years of knowledge) and they say after your initial jabs,no more.
I will never forget when my dog was first ill,i could find no reason for her illness,we went through everything,she now takes steroids everyday.One vet wanted to give her a booster when she was ill again,i said no thinking at the time it was the very least of our worries,when I look back now,thank god I refused,i think it would of killed her.
A small boast,if you dont mind! I heard through the grapevine recently that my now wonderful vet had to said to the people we got our dogs from(they are rescue) that if they hadn't fallen into our hands,my peggy would be dead by now, and we have had them 7 years.
ashx

that surely deserves a small boast,how nice,and well done!If I findtitre testing is beyond my means,i dont think Jess will have her next booster.