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It’s important to have a veterinarian with whom you can have an open and honest dialogue. Whether you’re concerned about re-vaccinating your pet, giving multiple vaccines at the same time, vaccinating your pet when they are sick, or vaccinating at all, try to be non-confrontational.

Prior to your conversation, read articles by holistic veterinarians about diseases caused by vaccines (vaccinosis) to familiarize yourself with these experts’ perspectives and to be able to back up your concerns with facts. Share your personal experience with vaccine injury, whether with a child or a previous pet. Hopefully, your vet will learn something, or at least you can plant a seed. Understand that veterinarians have been indoctrinated to believe that vaccines are “safe and effective.” Ask your veterinarian for data to back up their claims that vaccines are “safe and effective.”

Oftentimes clients don’t say what they think or feel while they are in the exam room because they are afraid the vet will “fire” them from their practice. Don’t be afraid to upset your vet. If your vet doesn’t respect you, they are not a good fit. Your allegiance is to your pet, not your vet. You are your pet’s advocate. If the vet doesn’t want you back, you probably shouldn’t be there.

My most important message is to trust your inner voice. You probably know more about the dangers of vaccines than they do. If something doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t.

Titers measure the level of immunity that your animal has in their  blood. This immunity can occur naturally from exposure to the disease or from a previous vaccine. Most veterinarians are open to running vaccine titers on your dogs (but not cats). They can run the tests in-house, which costs them very little, and can charge you a lot for them.
 
However—and this is a big however—it is important to ask for “end-point” titers, not “vaccine titers.” End-point tests are quantitative, meaning they measure the level of antibodies present in your dog’s blood. If the level is high, this shows that the dog is protected for many years, so the test does not need to be repeated annually.
 
Vaccine titers merely give you a “yes” or “no” as to whether antibodies are present or not. They do not tell you the level of antibodies, and therefore how long protection can potentially last. Vaccine titers need to be repeated yearly. This more than makes up for lost income to a vet from not vaccinating.
 
(To confuse matters, when your pet’s blood is tested for vaccine titers, the results may say that your pet is not protected, when, in fact, it is. This is because laboratories routinely set different standards for vaccine titers versus end-point titers.)

If the mother has been vaccinated, she will transmit antibodies to her puppy through the colostrum in her milk. These “maternal antibodies” begin to wane when the puppy is about 12 weeks old, virtually disappearing around 16 weeks of age. What’s fascinating is that if a puppy is vaccinated early, at 4–8 weeks or even later, immunity from the mother’s milk can neutralize the vaccine’s effect, and the puppy will need further vaccines!

If you decide to vaccinate your dog, the only vaccines holistic vets usually recommend are the core vaccines—rabies, distemper and parvo.

It is best to vaccinate your puppy against parvo and distemper at 16 weeks old, when the mother’s antibodies are gone. If vaccinated at 16 weeks, the distemper and parvo shots should give your dog a lifetime of immunity.

Note, however, that this means your pup is vulnerable to getting distemper or parvo between 12 and 16 weeks old. In addition, it takes approximately 10 to 20 days for a vaccine to be effective. It is always a matter of risk versus benefit. I discuss with owners the pros and cons of waiting and only administering one vaccine at 16 weeks old. I sometimes administer homeopathic nosodes of the parvo and distemper viruses to tide the pup over. I recommend they stay away from dog parks and visit only dogs that you know are healthy.

An animal gets rabies from contact with saliva from a rabid animal, usually, but not exclusively, from a bite. I would not inoculate a puppy with the rabies vaccine at the same time as the distemper and parvo vaccines. (More antigens create more problems.)

Rabies vaccines are mandated by law in all states except Hawaii, and the mandated frequency of rabies boosters varies by state. All states require a booster one year after the first shot. After that, some states require them yearly, and others, every three years.

Note that the one-year rabies vaccine and the three-year rabies vaccine are identical, with the same potency. They are merely labeled differently. (This includes the Purevax feline rabies vaccines.) Most vets will not perform rabies titers. They insist that the pet receive a booster. Many vets will fire you from their practice if you do not comply.

When I first started practicing, veterinarians recommended that dogs get their first rabies vaccine at six months old. They now recommend your pup receive it at three months old. I believe this to be too early. The immunity doesn’t last as long and the younger they are, the greater the toxicity risk. Pups can handle the vaccine better at six months and the immunity lasts longer if given later. I recommend that if your dog is not vaccinated to never leave them outside unattended.

It is important that, if possible, you not let your pet out of your sight while at the veterinary hospital as well. I’ve seen many instances where veterinarians vaccinate pets without the owner’s knowledge or consent. Some veterinarians may have you sign waivers if you do not wish to vaccinate your pet for rabies, and some states will allow medical waivers, although most vets will not give you one. It is a reality that if vets write too many waivers, the state medical board may investigate them, so there is little incentive for vets to accommodate you or your pet.

Beyond the parvo, distemper and rabies vaccines, the rest, in my opinion, are generally ineffective and needlessly dangerous. This includes the Bordetella, influenza, canine infectious hepatitis, leptospirosis, and Lyme vaccines and the many others Big Pharma has come up with. Since NO vaccine is safe (and many of them are not effective), it is important to minimize exposure and choose wisely. Do not let yourself be bullied or manipulated by fear. At the very least, tell your vet you need to do some research before you vaccinate.

No. Mixing together vaccines creates chaos in the body. Because of all the vaccine injury I see on a daily basis, I personally prefer administering only one vaccine at a time, if possible. I would leave a two-week window between the distemper and parvo vaccine, for example. If that is impossible, I recommend doing only the parvo and distemper bivalent vaccine, meaning no antigens for other viruses are included as would be the case for typical 5- or 6-in-1 vaccines for dogs. Your pet should not receive any vaccine while they are under anesthesia, as they may not be able to mount an adequate immune response.

Every disease has a cause or a trigger. In my experience, the majority of diseases in pets begin with a vaccine injury. It is quicker and easier to recognize vaccine injury in pets than in humans, and the most reliable evidence for me is the timeline. I generally see vaccine injuries within six weeks of the time of the inoculation.

Most diseases we see in pets are autoimmune, and most autoimmune diseases are related to vaccines. Each vaccine produces specific symptom patterns. In rabies, for example, the target is the central nervous system, so seizures are common sequelae of a rabies vaccine. With parvo, you will find inflammatory bowel disease following a vaccine. I see this all the time.

Different holistic veterinarians have different protocols. I specialize in classical homeopathy, which takes an individualized approach, so there is no universal protocol. I’ve found that various homeopathic medicines (remedies) can undo damage done by vaccines. In my opinion, homeopathy has the best results in reversing and truly curing vaccine injury.

If your pet has never been vaccinated, it is best not to take them to dog parks or public areas where there are unknown or unvaccinated animals. Dogs recently adopted from shelters can be incubating a virus (like parvo or distemper) without yet showing any symptoms. If you know the owners of the other dogs and you know the dogs are healthy, you need not worry.

You need to immediately contact your veterinarian and your local animal control agency. Your pet will likely get a rabies vaccine and be quarantined in a facility for up to six months.

Most holistic vets agree that core vaccines for cats are the herpes, calici and panleukopenia vaccines. Rabies vaccine mandates for cats vary by state. For example, some vets in metropolitan areas are more lenient about vaccinating indoor cats for rabies.

Heartworm is a terrible disease, but its prevalence depends on exposure. You must always consider the risk vs. benefit. Mosquitoes are the hosts that transmit heartworm. So, for an animal that has high exposure to mosquitos, I’d give the minimum medication as infrequently as possible to protect my dog. I never use any heartworm preventives that are long-acting or combined with flea-and-tick preventives.

(There are some natural products that are touted as being effective. However, some of my holistic colleagues who have used them have seen breakthrough cases of heartworm, so I do not recommend these products.)

I have never seen a cat, either indoor or outdoor, get heartworm disease (although it has been cited, rarely, in the literature).

Flea-and-tick medications are, by definition, toxic. They are poisons meant to kill the fleas and the ticks. I would stay far away from any of them.

As with any medicine or medical procedure, it is important to first assess exposure and risk. For example, your indoor apartment cat will most likely not get fleas or ticks. If you only leash-walk your dog on cement or asphalt, your dog is at very low risk of infestation. If you carry your chihuahua around in a bag outside of your home, again, they are at very low risk. It is important to use common sense.

If your animal does have fleas, the new topical (spot-on) products are particularly dangerous—for the environment, for your pets, and for yourself and your family, as you absorb the drugs when you touch your cats or dogs. In fact, drug-makers specifically instruct you to wear protective gloves when applying the treatment and to wash your hands with soap and water immediately if it touches your skin. Be very wary of long-acting injectable drugs that stay in an animal’s system for a year. Less is always better.

I recommend only natural products both on the animal and in the environment for flea and tick control. Food-grade diatomaceous earth rubbed weekly into the coats of both dogs and cats is very effective. Certain essential oils sprayed on your dog can work well.

Fleas only spend 10% of their time on your animal, so treating the environment is essential. There are borax products that work well in your home, and microscopic nematodes are amazingly effective for your yard.

I wish I could tell you. Vaccine inserts provide practically no information about what they contain. I have called numerous pharmaceutical companies asking for that information, but each time they have said the information is proprietary and they cannot disclose it.

Big Pharma benefits from pet vaccines, just as it does with vaccines for people. Many animals receive annual vaccinations, and some of them twice a year, for their entire life. This generates money not only from the vaccines but, more importantly (and lucratively), from all the diseases created by the vaccine that your pet will get downstream. Cancer treatments in pets, for example, can cost at least $30,000.

Your pets tend to do better living in their own home. I usually recommend searching for reliable pet sitters. Look outside of the box for pet sitters: friends, neighbors, or others who don’t necessarily do this for a living. Many animal lovers are happy to have the extra income. Also, it tends to be less expensive, especially if you have multiple pets.

Often, small doggie-daycares run out of private homes don’t require vaccines for clients. Ask friends from the dog park, or search on apps like Nextdoor to find (and vet) local people who pet sit at their home or yours.

Cats, of course, do better in their own home. If you can’t find someone to stay and sleep at your home with your cats, friends or pet-sitters might be willing to come two or three times a day to feed, clean litter boxes and spend some time with your kitties.

Raw foods are the species-appropriate diet for dogs and cats. High quality, human-grade raw foods can be expensive, especially if you have a large dog or multiple dogs or cats, but they are by far the best choice.

Still, I’d rather you spend money on good nutrition and less at the veterinarian’s office. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, as they say, particularly when many of the “cures” may be toxic. It is possible to make the food yourself, following a holistic vet’s advice. This would save you money but would entail more effort on your part. There are companies that sell wholesale raw food diets online to the consumer. If a total raw food diet is unaffordable, you can give your pet a partially raw food diet. Freeze-dried raw food diets are another option.

Many non-human grade foods found in pet food are meats and byproducts that are condemned for human consumption (for example, roadkill, euthanized dogs and cats from shelters, cancerous organs from sick animals, etc.).

I recommend choosing a food with human-grade ingredients, if possible. The label should state chicken, turkey, etc., not “chicken meal” or “turkey meal,” “poultry,” or “meat” or “meat by-products.” “Poultry” could mean dead pigeons from the street, and “meat” could come from any source. You should be able to recognize all the ingredients listed and be able to pronounce them. Beware of initials and chemicals that are unrecognizable.

Please know that food companies are less than transparent, and data can be manipulated to appear better than it actually is. Pet food companies don’t have to list all the ingredients in their product, so nasty things can be hidden from sight. It is best to find a small local company that you can trust.

The American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association www.ahvma.org lists holistic veterinarians by state, along with the modalities used. The Academy of Veterinary Homeopathy www.theavh.org lists homeopathic vets by state.

Please beware. Many vets claim to be holistic when they are not. Some vets wish to merely sell supplements, along with their many pharmaceuticals. Others claim the label to acquire clients. A good way to decipher whether they are truly holistic is to call the hospital and ask the receptionist for their vaccine protocol. If the receptionist lists a smorgasbord of vaccines, they are assuredly not holistic.