VACCINES

Important Notes from your dog’s breeder

 

Without a doubt, vaccinations are a vital part of helping to protect and provide for your new puppy. Therefore, your puppy has had its first series of vaccinations at age eight (8) weeks. Vaccine used was ProGuard 5, as recommended by Colorado State University. This is a 5-way vaccine against: parvovirus, adenovirus 1 & 2, parainfluenza, distemper.

 

Based on the findings of a very valuable recent study done by Colorado State University (see following), I recommend the vaccination protocol listed below (by CSU) for your puppy. Their study is the only known, in-depth study of this topic of vaccinations in small animals. I have historically been a fan of minimal vaccinations prior to this, and I support their findings because they fully agree with my experiences in animals over the course of my lifetime. I hope my information here encourages you to get better educated on the topic matter.

 

Note: Many Vets make a high $$ income from routine vaccines of small Pet animals. In addition to their routine high charge for an office visit (well puppy check-up), they also charge about 10 times (or more) of what the vaccine and needle (supplies) actually cost them to purchase. Although I personally value most Vets, I also know they’re in the business to make a profit and I keep this in mind when considering office visits and procedures to be done on my animals.

 

It is critical that vaccines used be of top quality and also well-stored until use. The integrity of vaccines can easily be compromised by insufficient refrigeration / temperature regulation. Be sure that your Veterinary professional uses careful storage procedures for vaccines prior to use. If your Vet uses a vaccine on your animal that has not been carefully refrigerated, the vaccine you are paying top dollar for may not be very effective in protecting your dog from those diseases. The time to learn about the integrity of the vaccine should not be after you have a sick animal.

 

The two (2) vaccines not included in a typical 5-Way vaccination are: Leptospirosis and Coronavirus. I will address these.

 

Lepto: Importantly, Bernese Mountain Dogs have been known to have adverse reactions to the vaccines for Leptospirosis (Lepto), which is a usual part of a 6-way or 7-way vaccine (which we do NOT recommend for your puppy). The specific allergen is thought to be the carrier used in creating this vaccine. There are several versions of Leptospirosis, none of which are commonly fatal (but can be) and none of which are all covered in one (1) vaccine. Lepto is basically a bacterial infection that is very tough to diagnose because it shares symptoms with many other illnesses (vomiting, diarrhea, dehydration, fever, loss-of-appetite, etc). Lepto is commonly treated successfully with the use of antibiotics like penicillin, tetracycline, and erythromycin. The fact is that Lepto vaccines are only effective for between six (6) months to (8) months after inoculation. Therefore, if one was concerned about infection of this illness, a dog would need to be vaccinated twice annually with the different types of Lepto vaccines to be fully inoculated. Again, this illness is not very common in today’s society, and its tough to fully inoculate against anyway. So we do not recommend inoculation. Here is a source for more info on this illness:   http://www.canismajor.com/dog/lepto.html

 

Coronavirus: Besides leaving out the Lepto vaccine, we also recommend leaving out the Coronavirus vaccine. This particular disease is also uncommon in today’s society, is rarely fatal and has no documented long-term negative effects. Oftentimes, Vets may misdiagnose a dog citing this disease, because this particular disease is incredibly tough to accurately diagnose. Vomiting and diarrhea are the common symptoms (and these fade within a week or so), which are also symptoms very common to other illnesses. I’ve known Vets who will use the fact that a dog is vomiting w/diarrhea to urge a pet owner to vaccinate for Coronavirus, when the fact was the dog had an entirely different illness (not to mention that when a disease is present is not the appropriate time to vaccinate against it). Here is a source for more info on this illness: http://www.ivis.org/advances/Infect_Dis_Carmichael/pratelli/chapter_frm.asp

 

Over-vaccination in small animals can result in serious issues like, among others, auto-immune disorder, cysts and other growths (some cancer, some not) and even the animal actually acquiring the disease(s) for which the vaccine was given. For instance, Fort Dodge (a manufacturer of vaccines for small animals and supplier to many Vets) has vaccines which were documented to have actually given the full-blown Parvovirus disease to puppies who were vaccinated with their product. At best, over-vaccination depresses a dog’s natural immune system, making the animal more susceptible to diseases and illnesses.

 

I offer you these notes and hope you will accept the vaccination protocol findings of Colorado State University as the protocol to employ for the benefit of your dog.