Bigtime controversy

This morning I'm going to get controversial, yep I'm just going for it. I was watching Good Morning America when a commercial came on for Heartguard; the medication that kills all the nasties in your dog. I get it; I get that they are putting the fear of worms into us; so much so that we run out and buy the stuff. Hey, it's advertising and it works. Okay now onto the controversial stuff; vaccinations, medications etc.

I was at the vet a while ago when a lady came in with her very young dog. She got his vaccinations, his consumable flea medication and Heartguard to boot. As I sat and looked at this little dog I cound only imagine what his little body was about to go through. What type of war was going to be going on in there and would his body win or not?

How much is too much? I am not a vet and I do not claim to be but I do know that I haven't had a vaccinations in years except for a tentanus that I was required to get to volunteer at the shelter. We are not required to be revaccinated every year; so why then do we insist on giving our dogs yearly shots? Ever consider this?

I've done a ton of research on vaccinations and medications and I do little of either now. My dogs are 7.5 years, 11 years and 12 years old and I have titer tests done on them. What is a Titer you ask? titer testing calculates antibodies to specific diseases; the result verifies whether a dog's immune system has enough immunity with the previous vaccinations. This way there is no need to overdose your dog with more vaccines.

All it takes is a little blood test and your done. This below link has a plethora of information, really good information.

http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/petvacc.htm

There is alot of information and research on the internet about over vaccinating. I am not advocating never vaccinating; on the contrary I think all puppies should be vaccinated but carefully. I do not agree with multiple vaccinating at one time but spreading them over a time period allowing a body to adjust accordingly. Yearly vaccinations are the big controversy, please research before you vaccinate.

Pest medications

This is another big controversy and if you are amongst those who are moving to a more hollistic way of life you already know this. I hate pests like fleas and ticks but I will not put the toxic topical treatment on my dogs. I am vigilant, bath regularly and use some of the readily available natural alternatives. It does take time, there is alot of research to do but our dogs are worth the effort.

JMHO