Is your dog being overvaccinated and your vet not following the new guidelines? How many of you still get yearly “shots” for your dog? Has your vet told you that there is a “new” protocol for vaccinating your dog? I say “new” loosely because the guidelines have been around for over 5 years! That is beside the point, let’s follow the new guidelines that were given by the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) last year in 2006.
First, a little information about vaccinating your dog. The other most common vaccine given to your dog other than rabies is a 5 or 6 in a single injection. Which means that there are 5 or 6 different types of diseases that your dog is being vaccinated for at one time. The common acronym for this vaccine is DHLPP and a C is sometimes added. The letters represent a different disease: D = Distemper, H = Hepatitis (also known as Adenovirus), L = Leptospirosis, P = Parvo, P = Parainfluenza, and C = Crown.
For the new guidelines, let’s take the three main vaccines, the three that your dog should vaccinate against distemper, parvo, and hepatitis (adenovirus). After your dog has been initially vaccinated against these three main diseases, usually as a puppy and then a year later with a booster, your dog has long-term immunity against those diseases. What do I mean by prolonged immunity? Well, research shows that your dog is immune for 6 to 9 years. That’s right! Research by renowned immunologists, such as Dr. Ronald Schultz, shows that after the initial puppy vaccination and a one-year booster, many dogs are protected for most of their lives. With this new research, the AAHA developed some new guidelines. Your suggestion or guidelines, after the puppy’s vaccination and the annual booster dose, is that the three main vaccines only need to be boosted every three years. So, according to AAHA guidelines, instead of the annual revaccination, your dog really only needs to be revaccinated every three years.
In fact, did you know that the annual vaccination of your dog can cause serious diseases? Overvaccination has been linked to cancer, allergies, and other autoimmune diseases such as autoimmune hemolytic anemia. More research is needed, but many of the recent studies show that these links exist. In fact, in cats, overvaccination has been shown to cause sarcomas, a very serious cancer.
So now the question is, if vaccines have been shown to produce immunity that lasts a bit longer than originally thought and annual vaccination could be the cause of certain allergies and other diseases of the immune system, including cancer, then Why didn’t my vet tell me about this? Unfortunately the answer is money, if it is not money then it is pure ignorance on the part of your vet. Yes, ignorance, such as not keeping up with your education or simply an unwillingness to change because the old way is the way things have always been done. Money is the other answer and no, it is not because veterinarians are greedy, but in many veterinary offices 33% of annual income comes from vaccines. This is a large percentage of revenue that will be cut under the new guidelines. Veterinarians are not ready for that kind of income reduction. Many could go bankrupt. Many clinics do not have the administrative skills or their other services are not priced right to make up for that kind of loss of income. Therefore, switching to the new vaccination guidelines, while it would benefit the health of your animals, can be a difficult business decision for the veterinary clinic owner. Just remember that as a pet owner, you have a responsibility for the health and well-being of your pet and fewer vaccinations IS better for your pet, regardless of any business problems some clinics may have when applying the new guidelines.
So if your vet still requests annual vaccinations, ask why. Educate yourself, make the right decisions, choose to protect your dog’s health by learning what your vet is giving your dog and why, specifically why, not just because he is the vet and it is to improve your dog’s health. Ask questions, be dangerous!