Parvo Shots In Dogs
Is the Epidemic Over?

The epidemic years for parvo in dogs ran from the 1970s to early 1980s. I think now the question is, how many parvo shots does it take to maintain protection and when should they be given? Let's look at the whole picture.

What Is Parvo?

Canine Parvo is a virus, like a cold or flu. It is airborne and can be tracked into the house on shoes or clothing. Parvo in dogs can be devastating and sometimes deadly.

Parvo Symptoms

Attacking the lining of the intestine and heart, symptoms are bloody diarrhea, vomiting, loss of appetite and dehydration. Puppies and young dogs are the most susceptible.

The severe diarrhea sloughs off the outermost layers of the intestines exposing the body to the rapid uptake of toxins, and it is the affect of these toxins that can lead to death.

Standard treatment in the U.S. is antibiotics and intravenous fluids to maintain hydration.

An alternative therapeutic approach used along with intravenous fluids would be a combination of homeopathic remedies that go by the names of "Bleeding", "Diarrhea", "Intestine" and "Inflammation" used by a trained physician. Kaopectate to coat the intestinal walls and high doses of Vitamin C to rid the body of toxins. To reestablish healthy intestinal bacteria, the herb slippery elm and lactobacillus acidophilus. And finally Vitamin E to prevent scarring of the heart tissue.

In Dr. Martin Goldstein's book "The Nature of Animal Healing", he says once he started using these alternative therapies, his success rate treating parvo shot up to nearly 100%.

Parvo Shots

Dr. Goldstein says it's time we start worrying about the parvovirus vaccine side effects. He believes one inoculation in a dog's life is plenty.

The parvo vaccination is routinely given to puppies several times and then yearly as adults. I was curious to see if mainstream advice has changed much. I went to a fairly popular website by Dr. Foster & Smith to see what their recommendations for parvo shots are.

I was disappointed. They still advocate administering parvo shots as early as 5 weeks and every three weeks thereafter up to 20 weeks, followed by boosters. Here's why:

"A study of a cross section of different puppies showed that the age at which they were able to respond to a vaccine and develop protection (become immunized) covered a wide period of time. At six weeks of age, 25% of the puppies could be immunized. At 9 weeks, 40% of the puppies were able to respond to the vaccine and were protected. The number increased to 60% by 16 weeks, and by 18 weeks, 95% of the puppies could be immunized."

Here is another quote from the same website. It answers the question "Should a dog who is ill or recovering from an illness be vaccinated?"

"The decision as to whether a dog who is showing signs of disease should be vaccinated or not needs to be made on an individual basis. One must consider whether the benefits outweigh the risks. Results of a physical examination and possible laboratory tests will aid in the decision. Signs of illness in a young puppy may need to be interpreted differently than similar signs in an adult animal. For example, in an older dog with a skin disease unassociated with an immune problem, vaccination is probably OK."

What do YOU think? Why would anyone even consider giving a vaccination to a dog who isn't well? And why would you consider giving an older dog a vaccination for anything. Doesn't he have immunity yet? And how does the vet KNOW a skin disease is unassociated with an immune problem?

I think the epidemic now is overvaccinating!

Dog Vaccinations

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