I don't vaccinate my adult dogs anymore past rabies, but i have a small puppy now, she will be 9 weeks old tomorrow. So far, she hasn't had any shots. She has been eating raw since 3 weeks old(orphan) and i was just wondering, does she even need puppy shots? I can't find a vet in my town that will give the shots broken up, they give several at once. I have asked, and they said they won't order a whole palate of just distemper shots for one person. They are fine with me not vaccinating at all, but i can't get separate shots. She has been out with other dogs, with my adults, and with her rescued littermates. She is actually very healthy. I don't mind puppy shots if she really needs them, but i won't give any before 12 weeks, and i don't like the idea of the 5 in 1 vaccines. Any thoughts?

Minimally vaccinated young adults. They're fine. Better than fine.

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v15/keinhaar/?action=view&current=Picture008-1.jpg

The one on the left had distemper and rabies once (though I'd skip them all in the future) and the one on the right has had none.

I can't speak for the guy on the right, but the one on the left eats wild stuff, swims and frolics in unwholesome water (I'm talking common-sensically here, not New Jersey beaches or anything), and he seems to continue living despite "no protection" against lyme disease, giardia, lepto, kennel cough, corona virus, parainfluenca, gingivitis, rattlesnake venom this, that, or the other thing.

The one on the right seems to have a death wish, though he has to this date been unsuccessful. Extremely unsuccessful. He is as healthy as can be. Never been sick a day in his life, except the day after he was wormed. Totally unvaccinated, he swims in ponds, drinks from puddles in the yard, eats dead animals, eats the rotting remains of dead animals he has previously buried, and fights Pit Bulls. He has suffered no ill effects from any of these things, except for a few punctures which he calls "battle scars," and seems to think make him more appealing (in a dangerous way) to the ladies.

In all seriousness, I have never seen a hardier, healthier dog, and his littermates are the same. Raw fed, unvaccinated to date.

So as not to sound TOO reckless, these little ones were on immune-boosting supplements from 4.5 weeks on, and were not exposed to any disease-havens like pet stores and the like. Until they were about 16wks, I kept them pretty close and exposed them to my dogs only, but took them lots of public places w/out a lot of dogs. After 16wks or so, I figured they were fairly strong and could probably fight most of what they'd come in contact with pretty well. Just need to use some common sense.

haha, mine have death wishes too. we also swim in our local"waterhole"(dammed up portion of a rather dirty creek). They eat dead deer in the woods, and hunt their own rabbits and squirrels. We hike, camp out, and they get into all kinds of stuff. They are also the healthiest dogs i know.
They were also vaccinated up until this past 2 years(they are all under 4 years old, so they haven't had that many years of shots yet). I wasn't sure about this new puppy. She seems very healthy, especially considering her malnourished past. I don't want to mess her up giving shots, but i don;t want her to get sick because she wasn't as immune as i thought she was.

Well, David Chau, in another thread, just mentioned his dog being in apparent discomfort for *months* after vaccinations.

So, let's say he's talking about 3 months, and he continues the trend yearly. This dog will be in apparent discomfort for a full 25% of his life to "protect" him from a disease he'll probably never get anyway. To boot, it'll probably shorten his overall life....or at least his fully mobile and enjoyable life.

Someone also mentioned recently an improvement in some superficial qualities after starting a raw diet. The point was made that if superficial qualities have improved, then there are surely beneficial unseen internal improvements.

On the flip side, if a dog is outwardly behaving or looking badly (from vaccinations or bad diet), then one has to consider the internal conditions which are the root. Things which may be CUMULATIVE in nature and will ultimately result in compromised health, mobility, and longevity.