Everyone should vaccinate their dogs as puppies.

No one should vaccinate dogs after that. Any vet that says they should is not paying attention - over vaccination is a serious problem in the dog world. If you want to learn about it - read the book we sell titled What Vets Don't Tell You About Vaccinations

I chose not to vaccinate my new pup (now 11 months old). A month ago I did a titer on him for both parvo and distemper and he has a good titer to both of these despite not being vaccinated for them.

If your dogs are on a raw natural diet there is support for no vaccines and your dog/pup acquiring its immunity to things naturally.

I am fortuante to live in an area where rabies vaccination is not required and in my opinion the only other things I would consider vaccinating for is parvo and distemper.

As many have suggested , once your dog is vaccintaed there is no need for yearly 'updates'. It is likely a waste of money and can very likely do more harm than good.

Then what do people do who have to put there dog(s) In a boarding kennel? Almost every kennel I have talk to wants to see the vaccine records! How Important is the Bordetella& Lyme Will these also harm the animal? Thank you!!...TimBordetella Lyme

Lyme vaccines are one of the worst ones out there! In fact there are several lawsuits pending against the maunfactures of them. Many veternarians will not tough the lyme vaccine!

The side effects from the vaccine are far worse than the disease itself.

Bordetella is most often requested by boarding kennels but really...I think it is a pretty useless vaccination. You are only vaccinating for 6 or so of the possible 80 or so 'strains' of it. Most dogs with kennel cough get it from the vaccine. However, if you need to do it to have your dog boarded do the nose drop one, not the injection. At least it going in through the nose mimicks closer to what would really happen if your dog came into contact with the disease.

Shelley

Lyme vaccines are one of the worst ones out there! In fact there are several lawsuits pending against the maunfactures of them. Many veternarians will not tough the lyme vaccine!

The side effects from the vaccine are far worse than the disease itself.

Bordetella is most often requested by boarding kennels but really...I think it is a pretty useless vaccination. You are only vaccinating for 6 or so of the possible 80 or so 'strains' of it. Most dogs with kennel cough get it from the vaccine. However, if you need to do it to have your dog boarded do the nose drop one, not the injection. At least it going in through the nose mimicks closer to what would really happen if your dog came into contact with the disease.

Many boarding kennels are starting to accept titers as 'proof' of vaccination.

This is a good post. People should follow this thread. Shandor has very valid posts.

I am new to this board and certainly to this topic.

My dog usually "finds" a cat, racoon, or ground hog or two or three a year and I'd feel a bit exposed without vaccinations.

Between vacation-kenneling and and visits to other homes our dog gets plenty of exposure to others. At home we spend plenty of time in tick filled woods (yep, the bona fide 'bad ones') and I have dosed her with the lyme disease shot as well. I haven't seen any unusual or bad side effects.

I have always considered vaccinations a preventative medicine

Thoughts?

Thanks, Rob

We have 3 GSD's & have just started this year doing titers & not giving vaccinations. We give the 3 year rabies shot & also the bordetella. I know the bordetella is not 100% effective but as I go to obedience shows & agility shows, I feel a little better giving this one. I think it is much safer not to give so many vaccinations but it is opening up new areas. For instance, our dog club currently requires proof of vaccinations to enter your dog in any classes. We are now having to change our ways a little as many people are stopping the vaccinations.

Patricia

I think that not giving vaccinations makes many of us feeling exposed. Why wouldn't we. We have been told for years and years that not giving them would likely lead to many risks and problems. What we weren't told is that giving them would also lead to many risks and problems!

Dogs with good immune systems fight off disease themselves and most do it very successfully! The 'best' way to actually get immunity to the many things and diseases out there is from having them exposed to the enviroment and then having thier bodies fight the disease and coming up with its own immunity.

When we give vaccines we are injecting the body with the actual 'disease' that we want it to prevent. Unfortuantely, we are injecting it past the natural defenses the body naturally has to fight the disease and putting it right into the system. We do that on purpose. In order for this to happen many very harmful things are added to the vaccines to get them past the natural response system.

We have all taken for granted that vaccinating our animals is the 'best' choice for prevention. In reality the best choice is a healthy immune system. It is hard to give our animals a healthy immune system with many of the 'protocols' that are being used for vaccination. ALso take into consideration the food that many have been feeding for generations and is it a wonder that there are so many problems.

THe lyme vaccine is one of the worst ones on the market. In this case the vaccine has been known to give the disease in a 'form' that is much more devastating that the actual disease. Many , many veternarians will not even give the vaccine any longer.

Most of us have thought for many years that vaccines are preventative. In reality, sometimes they work, sometimes they don't and sometimes they cause more harm than good. My quest and research into vaccines started with a set of parvo vaccinations that did not 'take' with one of my dogs.

I think vaccinating is an individual decision we all need to make for our dogs but it is my hope that we would make the decision with a LOT more information and research!

I do not believe in annual vaccinations either. However, we are a military family and our dogs will be traveling a lot.

Is there any place that we can find out the vaccination requirements for countries other than the USA? In particular, Germany, as they are our most likely next duty station.

Besides a vet I mean, as they of course always tell me they need all their shots.

On another note, any advice on how to find reliable pet carrier would be appreciated.
We tried to go it alone with the airline on our recent move to Korea and it turned into a major fiasco.