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We did titers this year for the first time, and the results on the first one are back. He doesn't need his distemper this year. The result on the other one isn't back yet.
Titers here cost $80-90 per dog. Vaccination is much less. Still, I'd rather do this and prevent overvaccination (and it's not like we have a lot of extra $$ we don't know what to do with). If your lab can do titers for $50, then all labs should be able to do that. There must be a lot of pad in there!
So, let me try and understand, rabies is the only mandatory? What about distemper? Only time my dog was ever around other dogs was at the groomer. I may have killed her with shots. Died of cancer at only 11 years old.
So, let me try and understand, rabies is the only mandatory? What about distemper? Only time my dog was ever around other dogs was at the groomer. I may have killed her with shots. Died of cancer at only 11 years old.
We also lost three of beloved dogs at ages 8, 9, and 11 to cancer. The first one was of very aggressive lymphoma. He was gone in 2 months from first diagnosis (which came, as a matter of fact, just two weeks after a routine physical exam - they never picked up on it, which I don't understand!)
I strongly suspect all these cancers were from excessive vaccinations.
Distemper will most likely kill a dog just as cancer would. It's important to vaccinate, but better to check for immunity levels than to give boosters when they are not needed.
There's a movement under way in TN by a group to support a law that would prevent vets from giving annual rabies vaccinations and force them to go to the 3-yr. vaccination. They need support - in numbers - from folks in TN to get this passed. If youare in TN and intersted in helping, please send me a dm and I can put you in touch with the group. They'll put you on the list for updates etc and where you can voice your support for the 3-yr vaccination.
Just curious, what are the breeds of these dogs that have passed away with cancer. Wonder if it is a genentic predisposition component...even if it is a mix.
You are correct. The vet also said the same thing. It's more common in cats and only recently there's been a marked increase in dogs. She said that in cats, it frequently starts at the site of the vaccination.
Many, if not all, annual rabies vaccines are the 3 year vaccine relabeled for annual use -- Colorado State University's Small Animal Vaccination Protocol for its veterinary teaching hospital states: “Even with rabies vaccines, the label may be misleading in that a three year duration of immunity product may also be labeled and sold as a one year duration of immunity product.” According to Dr. Ronald Schultz, Chair of the Department of Pathobiological Sciences at the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine, “There is no benefit from annual rabies vaccination and most one year rabies products are similar or identical to the 3-year products with regard to duration of immunity and effectiveness.”
In 1999, the World Health Organization classified veterinary vaccine as Class III/IV carcinogens with Class IV being the highest risk.
Adverse reactions that occur are muscular atrophy, inhibition or interruption of neuronal control of tissue and organ function, incoordination, and weakness auto-immune hemolytic anemia, autoimmune diseases affecting the thyroid, joints, blood, eyes, skin, kidney, liver, bowel and central nervous system; anaphylactic shock; aggression; seizures; epilepsy; and fibrosarcomas at injection sites are linked to the rabies vaccine. It is medically unsound for this vaccine to be given more often than is necessary to maintain immunity, according to the 2003 American Animal Hospital Association’s Canine Vaccine Guidelines.
The problem with the TN law (and other states) is that the law has loopholes that allow the vets to administer the vaccination yearly, when it may well be a 3-yr vaccination to begin with, resulting in potential harm to the animals and a lot more expense to the owners. The group I mentioned is working to support a bill that would close the loopholes. Send me a dm if you would like a simple letter that you can send to your TN Governor.
When I lived overseas, vets did not do routine yearly vaccinations. Young animals of course, but after the animals reached full maturity it was no longer done. Boarding kennels and customs did require additional immunizations, as you might expect. With large animals (e.g. horses) you need some specific immunizations as well. But generally speaking, I would never expose my animals or children to anything but the most necessary vaccines or drugs. There are too many available, too many pushed to the public without necessary safety measures in place, and too little oversight/control. As with anything else in life, you are your own best defense. Don't count on "normal" procedures to be what's best for you or your family (both human and critter!)
I have to wonder if it is the manufacture or the vets who want you to vaccinate your dog every year. My JR went 3 years with the titers test. When I moved out of state, I had him vaccinated but I am going to just get rabies for the next 3 years. The vets in my small town don't push vaccines like the ones in FL. BTW, if the titers comes back low, they are going to charge you for the vaccines and an office visit. I paid $34.00 for rabies, kennel cough and checkup for my JR.. last week.
I have to wonder if it is the manufacture or the vets who want you to vaccinate your dog every year.
I read an article in the Whole Dog Journal several years ago that said that exact thing. According to the author, the vaccine manufacturers make recommendations on vaccination frequency based on their own research using titer tests, but since they don't do long-term studies (probably because of the expense) they just recommend annual vaccination to be sure that the immunity level stays high.
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