10 April 2009
Parvovirus Shots - What Your Vet Probably Won’t Tell You!
Posted by Rae and Mark under: Health .
Almost every dog owner assumes that they need to give their dog Parvo shots to stop them from getting the dreaded Canine Parvovirus, but if your vet told you the truth about these vaccinations, especially the three facts we’ve uncovered based on hundreds of Parvo cases we’ve dealt with, as well as our extensive research, then you’d probably think differently about them.
Firstly, almost all vaccines in use nowadays are no longer protecting dogs against the latest 2c strain of Parvo.
This 2c strain, which first appeared in the United States during 2006 (although it had been present in Europe and other parts of the world for much longer), is much more aggressive and fast-acting than the older 2a and 2b strains.
For example, we had one customer, in the pacific North West, whose dog first showed symptoms of Parvo on a Sunday morning, and by late that same afternoon, it had already succumbed to this horrific virus.
As time goes on, we are witnessing an increasing number of customers who have adult dogs, as well as puppies, that are fully-vaccinated and that are contracting Parvo and are dying from it, unless they are treated in time.
Until not long ago, the only company that manufactured vaccines that had been 100% challenge-tested against the 2c strain was Intervet, but we’ve now had customers whose dogs were vaccinated using their products, and yet still contracted Parvo.
So, don’t assume that because your dog (whether old or young) has been vaccinated, he’s safe and will be immune.
Secondly, and we know this sounds counter-intuitive, but dogs are actually getting full-blown Parvo from the Parvo vaccinations.
Once again, many of our customers have dogs that display full-scale symptoms of Parvo within literally one or two days after being given their shots.
We know that some of our customers get this, because they themselves have told us that their own children have developed ‘flu shortly after being given their ‘flu jabs.
Well, exactly the same thing is going on with dogs and their Parvovirus shots.
If you stop to consider this for a moment, the vaccines contain modified versions of the live virus, and they are designed to weaken the dog’s immune system, as that is how they are supposed to work - well, that’s the theory. To add insult to injury, many vaccines contain multiple viruses - anywhere from four to seven or eight at a time.
Lastly, and perhaps most disturbing of all, is the fact that your dog’s immune system can be weakened by any vaccinations, not just Parvo ones. The results of this are obvious: your dog will have an increased chance of becoming ill in the future.
Other side-effects of vaccinations include chronic inflammation, which will cause the obvious issues like arthritis, but it’s now been proven that inflammation is a leading cause of cancer.
To top it off, the vaccines themselves also contain a wide variety of toxic chemicals, none of which are good for your dog and could cause additional problems.
It’s good that the recommendation for annual booster shots has been reduced by the AVMA to just every three years, but even this is too much. Ongoing research has proven that vaccinations will provide immunity for at least seven years, and perhaps even life.
So in summary then, Parvo vaccinations are no longer that effective against the 2c strain, they may even give your dog full-blown Parvo, and they can cause long-term health issues such as cancer.
If you were to ask your vet, he’d probably disagree with all that we’ve said here, but please bear in mind - it’s your dog, and you have the right to be told all of the facts before coming to an informed decision about which Parvo treatment to go fo, and not be hectored into doing something you don’t want to do.
3 Comments so far...
Sue Marston Says:
26 July 2009 at 5:56 am.
Around 1985 I had 7 dogs, all unvaccinated. One was a pup, and when she came back from being spayed, she was not feeling well and would not eat. I thought she might have an obstruction, so I took her in to the vet. He gave her barium orally to see if there was an obstruction. To make this short, he said the blood test showed she had parvo (probably picked up when being spayed) but added it was the MILDEST CASE OF PARVO he had ever seen. She was absolutely fine after ingesting the barium for the x-ray. And, none of my other dogs (again, all unvaccinated) did not “catch” the parvo from her. I’ve had two experiences bringing home dogs who had received multiple vaccines at the “shelter” and each time the vaccinated dogs developed distemper. None of the unvaccinated dogs (who had full contact with the sick vaccinated ones) “caught” the distemper. So Beauchamp was right when he refuted Pasteur’s theory, and the resistance to disease IS created by a healthy diet and environment, not by injecting toxic substances.
Justin Howe Says:
24 November 2009 at 6:37 pm.
I’m a bit confussed over how hard it is 2 diagnose parvo.My 4yr old boxer was just placed in a vetranary hospital.She was pregnant 1.5mths,she had all the symptoms of parvo(bloody stools,diarrea,vomiting,stomach acid,wieght loss,etc)she was givin blood tests,& her white blood cell count was fine,everythin was fine.They gav her a ultra-sound,& then had 2 put her on I.V.My vet has many yrs of experience & he 1st said it wasnt parvo,but a week l8r it is.How hard is it 2 diagnose.
Rae and Mark Says:
25 November 2009 at 1:05 am.
Justin, there are a few issues with diagnosing Parvo.
Firstly, we are seeing more and more Parvo tests that conducted by the vet, in-clinic (i.e. the tests based on stool samples), coming back negative when the dog does, in fact, have Parvo. This is mainly happening, as far as we can tell, with the latest 2c strain of Parvo. Full blood work-ups, which have to go away to the labs, still tend to be more accurate, but they do take longer (a day, at least, usually), and the one thing you don’t have with Parvo is time.
The problem with these false negatives is that the vet then thinks your dog doesn’t have Parvo, and then proceeds to convince you to give the dog Parvo shots, but if the dog does have the virus (or has been exposed to it), this is probably the worst thing you can do as it will almost undoubtedly ensure that full Parvo symptoms develop within a day or two.
Secondly, there are many other issues that can look like Parvo, but aren’t. For example, Campylocater (aka Dog Show Crud) has symptoms almost identical to Parvo, although dogs suffering from this tend to whine, whimper and cry whereas Parvo dogs don’t (unless you handle their stomachs too much, as this area does get very sore and tender). As an aside, if you treat Campylobacter using IV fluids, as though it were Parvo, then this can be very dangerous, as dogs with this condition need to be hydrated orally.
The problem here is that, because Parvo is so prevalent, once most vets see symptoms that look like Parvo, they assume it is Parvo and treat the dog accordingly.
Based on what our many customers are telling us, the white blood cell doesn’t appear to be a very reliable indicator either.
So, it’s not as easy to diagnose Parvo as it might appear, but our policy is that if the symptoms indicate it could be Parvo, you’d better take action immediately and treat it as though it were Parvo (using the products in the Home Parvo Treatment Kit is our recommended treatment, as it gives dogs the best chance of survival): if it turns out it’s not Parvo, then the products won’t do any harm, and if it is something like Campylobacter, they can still help, while if it does turn out to be Parvo, then you’ve started treatment as soon as possible, which is always the best course of action.
And with Parvo killing some dogs in as little as five hours after visible physical symptoms (e.g. diarrhea, vomiting) first appear, that’s why we strongly encourage all dog owners to have a Parvo Treatment Kit on hand at all times - you never know when Parvo will strike (and it’s often at weekend), and when it does, you may not have very long at all.
We hope this helps, and we hope your Boxer and her unborn pups are all OK.
