on Vaccinations

 

Here at Leerburg Kennels we don't give yearly vaccinations to our dogs and puppies. We recommend other dog owners follow our lead. In fact we will not sell a puppy unless the new owner agrees to two things:

1- They agree to not vacinate our pup

2- They agree to feed an all-natural diet.

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QUESTION:

Hi Ed

We got Rosie from you as a puppy in '97 from one of the Chelsea/Otis litters. She was the best dog ever. Unfortunately we gave her the Lymes Disease Vaccine and it triggered Auto Immune Disease in her. Despite our attempts to save her, the recovery drugs got her. I just wanted to make you aware in case there might be a problem with this vaccine. I think people should know this can happen. We miss her very much. Thank you for sending us a great dog.

The Nagelhouts

ANSWER:

I NEVER RECOMMEND Lymes vaccination. I get way way way to many people emailing me with terrible stories like this. I have written an article on Vaccinosis on my web site. The best and safest way to deal with vaccinations is to not do them.

Rather feed your dog an all-natural diet and help the dog build it's natural immune system and then lets that immune system deal with protecting our dogs.

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Vaccinosis eBook

 

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QUESTION on Vaccinations:

Hi Ed,

Hopefully you won't think this is too dumb a question we have just gotten a 3 month old German Shepherd Dog....the vets here say he needs his rabies shot at 4 months....the breeder says to wait until 6 months of age....I don't want any horrible reactions to this vaccination, but we're not sure what to do....about the other vaccinations....you say "two shots for puppies" and nothing else for the rest of their lives? What shots exactly do you recommend? We just ordered the obedience training video....I'm so happy we came across your site.....

Thank You,

Diane

ANSWER:

We would only give a rabies vaccination after the pup was finished teething and NOT BEFORE THAT.

We NEVER give yearly vaccination. They serve one function and that’s to enrich Vets.

Good luck with your new dog. Learn to use the site search function on my web site.

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Question:

Hi again, Cindy,

Speaking of vaccinations, what's you opinion...our breeder always follows the latest recommendations from UC Davis & the American Animal Hospitals Assoc, etc. when she recommends vaccinations.  At age 1 we did the puppy shot booster DA2PP, and then every 3 yrs., which is where we are now, we should do it again.  And since we take our dogs with us everywhere, she suggests Bordetella every 6 mos.  and Leptospirosis every 6 mos. since we live in the country with horses, cows, etc.  Do you agree?

Answer:

We don’t believe in vaccinations at all.  Our dogs go everywhere with us also, and many of mine have never had a vaccination at all.  I would rather fight a disease I know, than battle with the inevitable damage the vaccine will cause.  This is not a choice I made overnight or take lightly.   

We won’t sell our dogs to people who insist on vaccinations, we feel so strongly about this.

Good health doesn’t come in the form of an injection; it’s from a strong immune system, clean air, exercise and appropriate raw food.

I would recommend these 2 books,  Shock to the System and Vaccine Guide for Dogs & Cats. 

For more information on natural health care and homeopathic treatment of your dogs (and cats), I highly recommend Homeopathic Care for Cats & Dogs  and Natural Health for Dogs and Cats.

If you haven’t read the vaccinosis article I sent you last evening, I would recommend it.  It will explain our thoughts on this.

It’s a personal choice, on how to care for your dogs.  We have made our decisions based on years of breeding dogs, and my involvement in the veterinary field (for many years).  

There are risks involved with everything in life, I have chosen to go the most natural route I can with our dogs and I believe our dogs’ health and happiness has much improved as we are into our 2nd and 3rd generations of raw fed, vaccine free dogs.

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Question:

Last year I found your site and ordered several of the books you recommend.  I also ordered your catalog including extras and give out with each puppy I sell.  I try to inform all about the vaccine problems and tell them to order the books regarding this.  This is my problem:  This morning I woke up to a very sick puppy.  Was fine yesterday, the puppy is a maltese chihuahua, they were born Oct. 20th of this year.  Their weights are under 2 lbs and still nursing a little.  I had had an appointment to have their first shots last week but called to change it to next week so they would be a little older.  My vet (he is the only vet I have spoke with in the Orlando area that reduces the amount of each vaccine - to each puppies body weight).  I rushed the puppy to their office, they did a parvo test and it showed positive.  I asked them to please give it fluids when I first got there, I knew it was dehydrated.  For what ever reason they didn't.  When they brought out the puppy I asked about the fluids and that's when I found out they did not do the fluids.  I asked for all the supplies that I had 4 other puppies at home and I would do it.  I asked for AD food, (While the vet was out of the room I read his book that he had opened to parvo.)  The book mentioned to feed with a very mild food, hydrate and give antibiotics.  So I asked for all three of these.  I left with a $144.00 bill and all they really did was the parvo test.  The puppy died 15 minutes after I left the vet's office.  Now that I am home, another puppy looks ill and just vomited.  The mother has had her vaccinations.  I am looking into my mass of paperwork to see when her last shot was but I know she's had her shots.  She is almost 3 yrs old.  I have many dogs in my home.  We have done rescue for years.  Most of the dogs are over 7, we get them when all the "fun" is gone and the real work begins.  I need to know how I can save these babies and what risk do my other dogs have?  We have about 5 dogs under 5 yrs old.  I do not let the Moms go outside.  Use a ton of wee wee pads.  I keep a very clean home so it's not due to filthy or bad conditions.  We have a pool so that's one of the reasons they don't go out and also have several cats that go out back and do not want the dogs to get to the cat poop.  Any light you can shed on this I would greatly appreciate!  I am at a loss because I have read so much about the vaccine problems, esp. with the smaller dogs.  I do not know anyone that has had parvo problems so how in the world would these puppies get it?  In my paperwork I send with each puppy I tell the new owners not to go to doggy parks,  to carry them into the vet's office, not let them play on the vet's floor,  do not take them into the dog stores.  The parents and grand parents of these puppies are in my home  so there is no parvo in their past and I have not brought in any rescues in the past 2 yrs.  Please help me understand this insanity.  I thank you in advance for any insight you can share with me.  I did ask the vet on a past visit to show me how to tube feed.  Haa that was a joke!  I have tube fed large parrots in the past so I have a little idea of the concept.  He just brushed off the request.

Sincerely,
Debbie

Answer:

Fluids are the single most important factor in saving a puppy with parvo.  I wouldn’t be too concerned about any of your adult dogs, but I would watch the remaining pups closely.  Parvo can be brought in from a variety of sources, on shoes, car tires, etc… there is no way to guarantee a puppy won’t be exposed to it unless you never leave your house.  You can bring it in on clothing, etc. 

I wouldn’t force or tube feed parvo puppies, because their intestines are so inflamed they bleed.  I have successfully gotten a litter of pups through parvo and some of them ate nothing for 4 or 5 days.  I just used fluids, injectable antibiotics and lots of TLC.   You need to stop the vomiting and diarrhea before food can be offered and then it’s tiny amounts every couple of hours.

I would do a google search on Parvaid, and order some of that immediately.  It can be used for puppies that HAVE parvo and puppies that have been exposed.

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Question:

Hi Cindy,

I am so distraught over 1 thing though and was hoping you could help me with it. Max was totally healthy 2 months ago. We brought him to the vet for a vaccine that he was over due for. At that time they highly suggested another vaccine that needed to be followed up with a booster in 10 days. Max seemed fine after that visit but then we went back for the booster. He went steadily down hill after that booster. He 1st started drinking water continually. He couldn't get enough. Then he became very lethargic and weak. He lost 16 pounds in a 2 week period and could hardly get up anymore. The vet ran a bunch of blood tests, testing him for diabetes etc. and couldn't find anything wrong. I told him I thought it was the vaccination. He said that it couldn't be; that they had never had any problems with the vaccine before. Now reading your minimal vaccine policy, I am even more convinced. We as a family do not believe in vaccines for ourselves. I often questioned why we gave them to our dog. It is tearing me up thinking that maybe I did this to Max. Do you think it is a possibility?

Thanks for your time.

Sincerely,
Diane

Max & I about 3 years ago

Max about 4 months ago, before he got sick

Cindy's Response:

Please Diane, Do not blame yourself.  We are all taught to take what medical professionals say as ‘’good for us” and this includes vets.  It usually takes some kind of tragedy for us to start asking questions and then we find out that we have been deceived .  I don’t believe most vets intentionally mislead us, but they don’t question things like they should and they are always quick to do a lot to our pets when they are in the office to make that almighty dollar.  I know this because I worked for a vet for many years.  They don’t want to risk that you won’t bring the dog or cat back, so they do as many things as possible to get that income.

Why any vet would vaccinate an older dog and then do it again in TEN days is absolutely criminal. I would make sure you do lots of research on vaccinosis before you get a new pup. I would not let this particular vet anywhere near my animals again and I would tell him why.

There is no reason for a 10 year old dog to be given any vaccines at all, in our opinion.

Would you mind sharing with me what vaccinations Max was given?  

Cindy

Diane's Response:

Hi Cindy,

Thanks for taking the time to talk to me about this. I just called the veterinary clinic and got the name of the vaccines. On Jan. 8th Max had a Distemper Vaccination and a Leptospirosis. He seemed Ok, nothing unusual that I noticed after that. On Jan. 29th I took him in for the booster on it. I noticed that Max didn't seem himself after the booster. By the second week of Feb. he was getting sicker & sicker, was drinking tons of water, quit eating food unless hand fed and just laid all day. I took him in again, they did blood work and found nothing. Max lost all his muscle tone and 16 pounds of weight in the last 2 weeks of his life. All he wanted to do was lay in the snow and lick it. They did more blood work and put him on antibiotics which still didn't help. On Friday Mar. 7th they suggested that he be given a shot of steroids to maybe give him a boost in his appetite. I was desperate because Max was dying so I took him in. The very next day I took him back for his final shot. I couldn't bare to let him suffer anymore. At least he is at peace now, but I sure am not. I can't even begin to tell you how much I miss him and how bad I feel for what he had to go through. This will never happen to me again. If the law makes us get our pet a rabies shot, well I guess I have no choice, but no animal of mine will ever be vaccinated for anything else again.

Diane

PS If you have ever heard of anything else about this vaccine, please let me know. Thanks for your time.

Cindy's Last Comment:

I would suspect the Leptospirosis vaccine.  That vaccine can wreak havoc with the immune system.  I am so sorry your boy had to go through that but you will always have him in your heart.

If you haven’t already read this, you might want to but get some Kleenex http://leerburg.com/bridge.htm

If you do a google search on dog overvaccination and on Leptospirosis side effects you will find a lot of information.

When you get a new pup, let me know if I can help you out in any way.

Take care,
Cindy

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Question:

I have an 11 week old Chihuahua that just lost his sister to Parvo.  I purchased the pups together from a breeder so they would have each other when I am not around. Unfortunately one of the puppies passed away from Parvo. Of course I am concerned about the other puppy and getting Parvo. I am keeping a close watch on him and getting his vaccinations in a few days.  My training issue is this:  Both pups were great about not using the crate for peeing and pooping when they were together. Now that I only have one pup, he is peeing and pooping in his crate. Can this behavior be stress related?

Thanks in advance... it's been an emotional week.

Melody

Answer:

Before I address the training issue, I would caution you about getting a puppy vaccinated after it’s already been exposed to parvo.  Being exposed to a disease and not becoming ill, is in effect a vaccination.  Giving a vaccine to a puppy whose immune system is dealing with a recent parvo exposure may be deadly.  If your pup never becomes sick, he will likely be immune to parvo as he has received “nature’s vaccine” which is the best way to build immunity.  Read our vaccinosis article http://leerburg.com/vaccinosis.htm

Your pup may be suffering from a bit of separation anxiety, so I would offer him firm leadership and structure.  

Ed recently finished a project we been working on for years titled COMMON SENSE SOULTION TO HOUSE TRAINING PROBLEMS. This is a 160 page eBook that that is based on how we house train pups in our home. It is also based on 10 years of emails on house training problems from people like yourself.

In my opinion this eBook is the best collection of information on how to housetrain a dog that’s ever been put together.

I have reviewed your email and this eBook along with my DVD titled YOUR PUPPY 8 WEEKS to 8 MONTHS http://leerburg.com/120.htm will guide you through the issues you will face in solving your problems.

Cindy

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