vaccinate pet?

[medeak]

wanted to share a terrific site that saved my dog's life last year.

Local vet (large animal..we live in too remote area to have small animal vet) gave puppy vaccinations too close together and pup's bone marrow shut down and he nearly succumbed to anemia before I found this wonderful woman..

http://www.itsfortheanimals.com/HEMOPET.HTM

Dr. Jean Dodds..was on vacation in Israel yet immediately answered my email and correctly diagnosed the problem. Now we have to have titers drawn before getting shots.

She's written many papers on vaccinations.

[sleepyhead]

1. Dr. Dodds has gotten mixed reviews in the veterinary literature.

I agree with her that sometimes pets don't need all the vaccinations that they get (most veterinarians are trying to minimize the number of vaccinations that we give to dogs and cats), but I think she goes too far in her criticism of vaccines. I remember when dogs first began succumbing to parvo virus - it was a total nightmare. I worked in an emergency clinic at the time and our entire isolation ward would be full of sick and dying dogs. In desperation, many vets were trying to prevent the disease by vaccinating with the feline distemper vaccine (the two viruses are in the same family and it was hoped that there would be some cross-reactivity). When the parvo vaccine came out it was considered a miracle. Nowadays we rarely see parvo in dogs, and if we do it tends to be a milder form of the disease. I can tell similar stories about canine distemper and feline leukemia. Vaccines do have their place.

Bottom line, don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. Talk to your vet about which vaccines are absolutely essential to your pet and its lifestyle. A 2-year-old Labrador retriever that goes hunting every week will need a different protocol than a 12-year-old pampered Maltese that never even leaves the house. Puppy vaccines should be given at 3 or 4 week intervals and should be split up if needed (i.e. only 1 vaccine at any given visit). Breeders and pet stores are often guilty of over-vaccinating before the pet even goes to its new home - I have seen puppies who are only 8 weeks old and have already gotten 3 boosters.

Do remember that no one really knows at this time what titer level is really protective. We can guess based on the limited data that we have from challenge studies, but animals are complicated biological systems and there is a tremendous amount of individual variation. Having said that, I think that if a pet has already had a reaction to a vaccination, subsequent vaccines should be carefully planned and tailored to the pet's unique needs. This is something you and your vet should discuss carefully.

[medeak]

2. I really hate your header...it's misleading.

Dr. Dodds isn't throwing the baby out with bath water.

Am glad to hear vets are trying to minimize vaccinations...It was my vet's paranoia re parvo epidemic that motivated him to give vaccination a few days short of three weeks.

Married couple friends of mine are responsible for the research into mercury additives in vaccinations causing autism.. you can be certain they met "mixed reviews"

There's something sane about having titers drawn to really determine if a booster is necessary.

btw..if a reader goes to her website she has a form for your vet.

[sleepyhead]

3. Not intended to mislead - I was trying for neutrality.

There is no agreement among virologists about the minimum titer level necessary for protection. The protective titer is also widely assumed to vary based on the immunological competence of the individual animal. If you send titer levels out to any lab, you will get a result but they will not include a "normal" range for comparison as they do for almost all other tests. This is not necessarily an insurmountable problem, but levels should be interpreted in light of potential exposure and the general state of health of the patient. Realistically, this can only be done after serious consultation with the veterinarian who has been treating the pet all along and has the most knowledge about its medical history. In other words, this calls for a reasonably detailed conversation with your veterinarian.

I have my own opinion about Dr. Dodds (she lectured several times when I was in vet school and I do keep up with her work) but that is a discussion for another day.

[medeak]

4. she's a saint in my book

we exchanged many many emails... all the while my vet was denying any culpability dog couldn't get up and walk was from vaccinations. He's since seen the light and agrees with her and won't even talk of vaccinating dog.

All this transpired over New Year's Eve while she was nursing ailing family member in Israel. I'll never EVER forget her compassion and concern.

Pup was Cavalier King Charles Spaniel with snotty lineage (going to Cavalier show next month in Burbank) Besides beloved pet.. huge investment. Cavalier community is wonderful..despite being put in touch with top breeders in England and US..Dr. was the only one who could help me.

A discussion for another day is not needed re your opinion of her.
Just pray you aren't taken in by pharmaceutical reps...as most md's are (past life for me)

edited to say...she received a birthday card from me just a few weeks ago..and will continue to as I'm so fond of her.

[sleepyhead]

5. I'm not an MD.

And pharmaceutical reps don't ply veterinarians with samples and goodies like they do physicians. The most I've ever gotten from one is a crappy pen that ran out of ink the next day. And maybe a couple of really bad jokes. I take my obligations seriously and prefer to make my own decisions about the medications I prescribe. Good luck in your show!

[medeak]

6. realize you're not md

but wasn't aware dvms didn't receive the same corporate whoring we gave to md's.

Glad to hear it.