As part of the discussion I thought I would pass along some of the wisdom the vet I love taught me as well as other things I've learned along the way.
1. Whenever you are faced with tests, x-rays, etc. the first question out of your mouth should be how would this test change any treatment that may be given? If the answer is it wouldn't, the test can wait.
A for instance of how this helped me. One dog I had suddenly came down with a urinary tract infection. Saturday night of course so it was off to an emerg with a sample. Once they had established that it was indeed an infection and dosed out the drugs I was told she had to have her kidneys checked and a few other things to the tune of $600. I asked why that would be necessary (this wasn't the first time I'd seen a UTI so knew a bit about it) and got a standard 'we should check everything to make sure there is nothing else going on' response. I then put the question to them 'how would these extra tests change the treatment you are handing me right now?' and got a 'well they wouldn't but they would sure help if the drugs don't work'. Sorry, not good enough as I heard my own vet in my head so told them I would rather see if the drugs worked and if they didn't clear things up then I would consider additional tests. I got the proverbial 'if you really loved this dog...' but instead of guilting me, it just ensured I would never be back to that clinic. Turns out the drugs worked and my own vet just shook his head when I told him about the extra tests they wanted to do.
That same issue came up later when that dog got cancer. She'd had an ultra-sound which gave us the info on the tumours we needed to determine what was wrong and that she was indeed terminal. As per most people in this situation I went for second and third opinions and was basically told I should ultra sound her every few weeks to see how it was going. My own vet had a chat with me and asked me how me knowing how much the tumours had grown would change how we were handling this (keeping her comfortable for as long as we could). Well, that struck me as he continued to add that it was merely a 'nice to know' and wouldn't change the outcome at all except to stress the dog out from being tested and emptying my wallet. He was pretty straight with me telling me we knew the dog would succumb to this, but our job was to make her life as happy and normal as possible. No added stress, no need to know exactly how long she may have, no painful surgery (which was too risky anyway), no chemo (she was already too far gone) as that was only to make me feel better (add to some vets profit) and wouldn't help the dog.
2. Never vaccinate a dog who has
any other issues going on. The warnings are right on the bottles but a lot of people ignore them and it can have dire results causing long term auto-immune issues (allergies, blood conditions, arthritis, you name it) or personality changes (rabies is known for this one as well as kidney failure). The common thoughts that vaccines are safe is not panning out as people are discovering the side issues are often worse than the condition the vaccine was to prevent, so it's especially important a pet be 100% healthy when being jabbed with something that is going to kick it's immune system. It's also helpful to know what your breeds are sensitive to as some are known to be effected by the very same shot another breed has no issue with. The Internet has been a real eye opener on this one as pet owners are now able to get together and discuss consequences and experiences like never before.
Rabies is a perfect example as it's been legislated in almost all of the US so they had no choice with their animals. It wasn't until the Internet got in the picture that the stories started to surface. Once that started the numbers starting hitting the FDA where they discovered something like 4000 dogs had died in the year following the introduction of one of the shots. Those numbers were spectacular compared to the data supplied by the maker and vets are now more aware, so the movement to study rabies shots began and the results are changing how people think about that one now.
3. If you are concerned about effects but still want the shots/boosters, ask for individual shots given over a period of time instead of a combo shot. That helps lesson the effects of what could be a major blast to the immune system by allowing it to recover between shots. Most vets will order in the individual shots if you ask and some won't charge more even though it may take more appointments.
Also ask about doses as some will make you shake your head. It's not uncommon for a little puppy or Yorkie to get the same dose as an adult German Shepard. How anyone with a science background could justify that one, I don't know but it makes no sense at all to me.
4. Check what vaccines your pet is being given and why. When I started doing that I realized some of them were totally useless (IMO). Like the heartworm issue, some of the things standard vaccines cover don't occur everywhere. Some of the vaccines cover a few strains of something (like Lepto) and if those strains aren't the ones running in your area, they are of no use. It would be like getting a flu shot for strains that aren't present. The other issue is that some of the vaccines are for things that are no issue to treat and the effects of the shot can be costly in $$ as well as the dog's long term health.
My question is now 'if my dog catches this illness, what is treatment?' and if it's not a big deal, I'll take my chances. Giardia, kennel cough, lepto are some examples of that type of shot my dog will not ever be getting as treatment is pretty straight forward.
Bordetella is a good example. Kennel cough is basically a cold that goes away in a week or so. No treatment required, just some time the same as we need with our colds. Only unhealthy, immune compromised dogs might suffer from catching it by developing into pneumonia, so only those dogs need it. So why give a dog something that will give a full kick to their immune system when their own body will take care of it?
The other thing I personally discovered with this one is that my dog actually caught Kennel cough from the bordetella nasal spray she had to have for a daycare. Since I hadn't even taken her to the daycare yet I couldn't figure out why she had the symptoms a week after the spray until her vet told me she caught it from the spray itself. When he told me it was just a cold and would only take a few days to pass I asked why we are supposed to get the spray and he told me straight out, no reason other than daycares and such seem to insist on it, but my dog was a perfect example of how her health had been knocked out by the spray giving her exactly what the spray was supposed to prevent. She wouldn't have had a cold at all if not for that spray and her immune system would have handled an exposure just fine without it because it wouldn't have been such a blast at once.
I will no longer take my dog anywhere that requires bordetella or the list of other shots until someone can explain to me why they need it. So far I haven't found any with a sensible explanation that satisfies me and luckily there are some who know the folly of it all and don't require it.
Perfect example of some of the thinking out there in vet land. Cats are known to develop a cancer on vaccine injection sites. Instead of dealing with why cats are getting cancer (who are indoor in most locations and therefore not subject to a lot of things and let's not forget they get boosters too even though it's also a best guess on how long immunity really lasts), the recommendation has changed to giving the vaccines in their tails. The rationale is it's easier to cut off the tail when the cancer develops than try to cut out part of the neck/back/shoulder. Can you imagine if they tried that logic in the human medical world? That practice would stop immediately until they found a way to do it without cancer being the outcome. Meanwhile with cats they'll just cut off a different part of their body. It makes you wonder.
5. The science of vaccines and how long immunity lasts is sketchy at best. Only now is there is study going on to see how long the immunity of a rabies shot lasts. So far it's in year 8 and the immunity from the first shot is holding (they use titers to determine that and you can have titers done on you pets too if you want to see if they really need a booster for rabies as well as other vaccines). My dog is 7 now and has not had any shots since her puppy shots and with titers every 3 years she shows she is still has immunity from those first shots, so you can be checking and know what's what with your dog before giving them anything. The cost is about the same as giving them the annual boosters for 3 years and it is worth checking as Dr. Dodds clinic in CA is often the least expensive and has a super reputation. They accept samples from Canada and you can get prices and info on sending at
http://www.itsfortheanimals.com/HEMOPET.HTM (links to info and prices is about half way down the page).
Virtually all recommendations for shots/boosters is made by the manufacturers. Seems like a conflict of interest there as they are the ones making the money if they convince everyone to buy every year. Vets often regard the boosters as one way to get people back in the office on a regular basis supposedly to give the pet a wellness check. The could offer the checks without the shots but the shots are bread and butter for them so again, in whose interests are those annual shots really?
When I first became concerned about this I had a chat with that trusted vet of mine and he was not on board at all with missing shots. Since it's controversial, I simply asked him to find me any info to show me how long immunity lasts that had not been put out by the manufacturer and I would reconsider. The next time I saw him he told me to forget it as he had been unable to find any reliable info at all to say the main shots don't hold. Over time, the titers and general good health of my dog convinced him totally and now he only boosters those who request it.
Some shots do show a shorter immunity span. Bordetella has a life of about 6 mos - 1 year but since that one only prevents colds, well, in my book that is a big forget it anyway.
6. A good diet (and by that I mean one as intended by nature) does more to keep a dog healthy than anything. Just like us, food can have a major impact and be the difference between surviving and thriving in good health. After going through cancer with one dog I learned about diet and now feed raw. It's a matter of good, better, best, when it comes to what you choose, but know that in nature no canine would ever eat grains. Wolves do not graze in pastures and there is a lot of controversy between the folks who believe they shake the vegetable/grain matter out of their kill and those who think they eat it because it's already partially digested in their kill. There's no final word on that aspect yet as the two sides are still dukeing it out.
Although dogs are opportunists and will eat what is around when they have to, they are not as healthy when they have to deal with foods their bodies weren't intended to have. They don't digest them well, their immune systems are in a constant state of activity dealing with something they really are not built to eat and so they don't have optimum health in that situation. Combined with an immune system blasted by vaccines, you can end up with a dog unable to take care of things and suffering the consequences. Like us humans, diabetes, allergies, a host of skin conditions, and auto-immune issues did not exist in the dog world until the introduction of processed foods that contain grains and the preservatives/additives that requires.
If you want to know about various brands of dry foods, do check out
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/ which reviews and ranks just about every kibble on the market. Super site for seeing how things compare and which have the best ingredients.There are some companies out now that are producing some really good processed foods and there is enough variety to deal with fussy eaters or those who for whatever reason can't handle certain ingredients.
What the dog food industry is often guilty of is stating their food is the best for proteins and then they pull what is called "splitting". By law, ingredients must be listed with the largest amounts first. Splitting means they break the grains/fillers down by using different types. That gives them individual amounts less than the protein so the protein will appear first on the list. Meanwhile if you check the next ingredients you will often see a list like corn, wheat, rice, potato, etc. in amounts that if you add them all up, exceed the protein by several times. That means the highest ingredient is the filler/starch/grains, not the protein. Protein may even end up being less than 10% of the food but the package will make it seem quite different.
Also, don't depend on the labelling too much as there are no gov't regulations on pet food like there is on human food. They are held to much lower standards so it's up to us to educate ourselves and it will be apparent if you check that rating site. Price is not a good indicator of how good the food is.
Another big factor with pet foods is irradiation. Any protein brought across the border is irradiated. Unlike human food, there are no limits on pet food irradiation levels. So anything coming from China, the US, or where ever will have the little green symbol on the package showing it's been irradiated. In 2009 Australia (which has the same rules) had a huge issue with a Canadian food they imported for cats. Cats were being paralyzed and dying if they ate the food. Now the food itself is a super food with a good reputation but when they studied what could have happened it came down to the amount of irradiation the food had when it crossed their borders. So the same lots in Canada and other countries were fine but the lot that hit Australia received a blast. It's not the irradiation itself, but the amount they used that caused the problem. What is fine for a 60 lb animal may be deadly to a 20 lb one. Until they regulate those amounts on pet foods, we have to be wary and watch to see if that might be impacting our pets if they eat something and react badly.
Best bets, keep it local and as close to what nature intended as you are comfortable with. Use the labels rather than the price as your guides if buying kibble or pre-made foods.
7. (my personal belief) Find a vet who is open to discussion when you have concerns or questions. Those who are absolutely unable to consider some things are not operating with studies and information that may be coming out, or are not willing to listen to anyone because they have a bad attitude. They may well know what they are talking about, but they should be able to help you understand and listen to your concerns when it comes to your pet. If they can't make you comfortable with something or try to manipulate you, get out of there.
8. You have the Internet available now, no reason to not educate yourself on anything you may have concerns about. The more we as clients know, the better the care we will be able to get for our pets. At least that is the way I see it.