I did not want to give any vaccinations to my puppie but I just found out that it's the law for my puppie to get a booster shot every 3-4 weeks. The booster has distemper, adeno virus, para influenza and parvo. I'm very new to vaccinas, I've never given them to my dogs before so I need some help with this one. What do all these mean? What will this do to my puppie? Also, what should I watch out for as far as him having a reaction to theme?

 Quote: Christi Collett

I did not want to give any vaccinations to my puppie but I just found out that it's the law for my puppie to get a booster shot every 3-4 weeks. The booster has distemper, adeno virus, para influenza and parvo. I'm very new to vaccinas, I've never given them to my dogs before so I need some help with this one. What do all these mean? What will this do to my puppie? Also, what should I watch out for as far as him having a reaction to theme?

Who told you that there was a law about boosters every 3-4 weeks?

Who told you it was the law? I have only heard of Rabies being the law, but I may be wrong

Not to say I don't trust vets, but I would be suspicious of them quoting any law to you, it is in thier interest to sell you the shots and treatments.....

I would only give the distemper and parvo if I was giving at all. They don't need that other stuff. This is what my vet recommends, as well as Dr. Dodds.

Here are a couple of links to get you started, I'm sure Connie will have more and better ones for you!

http://www.wellpet.org/vaccines/dodds-schedule.htm

http://www.dogsadversereactions.com/vaccines.html

http://www.drpitcairn.com/talks/talks_intro.html

Scroll Down to #12
http://agr.georgia.gov/00/article/0,2086,38902732_0_40729045,00.html

These ones I just found interesting:
http://agr.georgia.gov/vgn/images/portal/cit_1210/26/31/105312956Rabies%20Compendium%202008.pdf

http://sos.georgia.gov/plb/veterinary/minutes/20071107.pdf (scroll down and it gives a list of complaints and what was done with them, it is actually minutes from a meeting)

I Live on an Army post so I called the post vet and asked her what is the post wide rules/laws and vaccinations for a dog of my puppies age. She said "I will read then to you, puppies 8 weeks to 6 months must get a booster every 3 to 4 weeks and a rabies shot. and if you are new to the post you dog must have a feekel sample and a micro chip".

I asked why my pup must have all that here on post but I don't need it out in the city. She said it's post laws cause of all the animals coming and going over seas to other post, thay don't want anything to spread.

My pup has a chip as of last month. Beleve me I did not like the idea of if so I thrue a fit and said that I was not ok with this, but than thay showed me the sighn of post wide animal laws and all of this was on there. So I can't beleve thay can make me do all this, but thay still can. There the gov. thay can do whatever thay want.
Sorry, I'm just not very happy wiht them about this.

It should not be comfortable, or acceptable, to have our personal liberties interfered with.

That said, you signed up to live under a set of rules and expectations that is higher than those of a normal civilian. Not pleasant, certainly, but it seems you've got only a few options:

1. Get a place off base. Georgia is not Iraq, I'd be willing to bet you could find an apartment and commute pretty easily.
2. Petition for a special exception. You'll get denied, but at least you'll have done your best.
3. Work within the system to try to get the laws changed. This will take decades.

Get the vet on your side. As much as we forget this fact, most vets became vets because they love animals, not because they make a lot of money on vaccines. There are just better ways to make money. So give it a shot. Print out the Minimal Vaccine information, take it in, and ask the vet if you can talk to them about it. Lay out your concerns, express your understanding of the law, reinforce the idea that you want whats best for your dog, and ask if there's anything you can do to minimalize the vaccines required. If anyone knows any loopholes, it'll be that vet.

I can't imagine the post vet is saying your puppy needs vacs every 3-4 weeks until it's 6 months old, is she (that's kind of what it sounded like)? Did you ask how many vacs the pup needs?

I can imagine the post vet saying anything. I don't mean to discriminate here, but I've never heard of any good experiences from military veterinarians.

She just told me that my pup needs a booster shot(that has in it what I listed on my first post of this) every 3-4 weeks untill he is 8 months(I said 6 months but I that was not right, she said 8)old. She said that a puppies mothers milk has lots of boosters in it and that when a pup is taken off his mother that he can than get sick very easy and so thay give them these shots till there 8 months so that thay have some time for the body to bild up so thay don't get sick as puppies.

Now I'm very new to all this, but something about this sounds not right to me. I'm not sure what to make of all this!

 Quote: christi collett

She just told me that my pup needs a booster shot(that has in it what I listed on my first post of this) every 3-4 weeks untill he is 8 months(I said 6 months but I that was not right, she said 8)old.

That is probably the most extreme vax schedule I've ever heard of... even the "typical" vaccine/booster program for puppies ends around 5 months (not counting rabies vax), depending on when it was started... I see absolutely no need for it to stretch out to 8 months!

A healthy mother dog passes on many antibodies to her pups through her milk during the nursing period. These maternal antibodies can protect the pups for a number of months, at which point vets would like to start vaccinating so that the pups can develop their OWN antibodies/immunity. The catch is, you can't really tell exactly how long a pup will still be effected by his mum's antibodies, and if you vax while he's still got maternal antibodies, they will prevent the virus from triggering immunity in the pup - hence there is a schedule of "boosters", one after another for a series of weeks to make ABSOLUTELY SURE that the puppy develops it's own immunity, also called seroconversion.

While vaccines can still be relatively safe given sparingly, and at the right times (and I can't imagine you getting away with NO vaccines living on a military base), more and more and more is NOT better and better and better. A lot of common thought today suggests a one-size-fits-all-over-the-top-just-to-be-safe type of vax protocol (where YOU live, it sounds even more extreme!), but there has been growing worry among many dog and cat owners that this protocol is simply too much, and effectively harmful. There are some better protocols out there than every 3-4 weeks until 8 months of age, you need to find out if there might be LESS you can give.

I would urge you to READ and RESEARCH how this whole thing works (viruses, antibodies, memory cells, immunity and vaccines - including the lifelong immunological DAMAGE that OVER-vaccination can and does do to many dogs). The more you know the better a case you can make with your vet (perhaps they might even be enlightened by your compelling research! ). As was mentioned, living on a military base you are in a bit of a bind, as the rules you must follow just might be even more ridiculous than most... but if you can't move, the best thing you can do is educate yourself and be adamant about what you know.

There is a wealth of info about vaccinations here on Leerburg, but here is a link full of articles that I have found really helpful as well (vaccination subjects at top of list):
http://www.caberfeidh.com/HHC.htm

Good luck!

~Natalya