Expert: Dr. Christina Chambreau - 12/24/2009

Question
QUESTION: i am so confused .there are so many vaccines to give puppies.i live in Florida and need to start vaccinating an 8 week puppy.i would like to know what i need to buy, a 7 way or5 way.also what ages would i vaccinate after 8 weeks.when do i give the rabies vaccine? also i need to know when and what to deworm with. thanks so much for your help!!!!!!!!!!

ANSWER: Dear Melanie,
I am sorry you did not think I answered you clearly, and you di not think I was polite. The vaccine issue is confusing and I will try to make it more clear this time for you.

I will try again to answer your questions because vaccine porotocols are so important.
Q: "i would like to know what i need to buy, a 7 way or5 way."
A: Short answer: Neither 5 way nor 7 way, in my opinion. Give just dispemper and Parvo, nothing else. If you cannot get each seperately, then I would recommend the 5 way, given only twice.
Longer answer: As an integrative veterinarian who has seen so many animal become ill from vaccines, I encourage everyone to learn about the needs and the dangers of each vaccine. Each vaccine may have modified live viruses, foreign animal tissue, formalehyde, mercury, aluminum hydroxide, antibiotics and dyes. Even the conventional veterinary organizations (AHA, AVMA, all the veterinary colleges, American College of Internal Medicine, etc) now recommend tailoring vaccines to the needs of the local area. They do not recommend all the vaccines. Jean Dodds and Ronald Schultz are veterinary researchers who have shown both the damage done by vaccines and the lack of need for a vaccine. The 5 or 7 way vaccines, in most immunologist's opinion, have vaccines for diseaes that are not usually needed. Parvo and Distemper are viral disease that can kill puppies, so those are the two I recommend. A book by Jan Rasmusen, Scared Poopless, has a good and easy to read discussion on vaccines and the current status of them.

Q: what ages would i vaccinate after 8 weeks
A: short answer: 8 and 14 weeks
  long answer: I would recommend going to an integrative veterinarian (see below FIND A HEALER) and getting a parvo vaccine at 8 weeks, then a distemper at 10 weeks, then a second parvo at 12 weeks, then get titers (blood drawn) at 16 weeks to see if they have sufficient antibodies to distemper and parvo. No need for any other vaccines until 3 or 4 months of age (again check Florida law) when you give the rabies vaccine. The list serve I mentioned above will help you stand firm to only do a few, if any, vaccines.

Q: when do i give the rabies vaccine?
A: As late as possible given the laws in Florida. Not before 3 months, and preferably wait until 4 months. This MUST be given by a veterinarian to be legal.  

Q: also i need to know when and what to deworm with
A: There are many different worms (rounds, hooks, whips, tapes, coccidia, giardia..), so I suggest getting the stool sample checked microscopically to tell which worms, if any, are there. Then you can be prescribed the proper dewormer AND use herbal and nutritional support.  

Suggestion on vaccines:  A wonderful list serve on vaccines, their harm and alternatives is at yahoo groups. To register, go to jstsayno2vaccs-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

I hope this more clearly answered each of your questions. Since you asked a holistic veterinarian, you are getting different answers than your local veterinarian may give.


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: we ordered a ten dose vial of rabies vaccines.it came with tags that you put on the dogs collar. we ordered this from jeffers. is this legal or not?also the vaccination thing is much more understandable.  thank you

Answer
The rabies vaccine MUST be given by a veterinarian in order for the animals to get their legally required license. The reason you were able to order it is that some shelters have a veterinarian on staff who gives it.

While you can give it, 1. it will not be legal; and 2. some animals get cancer from the vaccines, so where it is given needs to be recorded with the certificate; and 3. the certificate needs to be at a professional place so that if a dog is lost, and found with the rabies tag, they can call the state who issued it and find who the owner is.


Please go to that Yahoo groups and read their archives about vaccine damage.