OK - forgive me - but I had no idea about the new view on vaccinations until AFTER my pup (now 13 week GSD pup) got the first combo-type "puppy shot" as follows:

On 5/23/08 (11 weeks old) we went to vet and he got:

1. Distemper-Hepatitis (CAV-2)
2. Parainfluenza
3. Canine Parvovirus


NOW I need help big time.

Can anyone please give me the name of the best vaccination detox? I see so many totally different ones online (some even for humans), and I know nothing! No way can I know which one is right and good and actually works. I am ignorant in this area and my little buddy needs help (duh).

Any suggestions would be worth more than gold.

Dee

Is he having any symptoms? what are they and when did they start?

What is going on with your pup?

there isn't a "one size fits all" remedy for things like this. I certainly would never advise just giving a "detox" that you buy on the internet without talking to a health care professional first.

I would look on this list and contact a homeopath via phone and see what they can do for your dog.

http://leerburg.com/holisticvets.htm

Let us know how the pup is doing.

OK - pup is doing better. Actually a about a week or so ago, but the computer needed replaced :0(

BUT I am very concerned about the next shots they'll want to do and I canceled them for now. They wanted to do another the same as he had the first time today (I think "not").

Symptoms: He was very weak, like his muscles and bones hurt. He wouldn't eat or drink (the drinking was serious, I know), yet threw up yellow foam (bile?). I panicked as we lost our 3 YO GSD to torsion immediately after his rabies only 4 months ago. I got pup to vet and he was given antibiotics and fluids. Also something ease his stomach. The x-ray machine was broke down (can you believe my luck). I am looking for a new vet, but these around here are so old fashioned, it is tiring.

I found a homeopathic vet that would take about 5 hours to get to, and they were concerned. They suggested thinking seriously about repeating the parvo, distemper, and influenza combo. But I am afraid of not having them (he had these at 11 weeks and is now a week short of 4 months). He thought these shots may be all he needed to protect him??? hmmm. They also suggest giving them all separate, but the problem is "knowing which one caused the reaction" and feared it happening again. I asked my vet about this and she doesn't have single shots anyway (like I was strange for asking for them). So I am confused, but I don't want my best bud to get parvo or distemper either! I just lost two dog recently and I don't think I can handle that. Would you believe both died immediately after a vaccinations. Nikita had cancer within 3 weeks - it was aggressive and she was gone quickly. Chant got symptoms of torsion before we left the office and died a few hours later - so please understand I am reasonably concerned.

Please offer your suggestions. I have talked to people who lost their dogs from shots, too, so it really scary.

Dee

I haven't had to deal with vaccination issues, so can't offer any specific help, but this web site is a great source of information. Have you read this article? I'd also do a search of the forum for other threads on this issue. It would at least help you be able to ask intelligent questions of any potential new vet to see if you think they know what they're talking about.

Good luck.

Mike

 Quote: denise skillman

...Symptoms: He was very weak, like his muscles and bones hurt. He wouldn't eat or drink (the drinking was serious, I know), yet threw up yellow foam (bile?). I panicked as we lost our 3 YO GSD to torsion immediately after his rabies only 4 months ago. .......

So I am confused, but I don't want my best bud to get parvo or distemper either! I just lost two dog recently and I don't think I can handle that. Would you believe both died immediately after a vaccinations. Nikita had cancer within 3 weeks - it was aggressive and she was gone quickly. Chant got symptoms of torsion before we left the office and died a few hours later - so please understand I am reasonably concerned.....

I have talked to people who lost their dogs from shots, too, so it really scary.

If I were you, and what you wrote above already happened to 3 of my dogs, I'd have my answer about vaccinations. The answer for me would be "never again".

I'd rather take my chances with something that has not happened (parvo, distemper, whatever) than to take my chances with known complications that could even lead to death, as it has with 2 of your dogs and severe illness as just happened to your pup.

I think the reason many vets don't carry single vacs is because they've successfully convinced people that their pups need at least the 5-in-1 shots at regular intervals, so there's no demand from clients for single shots. A vet would probably have to buy a case of these single shots, and not having any demand for them makes that financially unfeasible.

Yep, my answer would be "never again", I'll take my chances. I figure the chances I would be taking aren't any worse than my pup dying from a vaccination.

I'm already at the "never again" decision on vacs, and I haven't even experienced what you (and your dogs) have experienced with vacs.

 Quote: sandy moore

If I were you, and what you wrote above already happened to 3 of my dogs, I'd have my answer about vaccinations. The answer for me would be "never again".

I agree with Sandy

 Quote:

I'd rather take my chances with something that has not happened (parvo, distemper, whatever) than to take my chances with known complications that could even lead to death, as it has with 2 of your dogs and severe illness as just happened to your pup.

Agree again. And Cindy Rhodes has often said she'd rather treat the disease itself than spend years treating the complications of vaccinosis. That really hit home with me.

 Quote:

I think the reason many vets don't carry single vacs is because they've successfully convinced people that their pups need at least the 5-in-1 shots at regular intervals, so there's no demand from clients for single shots. A vet would probably have to buy a case of these single shots, and not having any demand for them makes that financially unfeasible.

This is true. Vets don't usually keep single doses on-hand. If you really want the single shot tell your vet you're willing to pay for the box or vial. They can and should do that for you.

To vaccinate or not is each person's personal decision. There is a ton of information out there (and here) to make an informed decision. I think it's worthwhile to note that veterinary vaccine protocols are slowly changing...very slowly...and what was once thought to be "radical" thinking by "fringe" holistic vets and owners is now being, if not accepted, than considered by "mainstream" vets and vet schools.

The question I asked myself is: Do I want to risk my animal's health and life waiting for the inevitable day when veterinary medicine says "Oops...we made a mistake and animals really don't need all these shots"?

Since I'm convinced this is where we're headed, my answer is "No".

JMHO

I also strongly recommend this article for points to ponder:

http://www.caberfeidh.com/Revax.htm

and this one: http://www.caberfeidh.com/VaxNone.htm

These are well-thought-out articles, IMO, and also include good suggestions for other reading.

And here again is the Jean Dodds minimal vaccine protocol, with comments about core and non-core: http://www.weim.net/emberweims/Vaccine.html

(Like others, for me, with a dog who had already had a vax reaction, I personally would not consider vaccinating that dog again. JMO. I would also be looking for a holistic DVM.)

I know this maybe a dumb/confusing question, but aren't there side effects from not finishing the vaccination rounds once you've started them? I would imagine that by not finishing them, you're making the dog an easier target by the disease you were trying to innoculate them from...

I'd be glad to know I was wrong about this, btw...

 Quote: Mike Morrison

I know this maybe a dumb/confusing question, but aren't there side effects from not finishing the vaccination rounds once you've started them? I would imagine that by not finishing them, you're making the dog an easier target by the disease you were trying to innoculate them from...

I'd be glad to know I was wrong about this, btw...

Do you mean like penicillin and finishing the prescription?

Vaccines and antibiotics are not alike in their actions, as I (a layman only) understand both.

A vaccine usually contains a weakened or dead disease virus or maybe part of one. The body, having now been injected -- directly into the blood -- with a form of disease (in what is meant to be a less harmful state than the disease as normally contracted) produces antibodies against the modified virus.

Antibiotics kill bacteria. Overuse of antibiotics has triggered stronger bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics; similarly, not finishing an antibiotic protocol leaves only the more resistant bacteria to flourish on an otherwise cleared playing field.

This is all just my own undersanding of two very different mechanisms.

I don't know whether there is another facet that would make one vaccination worse than none. I'd ask a professional, keeping in mind the fact that this animal has already shown that the vaccine is dangerous to him.

I'm not a health professional, so my own opinion about not giving another vaccination to an animal of mine who had reacted that badly to the first one is only an individual opinion.

I'd also be looking around for a holistic DVM.