Second Thoughts on Pet Vaccinations—and Some Alternatives

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Second Thoughts on Pet Vaccinations—and Some Alternatives

Alternative Pet Care

If you’re a pet owner, most likely you have been dutifully taking your cat or dog to the veterinarian every year for vaccinations or booster shots. You do this in the belief that you are preventing animal illnesses such as feline leukemia or canine distemper.

But recent evidence and the views of a growing number of holistic veterinarians suggest that this may be only a belief, and not a fact. These vets maintain that pet vaccinations are overused, that yearly booster shots are not needed in most cases, and that some vaccines may be the cause of serious illnesses in pets.

Do Vaccines Confer Any Benefit to Pets?–The goal of a pet (or human) vaccine is to produce immunity against a specific illness. This is the theory; the fact is that pet vaccines do not always work.

Part of the problem is that certain conditions or predispositions in the animal can interfere with the intended immune response to vaccines. For example, the formation of antibodies (specialized proteins that target disease substances) can be blocked if the animal is too young at vaccination time or sick or undernourished—that is, its immune system is already compromised.

Even if the appropriate immune response occurs, the antibodies still may be ineffective against the natural disease organism (as opposed to the modified organism in the vaccine) when the animal encounters it in the environment.

Unfavorable Vaccine Reactions—If an animal’s immune system is already weakened at the time of vaccination, the vaccine may produce considerable damage. It may cause severe reactions, including fever, hemorrhaging, and encephalitis in dogs, and fever and fibrosarcomas (tumors) at the injection site in cats, among other reactions.

“Some animals are more susceptible than others and get sick from the vaccines,” explains Richard Pitcairn, D.V.M., Ph.D., a holistic veterinarian practicing in Eugene, Oregon, and coauthor of Dr. Pitcairn’s Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats. For example, Dr. Pitcairn has seen cats come down with the often fatal feline infectious peritonitis (inflammation of the lining of the abdominal and pelvic cavities) within only a few weeks of receiving the feline leukemia vaccine.

The rabies vaccine is the only one required by law for dogs and, in some states, for cats. Dogs often become aggressive, destructive, and even hysterical after receiving the rabies vaccine, notes Dr. Pitcairn, who has had some success in treating these vaccine reaction symptoms with homeopathic remedies.

Dr. Pitcairn hasn’t used vaccines for 20 years in his practice. He has witnessed a dramatic difference in health in the unvaccinated animals compared to those that receive vaccines. “They tend to have less illness, period,” he says. “They have better coats; they don’t attract fleas or worms as much—they just seem to be generally healthier.”

Susan Wynn, D.V.M., a veterinarian in Marietta, Georgia, who uses both homeopathy and conventional therapies in her practice, believes that vaccines must be used judiciously. “If an animal has serious problems but is stable, I think vaccines can sometimes destabilize them,” she states.

Vaccine Alternatives– Instead of vaccines, Dr. Pitcairn uses nutritional therapy and special homeopathic remedies called nosodes in his practice. There are nosodes for many conditions common to animals, such as distemper, kennel cough, feline leukemia, feline infectious peritonitis, and other cat and dog diseases.

The purpose of a veterinary nosode is to remove all the subtle energy traces and residues of a disease or infectious organism still active within the animal. “We have been using nosodes with very satisfactory results and without the side effects and illness associated with vaccine use,” says Dr. Pitcairn.

For vaccinated animals, Dr. Pitcairn has had success in improving their health by using herbs to remove the toxic residues of the vaccines. For example, thuja herbal tincture (from Arbor vitae or “Tree of Life”) can be effective in neutralizing some of the common effects of vaccinations, like runny nose, fever, or skin eruptions, says Dr. Pitcairn.

Another alternative to vaccines is prevention, in this case, addressing the earliest signs of a problem. “If there is anything there at all, I treat them homeopathically, according to their basic constitution,” explains Dr. Pitcairn. “I give them the remedy that seems appropriate to restore their health or to promote their highest level of health.”

In general, Dr. Pitcairn has three recommendations for maintaining the health of a pet: provide it with good nutrition, give it homeopathic treatments when it gets sick, and avoid pet vaccines.

Over a period of a few months, Dr. Pitcairn treated the dog with a series of homeopathic remedies to clear up her acute problems and get rid of the vaccine and disease residues. The remedies included Silica 200C, Sulfur 50M, Apis 30C, Calcarea carbonica 200C, and Arnica montana 30C. Dr. Pitcairn also suggested that the poodle’s owner stop the annual vaccinations and make changes in the dog’s diet to ensure better nutrition. Dr. Pitcairn reports that the poodle has gradually been improving and is now almost back to normal.

Dr. Wynn relies on a technique called antibody titering to find out if a dog needs a particular vaccination. This approach involves a blood test to measure the levels of antibodies for a particular virus such as distemper or parvovirus in dogs and panleukopenia (a white blood cell viral disease), calicivirus (a viral infection), or herpes in cats. “I use the titers as a guide for what to do about the vaccine and which problem to concentrate on,” says Dr. Wynn. She also often uses acupuncture, herbs, and nutritional therapy to produce healing in her pet patients.

To contact alternative veterinarians cited in this article: Jean Dodds, D.V.M., Hemopet, 938 Stanford St., Santa Monica, CA 90403; tel: 310-828-4804; fax: 310-828-8251. Susan Wynn, D.V.M., Wynn Clinic for Therapeutic Alternatives, 1080 N. Cobb Parkway, Marietta, GA 30062; tel: 770-424-6303; fax: 770-426-4257.

Pet vaccines may also be the cause of chronic health problems in cats and dogs. Vaccinosis is the term applied to diseases associated with vaccinations. “They are the most common problems that I face in my practice,” says holistic veterinarian Richard Pitcairn, D.V.M., Ph.D., of Eugene, Oregon.

“I suspect that the widespread increase in diseases caused by immune system disorders, such as hyperthyroidism (an overactive thyroid gland), inflammatory bowel disease, lupus, and pemphigus (skin lesions in the neck, “armpits,” and groin), is a result of increased use of vaccinations, especially of combination formulas,” he states.

Combination formulas, routinely used on dogs and cats, are multiple vaccine serums given at the same time (3-in-1, 4-in-1, and, increasingly in dogs, 7-in-1). Given this way, they can confuse the animal’s immune system (which has to react to multiple disease substances at the same time) and lead to autoimmune disorders. Dr. Pitcairn estimates that, in his practice, vaccines are “a contributing factor in the continuing health problems” of over half of the animals with chronic problems.

Dr. Pitcairn suggests that “because of repeated vaccination, the acute disease of canine distemper has changed form to appear as a variety of chronic diseases. What I am suggesting here is that the original disease, distemper, has been, for the most part, replaced by distemper vaccinosis, a chronic disease of great variety.”

Veterinarian and researcher Jean Dodds, D.V.M., of Santa Monica, California, also sees vaccines as one of the major triggers for chronic illnesses in pets, particularly on top of other stresses on the animal’s system. “As we change our environment with more pollutants, humans and animals are exposed to more cumulative triggers. The body finally says: enough already,” explains Dr. Dodds. When you add yet another stressor to this picture, such as a vaccination, “the animal or human system goes on overload and presents this overload as a variety of immune problems,” she says.

Regarding the increasing problem of cancers growing at the site of injections in cats (fibrosarcomas affect an estimated 10% of vaccinated cats), Dr. Dodds mentions that conventional veterinarians “are now recommending that vaccines be given on the legs so that the leg can be amputated later if the cat gets the tumor.” Why those veterinarians do not think in terms of discontinuing the vaccination rather than planning amputations is a troubling question. “One of the ways that veterinarians keep their solvency is to use the booster vaccination as a way to get the animal in there,” comments Dr. Dodds.

Dr. Dodds cites other vaccine-damage evidence from her own research with 24 Weimaraner puppies that developed vaccine-associated disease following the modified-live virus polyvalent vaccine. Within 10 1/2 days of vaccination, the puppies (aged 13 1/2 weeks) showed high spiking fevers, cyclic pain, joint pain, diarrhea, lethargy, anorexia, and enlarged lymph nodes. Five died and three remain chronically ill as adult dogs, reports Dr. Dodds.

Many cats and dogs that have been “vaccinated so aggressively in the last decade” reach their midlife with a compromised immune system and far less vigor than they ought to have, says Dr. Dodds. “There is good evidence that if you trigger the immune system in an abnormal way when the animal is young, their cumulative immunological load (everything the immune system has to deal with defensively) over a lifetime will affect the quality of body functions and cause degeneration, such as premature aging, an increase in cancers, and an increase in susceptibility to infections.”

Use simple (single disease component) vaccines rather than vaccine cocktails as these are easier on your pet’s immune system, says Dr. Pitcairn. Use only “inactivated,” not “modified live” vaccines, because they pose less threat in terms of producing immediate or chronic problems. Don’t vaccinate your pet before it is 16 weeks of age and avoid annual booster shots.

Young Dogs—Dr. Pitcairn recommends keeping your puppy isolated from other dogs and then vaccinating only once when the dog is age 22 weeks or older. In his opinion, only distemper and parvovirus vaccines are necessary and they should be given a month apart. If your puppy can’t be isolated, Dr. Pitcairn offers this schedule to limit possible damage to the pet. Give the first distemper shot at 16 weeks, the first parvovirus shot at 20 weeks, the second distemper at 24 weeks, and the second parvovirus at 28 weeks.

Kittens—Dr. Pitcairn says if you give the distemper vaccine at 16 weeks, the immunity provided should last for the life of the cat. He does not recommend the calicivirus or rhinotracheitis vaccines because of the risk of severe reactions. Dr. Pitcairn regards the feline leukemia vaccine as the most harmful of all cat vaccines, mainly because it can trigger feline infectious peritonitis. “It is with cats that the danger is greatest of activating a latent virus infection by repeated administration of vaccines,” says Dr. Pitcairn. If your cat must be vaccinated, try to schedule it one month after the distemper shot (at five months old), he advises.

feline leukemia: which is often fatal, depresses a cat's immune system, leading to cancers of the lymph system and other organs, or to leukemia, a condition affecting the white blood cells and producing severe anemia. An infected cat will not necessarily develop the full-blown disease, but as a carrier of the virus may become more vulnerable to opportunistic infections. Factors thought to contribute to feline leukemia include environmental pollution, repeated vaccinations or use of multiple vaccine serums, flea sprays used directly on the cat, and hormones and other ingredients in commercial cat foods.

vaccine: is a preparation containing a weakened (attenuated) or "killed" solution of a specific bacterium, virus, or germ believed to produce a disease. After it is injected into the body, the humoral immune system wages a protective response, developing antibodies to the disease-organism's foreign proteins. The theory is that the antibodies "remember" the antigen and will neutralize them in the future, thereby bestowing immunity to this illness. The word vaccine derives from vacca, which is Latin for "cow," because the first vaccination in 1796 was smallpox made from cowpox sores.

Vaccine: is a preparation containing a weakened (attenuated) or "killed" solution of a specific bacterium, virus, or germ believed to produce a disease. After it is injected into the body, the humoral immune system wages a protective response, developing antibodies to the disease-organism's foreign proteins. The theory is that the antibodies "remember" the antigen and will neutralize them in the future, thereby bestowing immunity to this illness. The word vaccine derives from vacca, which is Latin for "cow," because the first vaccination in 1796 was smallpox made from cowpox sores.

homeopathy: is now practiced according to two differing concepts. In classical homeopathy, only one single-component remedy is prescribed at a time in a potency specifically adjusted to the patient; the physician waits to see the results before prescribing anything further. In complex homeopathy, typified by Hepar compositum, a prescription involves multiple substances given at the same time usually in low and/or genetic potencies.

nosode: is a super-diluted remedy made as an energy imprint from a disease product, such as bacteria, tuberculosis, measles, bowel infection, influenza, and about 200 other substances. The nosode, which contains no physical trace of the disease, stimulates the body to remove all "taints" or residues it holds of a particular disease, whether it was inherited or contracted. Only qualified homeopaths may administer a nosode.

antibody: is a molecule of amino acids made by cells in the lymph tissue and set in motion by the immune system against a specific antigen. An antibody is classified as an immunoglobulin and may be found in the blood, lymph, colostrum, saliva, and gastrointestinal and urinary tracts, usually within 3 days after the first encounter with an antigen. At this point, the antibody binds tightly with the antigen as a preliminary for removing it from the system.

blood: is classified into 4 blood types or groups according to the presence of type A and type B antigens on the surface of red blood cells. These antigens are also called agglutinogens and pertain to the blood cells' ability to agglutinate, or clump together. Type O blood (containing neither type) is found in 47% of the Caucasian population; type A, 41%; type B, 9%; type AB, 3%. Another form of blood grouping is according to Rh-positive and Rh-negative types, based on the distribution of 6 different Rh antigens.

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ALL INFORMATION, DATA, AND MATERIAL CONTAINED, PRESENTED, OR PROVIDED HERE IS FOR GENERAL INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS REFLECTING THE KNOWLEDGE OR OPINIONS OF THE PUBLISHER, AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED OR INTENDED AS PROVIDING MEDICAL OR LEGAL ADVICE. THE DECISION WHETHER OR NOT TO VACCINATE IS AN IMPORTANT AND COMPLEX ISSUE AND SHOULD BE MADE BY YOU, AND YOU ALONE, IN CONSULTATION WITH YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.