An increase in diseases afflicting our pets has brought vaccinations and vaccination protocols under scrutiny. This has led many owners and breeders to deviate from the standard vaccine protocol—which has been considered the safest and most effective for years—and either vaccinate their animals less or even not at all.
But what is best for your pet? Knowledge is the first step, and no, not for your dog. While dogs are smart, when was the last time you saw one crack a medical journal? Every pet owner should understand exactly what a vaccine is, how it works, what they are vaccinating against, and the potential dangers or side effects associated with over-vaccination.
What is a Vaccine?
Vaccines are preparations of killed or living weakened organisms introduced either by injection or orally into the body to trigger an immune reaction, leading to the formation of antibodies. Antibodies are necessary for the body to fight off or repel a disease entirely. The level of antibodies increases with each exposure to a particular disease. However, some diseases are best avoided, as exposing your dog to them could be fatal before they can develop immunity. For example, rabies—one exposure can kill your dog, and even if they develop immunity afterward, it doesn’t matter, as they are already dead from the first bout.
So how does a vaccine work if it exposes an animal to a disease but they do not actually develop the disease? Let’s use a common, non-fatal disease like the flu to explain the magic of vaccines—it’s much less confusing when the patient survives the exposure.
Imagine you’re exposed to a bad case of the flu and spend a week thinking you will certainly die. But, in fact, you get better, and now you’re immune to that strain of flu. Your immune system has these amazing infection fighters in the bloodstream called B cells, which are responsible for fighting off diseases. These B cells have memory and retain knowledge of the various diseases we encounter throughout our life. If you’re exposed to the same strain of flu virus again, your body will quickly deploy B cells to fight the disease before it can take hold.
Vaccines work the same way but without causing the patient to suffer through the disease. Instead, they stimulate the B cells to produce the necessary antibodies and “remember” the disease or pathogen. The result is immunity.
In canine health, the recommended vaccination protocol starts at six to eight weeks old, vaccinating against distemper, adenovirus, parvovirus, Leptospirosis, and parainfluenza. Boosters are given at four-week intervals until the pup is sixteen weeks old, followed by yearly boosters for the rest of their life. At sixteen weeks old, the pup is also vaccinated against rabies with a booster one year later and subsequent boosters every three years.
Some breeds, such as Rottweilers and pit bulls, are more susceptible to parvovirus than others, so veterinarians often recommend an extra twenty-week vaccine for that disease. Other vaccines, such as for Lyme disease and Giardia, are also available.
Is it essential to vaccinate against all of these diseases? Not necessarily. It depends on what your pup will be exposed to throughout their life. A city dog that rarely walks outside may never encounter Lyme disease or the deer tick that carries it. Meanwhile, a country dog may never come into contact with distemper or coronavirus but will likely be exposed to rabies at some point.
Location plays a significant role in deciding which vaccine protocol is best for your dog. Talk to your veterinarian about which diseases are a problem in your area and vaccinate accordingly. However, if you move or travel with your dog to a new area, they may not be sufficiently protected against diseases prevalent there.
‘Over-vaccination’ is the new buzzword, but is there a problem with how much we are vaccinating our pets? Maybe. We vaccinate based on protocol rather than assessing whether the animal actually needs the added protection. In the last decade, it’s become more common to measure the titer levels of certain diseases in the bloodstream. Titer refers to the concentration of antibodies for each disease. If the titer is high enough, no vaccine is necessary. However, if the levels are low, the specific vaccine will be administered. This ensures an animal is protected against a disease without the risk of being ‘over-vaccinated.’
So, what is this ‘over-vaccinated’ phrase? Immune-mediated responses are on the rise among our pets, and vaccines have been blamed for the increase in conditions such as allergies, cancer, and autoimmune diseases. While some people believe vaccines are the cause, others argue that the frequency of vaccination is the real problem. This brings us back to measuring titer levels—only vaccinating when necessary, rather than simply administering annual boosters.
Vaccines have saved far more dogs than they have harmed. Anyone who has worked in the veterinary field or witnessed a litter of puppies devastated by parvovirus knows how critical vaccines are to our pets’ health. Refusing to vaccinate a dog or cat is like playing Russian roulette with their life and well-being. Always vaccinate, but do so when necessary. Your pet will thank you for it by living a long and healthy life!
