Are our pets over vaccinated?

Should you opt for a titer test?

I was walking my dog at the park when another dog approached us excited and wagging his tail. As our dogs greeted one another with the usual sniff here and there while circling and entangling our leashes, I laughed and said hello to the woman on the other end of the leash. We started chatting and she told me her dog has auto immune disease. I was surprised when she said it. We chatted for a few and she told me her dog took several prescriptions and even assured me her dog was “up to date”on his vaccines. As I walked away, I started thinking, What is going on?

Do animals in the wild get auto immune disease? What is causing this in our pets and does it have anything to do with vaccines, food, water and pesticides? How are our pets getting so sick? When I first got Banyan, he got all his puppy shots. I was terrified he would get Parvo or Kennel cough. Even with all I had been through medically I was still unaware our pets were a money maker for big Pharma too. Even writing that I feel sick thinking that I fell for the fear, AT FIRST.

I loved the vet I was going to and when Banyan was neutered they said they can also do the rabies and give him a detox IV. Of course I said yes. The detox IV (Fluid therapy) would help push the anesthesia and Rabies shot out of his system. So even my vet knew it was toxic?

Before I nuetered Banyan he was very fit and energetic. (See image 1)

The surgery went well and everything seemed fine. But as the year went by Banyan seemed to gain a lot of weight, pant and overheat fast and tired out easily.

Here is the schedule that is suggested for dogs

For a puppy (6-16 weeks) the recommended CORE vaccines are

3 DAP (Distemper, Adenovirus/Hepatitis, Parvovirus

2 Rabies

Then you have the non core vaccine recommendations for puppies (6-16 weeks)

Bordetella

Parainfluenza (often included in DAP combo vaccine)

2 Leptospirosis

2 Lyme

2 Canine influenza (We are giving dogs flu vaccines?)

For adult dogs the recommended vaccines once a year are

Leptospirosis

Lyme

Canine influenza

Bordetella (sometimes given

every 6 months)

For adult dogs the recommended vaccines every 3 years are

Rabies

DAP

For above references see PetMD

So a dog is getting around 12 vaccines the first year and then 4-5 a year and 2 more every 3? I could not believe it.

When Banyan went back to the vet a year later they told me he was due for shots. I said how do we know he needs those? My vet said well we can do a titer test if you want. He then explained it was a blood test that would tell us if Banyan needed any vaccines by measuring his antibodies. I opted for the titer test. The results came back and Banyan did not need any vaccines. So I wonder how many people are over vaccinating their dogs?

You can read about titer testing here

I am not writing any of this to tell you what to do with your pet. I am writing this to open up thoughts and conversations about what is going on with our pets? Losing a pet is devastating. I recently lost my Min Pin, Rogue to an aggressive form of cancer. It happened really fast. My husband and I asked ourselves over and over how she got it? We made all our dogs food and fed them unprocessed treats. Was it the pesticides sprayed all over my neighborhood? I won’t ever know but the ache I had watching her die will haunt me forever.

Something that has always bothered me with Banyan was the weight he gained after being neutered. He seemed less energetic and even panted a lot more. Kind of remind me of how I felt after getting the TDAP.

I personally wish I would have never neutered Banyan. I think it changed his energy levels and weight. I also will never vaccinate my dog again. I will make sure he only eats real food and gets the exercise he needs. We also no longer get our yard sprayed and when I walk him in my neighborhood I keep him out of the manicured bushes because those are heavily sprayed with pesticides and fertilizers.

Again I am not telling anyone not to vaccinated their pets or not nurture and spay. You should do what is right for your pet and your family. Thank you for reading my story. If you have not read my medical stories, you can find them on my sub stack and comments are always welcome!