Truth4Dogs

Looking for a list of organizations that help people in need with their vet bills? Dr. Jean Hofve has allowed me to reprint it here. Please bookmark this page and send it to friends.  Also check out her other terrific articles, and sign up for her newsletter, at LittleBigCat.com.  (I interviewed Dr. Hofve for my book and for three wonderful recordings on pet nutrition called How NOT to Kill Your Dog or Cat. If you’d like to learn more about feeding your pet, we hope you’ll check them out.)

****

Whether it’s the damage caused by recalled food, an accident or something else, vet bills can be quite a burden. Below are listed some of the programs that can help with financial needs. Read more »

Unless a vaccine reaction is strong and immediate, most people – and a shocking number of vets – don’t connect a new or worsened health problem to a shot, let alone report the reaction. The 2007 World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) Vaccination Guidelines say there is “gross under-reporting of vaccine-associated adverse events which impedes knowledge of the ongoing safety of these products.”  Former FDA head, Dr. David Kessler, says “only about 1% of serious events are reported to the FDA.”  He was referring to drugs for people; reporting of pet drug reactions is likely to be far worse.

How prevalent are reactions?

In 2007, approximately 6500 reactions were reported for the canine rabies vaccine alone. If as suggested only 1% of reactions were reported, approximately 650,000 reactions likely occurred.  And there are still more than a dozen other vaccines causing reactions.

In my article Vaccinating Small Dogs: Risks Vets Aren’t Revealing, I summarized a shocking 2005 study which reported: Young adult small-breed neutered dogs given multiple vaccines per office visit are at greatest risk of an adverse reaction within 72 hours after vaccination … and the risk increases with each subsequent vaccine given. Reactions studied ranged from hives to shock and even death. Although the less a dog weighs, the more likely the reaction — all dogs are at risk when multiple vaccines are given.

Please read Vaccinating Small Dogs now to determine if and when your dog is at risk, which reactions were reported and more. Really. Read it now!

What can you do to keep your dog from reacting badly to a vaccine? Read more »

At last, a smoking gun … discovered pointing directly at Chihuahuas, Dachshunds, Maltese, Yorkies and other small dogs … in fact, pointed at all dogs receiving multiple vaccines during one clinic visit.

Many scientific studies and taskforce reports have altered my view of vaccination over the years, but none have stunned me as much as “Adverse events diagnosed within three days of vaccine administration in dogs” by Drs. Moore, Guptill, Ward, et al.   This two-year study of vaccine reactions (from data gathered at 360 Banfield clinics in 2002 and 2003) concluded: “Young adult small-breed neutered dogs that received multiple vaccines per office visit were at greatest risk of a VAAE [Vaccine Associated Adverse Event] within 72 hours after vaccination.” And that’s not all the report revealed. Read more »

Whombo combos, mumbo jumbos: that’s what veterinarians who understand immunology call combination shots. Unlike a vaccine such as rabies, which contains a single virus, combination vaccines contain multiple “modified live” viruses mixed with various bacteria. Think of them as toxic soups, biochemical wolves in sheep’s clothing. When your vet sends out reminders to bring your dog “up to date on shots,” expect the whombo combo. Beware the wolf.

You’ve probably seen combo shots listed on your vet bill as DHLPP, DHLPPC, DA2LPPC, 5-Way, 6-Way, 7-Way, 7 in 1 or the like.  After you learn more about them, you won’t want to see them on a bill again. Read more »

World-renowned pet vaccination expert Dr. Jean Dodds has written a wonderful article on managing and treating adverse reactions to vaccination (published here with her permission).  She also clears up common misconceptions about vaccination, titer testing and vaccinating against rabies.

This is an important article. I hope you’ll read it and bookmark or print it for future reference and also send it to your veterinarian and to friends.

CLINICAL APPROACHES TO MANAGING AND TREATING ADVERSE VACCINE REACTIONS

by W. Jean Dodds, DVM

Background
There is no doubt that application of modern vaccine technology has permitted us to protect companion animals effectively against serious infectious diseases.

Viral disease and recent vaccination with single or combination modified live-virus (MLV) vaccines, especially those containing distemper virus, adenovirus 1 or 2, and parvovirus are increasingly recognized contributors, albeit relatively rare,  to immune-mediated blood disease, bone marrow failure, and organ dysfunction.  Read more »