On this page:
Before vaccinating, always ask:
Every single vaccine does not meet at least one of these criteria. One can rightly question why we vaccinate our pets annually, especially when there is no need and no valid precedent for it:
Think about this the next time you get the reminder for your pet's yearly booster shot! Please peruse the following links for more information about over-vaccination and the harm vaccines can inflict upon our pets. Please also consider joining one of the following Yahoo! groups that discusses vaccination:
This is a media article that was published March 17, 2003, and serves as a good brief introduction to the concept of overvaccination.
This is an abstract from the Veterinary Record, a publication of the British Veterinary Association, that details a study showing dogs can have antibodies to Distemper, Parvovirus, and Adenovirus from 3 to 15 years post-vaccination. Several dogs in the study were not vaccinated at all and still showed sufficient antibody levels.
This site has many links to the evidence against excessive vaccination, as well as links to more vaccination articles (a few of which are linked here). This is a great place to look for information on vaccines!
There is a wealth of information on this page, which includes quotes from vets, updates on current vaccine legislation, quotes from various books discussing vaccination, and several short articles.
Dr. Falconer has written a four-part article discussing the efficacy and safety of vaccines as well as what titers tell us. The fourth part discusses some options for the pet owners when it comes to vaccinating their puppy. This is an excellent read! Please note: Rawfed.com does not endorse his supplements and specific diet plans. Also note that you cannot "antidote" a vaccine using homeopathy like many claim. Please see this link here.
This article is part of the Vaccination Chapter from Dr. Don Hamilton's book Homeopathic Care for Cats and Dogs. This article primarily covers vaccination for cats but also addresses canine vaccinations. He also discusses the relationship between vaccines and chronic disease.
This is a good read that covers the evidences of vaccine-induced disease in a straightforward, common-sense manner.
This link contains articles written by Catherine Donnelly of Heartland Central Pug Rescue and by Dr. Susan Wynn regarding the decision to vaccinate. It also contains links to more information on vaccinosis.
Written by Dr. John Fudens, this article excellently discusses the real driving forces behind rabies vaccination—politics and money—that have refused to acknowledge the natural history of rabies and the science that speaks against annual rabies vaccination.
This site is simply informational, and supplies the statistics for rabies epidemiology in the United States.
This article (in PDF format) is written by Dr. Dee Blanco, and does a wonderful job discussing the history of vaccines, their use and over-use in pets, and the common vaccinosis symptoms we see in many dogs as a result of the distemper and rabies vaccines (please note that not every dog shows the same set of symptoms, as each dog is an individual and therefore will show a different combination of symptoms.). For an HTML version, please click here.
This is an excellent article that specifically details the various vaccinosis symptoms we see in dogs and cats as a result of their vaccines. I consider this one a "must read!". Please note, however, that homeopathy does not "antidote" vaccines. For more detail, please read this article here.
Christie Keith of Caber Feidh Scottish Deerhounds has done an excellent and thorough job discussing many issues of holistic pet care. Her articles are well-researched and are a definite "must read". Here is a selection of some of the articles pertaining to vaccination:
This lengthy article discusses in detail the various feline vaccinations, chronic disease associated with them, and nosode use. There are also several links to other excellent vaccine-related articles that apply to both dogs and cats.
This is a very detailed article that discusses the finer points of vaccines: all the other materials that come through that needle in addition to the 'inactivated' virus. It is a bit technical in parts, but should definitely make one reconsider vaccinating both themselves and their pets.
This article was written by Betty Lewis, a registered veterinary technician, and covers several important myths surrounding vaccination, such as "The administration of vaccines is safe" and "Once vaccinated, dogs need to be boosted". There are also links to other vaccine-related articles.
This PDF file lists the known Safety Data for many of the ingredients in vaccines (both pet and human). This link is, by today's standards, outdated due to the rapidly changing technology surrounding vaccines. However, many of these compounds are still used in vaccine manufacturing, and give the reader an idea of all the harmful things that can "come through the needle" under the label of "protection".
This link contains more information on the various adjuvants, preservatives, and chemicals used in vaccine manufacturing.
This site contains many links to articles discussing vaccination (some of which are included here) in addition to a listing of books and veterinary journal articles discussing vaccination.
While this site deals with human vaccinations, I included it here because it demonstrates how vaccines work to suppress rather than stimulate the immune system. Considering how many of our pets' physiological processes parallel our own (including the basic principles of immunity), there are many parallels that can be drawn between this article and our pets' reactions to vaccines. This link is also included in the Human Vaccination Information section.
This article provides a good overview of the holistic position on health and how it differs from the conventional view. If someone is looking for a brief explanation of holistic medical philosophy on health and disease, this would be the article to read.
Written by Dr. Larry Bernstein, this article ("The Interrelationship of Vaccinations, Vital Force, and Remedy Action") is sort of a segue from vaccination to homeopathy and how the vaccinations impact the "Vital Force" of the body. It is a good introduction to homeopathy.
This is an article that does a good job of briefly explaining what homeopathy is and how it works. This is an excellent article to read for gaining an overview of homeopathy.
This is a very lengthy article written by the owner of Blakkatz Cattery that thoroughly discusses homeopathy and its use with cats (although homeopathy can be used with all species of animals, including things like fish!).
Written by Dr. Larry Bernstein, this article briefly describes homeopathy and homeopathic treatment.
This article is a must-read! It addresses one of the most common "false practices" of homeopathy—the mistaken belief that one can administer a homeopathic remedy prior to and then after vaccinating an animal to "antidote" the effects of the vaccine. It also discusses several other common practices that are disguised as homeopathy but are not truly homeopathic.
Selecting a good homeopath can be a daunting task for many who are new to this form of medicine. This article provides some excellent guidelines and tips for selecting a good classical homeopath. If you are considering homeopathy for you or your pet, then consider this a must-read!
The result of joint efforts, these various informational flyers—available in PDF format—discuss the dangers associated with vaccines and various medications. Here is a sampling of the flyers (which can also be printed out and given to friends):
This is an excellent article that details the life cycle of the heartworm parasite, and through this realistic view it addresses some of the underlying fears that drive people to routinely administer pesticides to their pets in the form of "heartworm preventatives." This article is a must-read!
This site details some of the horrors associated with NSAIDS-gone-wrong. If you administer NSAIDS like Rimadyl and Deramaxx to your pets (or know someone who does), then please check out these links:
This site contains a lot of excellent information on NSAIDS like Rimdayl, Deramaxx, and Metacam—newspaper articles, letters, and journal articles. If your dog is taking one of these drugs or has the possibility of being prescribed one of these drugs, then this is a must-read!
Among the holistic community, the question of neutering cats and dogs before they have fully developed physically and mentally (not just sexually, since sexual maturation often comes before full physical maturation) is a contentious one. Given the problems with pet overpopulation today, leaving a non-breeding animal intact is sometimes seen as extremely irresponsible. However, these hormones are there for a reason, and that is to ensure proper physical growth and maturation of the animal (which varies in time depending on breed and general adult size). This article discusses the drawbacks to neutering a pet early before that physical and mental maturation are complete.
This article is written by Chris Zink, DVM, PhD. While the full title is "Early Spay/Neuter Considerations for the Canine Athlete," I strongly urge pet owners to read this article as well since it discusses several studies and the results of early spay/neuter; these results are not only confined to canine athletes, but affect the larger population as well.
This is a brief article written by Dr. Mary Wakeman. It discusses some of the issues surrounding castration of male dogs and links to several references that show neutered dogs may actually have a higher incidence of cancer than intact dogs. While Rawfed.com does not endorse her site in any way and disagrees with much of what she has written in other articles, this article does provide the reader with another view of early neutering.
