I have been reading about not giving vaccines to puppies. I know many people have decided that this is the way to go. I have one question, how do we get our puppies into the groomers, training classes, and other places that require a vaccine. Or the flight if shipping, as they are required to have their vaccines including rabies if old enough. Thanks for any info

For airlines, rabies is the only required vaccine for U.S. travel that I'm aware of. A puppy under 16 weeks is exempt from this requirement. Flying a pup or dog older than 16 weeks you either need to get the vaccine or have a vet find a medical reason why your dog is exempt.

As far as groomers, trainers, and kennels...call around and be prepared to have to drive a little further to find someone. I know of a few places who are like-minded and understand my concern about vaccinosis and don't require every vaccine made. Granted, they are in the minority.

Like sarah said you can find groomers and kennels and other place that dont require them.

I also found that in home boarder dont require vacinations.
I dont for my home and I registered with the city as a boarder.

As far as training, you've got all the instruction you need in Leerburg's DVDs .

They don't require shots.:wink:

It is most likely that your city (or county if your are rural) requires rabies only, but you can call and check what the law is. If you dog is not street legal, they can pick him up and you do want to avoid that because once they are in that truck, anything can happen.

I'm sure you don't let your dogs run wild and tagless in the streets, but accidents happen, neighbor kids let dogs out, rotten neighbors call animal control... you dog does need those stinkin' badges.

The requirements of boarding/training/groomers/etc is something non-vax people have to deal with. It's not always convenient! It's not always 100% honest, either, depending on the person. I have seen people do things involving forgery and it really isn't difficult, although it may be considered ethically wrong and/or illegal.

However, I would suggest home pet-sitting, or finding a relative to do it. My vet accepts titers for boarding. For training, you can try to do private lessons, and maybe try to explain to them that the dog is naturally reared without vaccines. You may find a trainer who agrees or understands. For grooming, I can tell you the place I work we ASK if the dog has vaccines, but we don't trouble people to bring in all the paperwork. I also know at PetSmart they only need a rabies certificate to be groomed.

If you are going to fly the dog or do something where you NEED the vaccines, try to get a letter of exemption from your vet, you need to find a vet who supports what you're doing. They usually only write these letters for dogs who have had allergic reactions previously, or when it runs in their bloodline to be allergic to vaccines.