Vaccinations for Dogs: Reducing the Risks

            It would seem logical that the more often an animal is vaccinated, the better protection the animal will be provided.  But it’s not that simple.  Some vaccinations may make animals more susceptible to other diseases.  Parvovirus and distemper vaccine combinations may lead to encephalitis (inflammatory brain disease).  Certain combinations of vaccines against various diseases given all at one time may overwhelm the animal’s immune system and trigger a so-called “vaccinosis,” or adverse vaccine reaction.  This may be immediately evident as an acute, allergic, or anaphylactic shock reaction. So it is important to keep a close eye on an animal who has just been vaccinated, and look out for signs like facial swelling, difficulty in breathing, in-coordination, and even collapse.  If your dog reacts as such, you should rush him to the veterinary emergency hospital without delay.

Other adverse reactions may develop weeks or months later, such as so-called auto-immune diseases that may affect the dog’s nervous system, joints, and hormone system, especially the thyroid. Some dog breeds, like Weimaraners and Shelties, are more at risk and prone to complications of vaccinosis than other breeds.  You should discuss these risks with your veterinarian, especially if there were problems, such as an allergic reaction, when the dog was vaccinated earlier in life. 

            I am especially concerned that some dog and kennel owners are buying vaccines through mail orders to give to their own animals.  Vaccinating an animal is necessary, but because of potential risks, a veterinarian should always be involved.  I am also concerned that it is still a widely held belief that adult animals who have been given a full spectrum of protective vaccines from early in life need to have an annual “booster” for every possible disease for which a vaccine is available. For some diseases like canine distemper, veterinary immunologists now advise that adult dogs need a “booster” every three years, not every year.

So with these facts and considerations in mind, the following basic protocol should be followed when you take your dog to the veterinarian for vaccinations:

1        An animal who is very old, already ill or convalescing from an illness, or  suffering from an allergy should not be vaccinated.

·        Do not vaccinate an animal who is pregnant or nursing.

·        Have the rabies vaccination (and ideally one that lasts for 3 years) given on a separate occasion from other vaccinations, several weeks before or after.

·        Avoid having your animal given a one-shot “cocktail,” or polyvalent vaccine against several different diseases, especially if your animal is very unlikely to ever be exposed to one of these diseases, or if the disease in question is now rare, such as canine infectious hepatitis.  A “cocktail” of vaccines given all at once may bring on vaccinosis, such as joint disease (polyarthritis), hemolytic anemia, thrombocytopenia (lack of blood platelets), and neurological and endocrine disorders. Bovine serum and other ingredients or contaminants present in vaccines may also play a role in triggering auto-immune diseases.

·        If you need to protect your animal from infectious diseases that he or she may contract while being boarded or while traveling with you, have the veterinarian give the appropriate vaccine 2-3 weeks before the date of boarding or travel.  It takes about 10 days for the animal’s body to develop immunity following vaccination.

·        Remember, good nutrition, a sound genetic background, and a low-stress environment are animals’ first defense against disease.  Vaccinations are not a panacea.  Nor do their potential risks, except for certain individual animals, outweigh the real benefits of appropriate vaccinations and proper protocol. The old protocol of annual “booster” shots and a “cocktail” of different vaccines all at the same time are being re-evaluated in order to prevent adverse vaccinosis complications.

·        There is no legitimate reason for state and municipal authorities to mandate annual rabies vaccinations, since the FDA has approved an every 3-year vaccine, especially since adverse neurological and immune reactions and also injection-site fibrosarcomas in cats are associated with the rabies vaccination. 

It is noteworthy that in the Proceedings of the Holistic Veterinary Medical Association’s 2008 Annual Conference, vaccinologist Prof. Ronald D. Schultz gave the following estimates of the minimal duration of immunity provided by the core canine vaccines, based on challenge and serology:

Canine Distemper Virus (CDV)   

Rockborn Strain -----------------------7-15 years                         

Onderstepoort Strain-------------------5-9 years

Canary Pox Vectored rCDV-----------4-5 years

Canine Adenovirus-2---------------------7-9 years

Canine Parvovirus-2----------------------7-10 years

Canine Rabies------------------------------3-5 years

DOG VACCINATION PROTOCOLS & SERVICES “Anytime you inject anything into a patient you have the potential of killing them”.—Prof. Ron Schultz, DVM. The practice of giving dogs several different vaccinations against various diseases all at the same time early in life and then again every year as "boosters" for the rest of their lives is coming to a close. This is for two primary reasons: animals can have adverse reactions to vaccinations that can impair their health for the rest of their lives; routine "booster" shots are not needed since earlier vaccinations have given animals sufficient immunity to the diseases in question. First,puppies should not be given vaccinations before 8-10 weeks of age since this can interfere with the natural immunity in their systems conferred by the colostrum or first milk of their mothers. But if the immune status of the mother is unknown, as is the situation for many to-be-adopted pups in animal shelters, vaccinations at an earlier age between 5-6 weeks is the usual protocol. Adult animals in a compromised immune state, as for example those who are ill, injured, or being given an anesthetic and operated on, such as being spayed or castrated, or for any other surgical procedure, are pregnant or nursing, or are old and infirm, should not be vaccinated. Rabies vaccinations, unless in-field conditions make this logistically difficult, should never be given at the same time other combined vaccinations are given. Separate by at least 3 weeks. For minimal basic vaccination  protocols, developed by Dr. Jean Dodds, see Table 1. Prof. Ron Schultz recommends using Merial’s 3-way combo; parvo, distemper and CAV2/hepatitis as the only relatively safe combination of vaccines.  If your dog received all core vaccines by 16 weeks of age, have antibody blood titers evaluated at 1 year of age if you have reservations about re-vaccination. Corona virus and Giardia vaccinations for dogs are not recommended. For dogs at risk, Leptospirosis vaccine (the four-serovar product of Fort Dodge being preferred) should be given at 12 and 15 weeks and repeated one year later. It only confers protection, however, for 3-4 months, so repeated vaccinations are called for with dogs with significant exposure risk.  Lyme vaccine should be given to at-risk dogs but the bacterium vaccine can cause immune-complex disease so Merial’s recombinant Lyme vaccine is preferred. Again, blood serum titers should be taken to assess dog's immune status where there is doubt, rather than simply giving booster shots. Neither Lyme disease vaccinations, that give highly unreliable protection, and can cause arthritic disease, nor leptospirosis vaccinations should be given close to the time that any other vaccinations are given. No vaccine can guarantee immunity, since different strains of infective agents may be involved, and animals who are stressed, suffering from poor nutrition, genetic susceptibility and concurrent disease may have impaired immune systems and lowered resistance to disease. But this does not mean that they should never be vaccinated or be routinely re-vaccinated just in case, because vaccinations can cause further immune system impairment and a host of health problems---the so called vaccinosis diseases--- that these new vaccination protocols are aimed at minimizing. There are dogs that do not respond to vaccines, and are inherently, genetically incapable of producing antibodies. Such animals should not be bred, or given more vaccinations when their blood titers indicate no response soon after vaccination.   For further information, contact a holistic veterinarian in your area. A searchable list can be found at http://www.holisticvetlist.com. Veterinarians wishing to learn more are encouraged to become members of the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association at http://ahvma.org.

TABLE 1

CANINE MINIMAL VACCINE USE PROTOCOL – 2007

Age of Pups	Vaccine Type
9 - 10 weeks   14 weeks   20 weeks or older, if allowable by law   1 year   1 year	Distemper virus + Parvovirus, MLV                                          Same as above   Rabies   Distemper virus + Parvovirus, MLV (0ptional)   Rabies, killed 3-year product (give 3-4 weeks apart from any other vaccine)

Perform vaccine antibody titers for distemper and parvovirus every 3 yrs, or more often, if desired.  Written waiver of rabies booster, with justification by client veterinarian, with rabies antibody titer recorded, may be granted. See     www.rabieschallengefund.org          

W. Jean Dodds, DVM.  Hemopet, 938 Stanford Street, Santa Monica, CA 90403; 310-828-4804; Fax 310-828-8251; e-mail  hemopet@hotmail.com.                                                          

REASONS FOR VACCINE TITER TESTING *

·        To determine that animal is protected (suggested by a positive test result)

·        To identify a susceptible animal (suggested by a negative test result)

·        To determine whether an individual animal has responded to a vaccine

·        To determine whether an individual vaccine is effectively immunizing animals

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         * from: Schultz, Ford, Olsen, Scott. Vet Med, 97: 1-13, 2002 (insert)

AVAILABLE VACCINE TITERS FOR DOGS

·        Distemper Virus  

·        Parvovirus

·       Adenovirus 2 (hepatitis)

·        Bordetella

·        Panleukopenia

·       Corona Virus [not  recommended]

·        Rabies Virus (RFFIT: non export)

CANINE VACCINE ADVERSE EVENTS  *

·        retrospective cohort study; 1.25 million dogs vaccinated at 360 veterinary hospitals

·        38 adverse events per 10,000 dogs vaccinated

·        inversely related to dog weight

·        vaccines prescribed on a 1-dose-fits-all basis, rather than by body weight. 

·        increased for dogs up to 2 yr of age, then declined

·        greater for neutered versus sexually intact dogs

·        increased as number of vaccines given together increased

·        increased after the 3 rd or 4th vaccination

·        genetic predisposition to adverse events documented

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            *   from Moore et al, JAVMA 227:1102–1108, 200

                 VACCINE CONCLUSIONS FOR CANINES  *

Factors that increase risk of adverse events 3 days after vaccination:

·        young adult age

·        small-breed size

·         neutering

·        multiple vaccines given per visit 

      These risks should be communicated to clients

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*   from Moore et al, JAVMA 227:1102–1108, 2005

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