I am writing this message with a heavy heart, and wishing things went well always. We have traditionally administered the first puppy shot before the puppy leaves our care using the solojec 7 way vaccine. Some people are anti vaccination, and I can understand their concern, they need to get with me ahead of time to plan the health care for the puppy. As tragic as the pet food recall was for many people (not our family dobes extended family as we all feed Royal Canin right?) imagine this pain. As with the pet food recall, those people who lost their pets were doing what they thought was good and right, they wanted to care for them. All the while they were feeding them poison that killed them. I had a puppy that we placed at Christmas time just pass away and naturally the family was very upset as I can imagine. Turns out after all the tissue cultures were completed at Cornell, it was determined that the cause of Death was distemper. Now I had vaccinated the puppy when it left, and the owners had given the boosters twice as they should. Next they gave another booster at the Vet office, and one week later the puppy died of the very disease it had been vaccinated against. This is called vaccine break. Again you are doing what you believe is best for the pet, and it causes a tragedy. Our hearts and prayers go out to this family and we are trying to help them get another pup to help them grieve and move on. One thing I have learned studying this case and consulting with several vets is that Pfizer and Interjec guarantee their vaccinations to be effective. If the dog contracts the disease while under their approved vaccination schedules, they will cover all the costs of care! We are switching to Pfizer for this reason. A second problem is fresh in my mind and has me very upset. I placed a pup from my last litter that left here with a vaccination, and today is in the clinic suffering from Parvo. I do not know if the booster had been given, but there are some important things to understand. If you vaccinate, primary immunity is not usually obtained until the third shot, and it still needs boostered as the puppy grows. As you start caring for your new puppy, it really is best not to take them anywhere other dogs could have been. Parvo can lay dormant for up to seven years. that means if a Parvo dog eliminates on your lawn, six or seven years later your dog could come down with Parvo. It is tragic and hard, and has a high mortality rate. The best stratey, is to vaccinate effectively for Parvo, and keep the dog secluded until immunity is reached. A titer test is the best way to determine this. Remember even going to the Vet is a risk, but one we have to take, where does someone with a parvo dog go? To the Vet naturally. Although they do their best to keep things sterile, parking lots etc can be very contaminated. Crates are best for puppy visits to the Vet. Keep them in it and be wary about who you let poke fingers etc in.

Deworming is another hot issue, some people are anti dewormers as they have shown some connection to loss of hearing and sight with frequent deworming. Parasites are part of every puppy’s life cycle, I like Ivermectin to Deworm with as it is effective against round worms and tapeworms. Most wormers are only for round worms. Heart worm is another topic altogether. There are some holistic approaches, such as pumpkin seed and Tobacco, you have to weight the risk/reward out in your own mind and make some decisions. This time of year the parts of the country that have good hard killing frosts are starting to warm up, and diseases that were dormant are now “waking up”. This means you need to decide on your preventative care plan and make sure you are following it. Ticks are back out as well if you are out in the woods, and snakes are coming out of hibernation. Our SAR group is going this weekend to get Rattlesnake vaccinations for our dogs since we are at high risk.

How will you know if your dog is getting sick? You will notice they are different, just as this earlier family did. Their appetite will change, their energy level will change, there will be a “look” in their eyes that they are just not right. If ever a dog goes off of food or water it is a big red flag. Some dogs go off for emotional reasons, but try to solve those as well. Blood in the stool with a very distinctive and unforgettable smell usually indicates parvo, but by then it has progressed pretty far, you need to catch it when you notice the dog having a loose stool, loss of appetite and going off water. The Parvo virus isn’t what usually kills the dog, it is the dehydration. Don’t try to ride Parvo out, get to the vet and get an IV.