Vaccinations

Firstly, thank you so much for your valuable time in sharing your knowledge and experience with us all! I have a couple of questions.
#1... Our Chi mix girl has had allergic reactions to the rabies vaccine (thimerosal free) previously and is generally reactive and sensitive (vaccines, environmental, bug bites, etc.)  If a vet gives a large, injected dose of Benedryl 30 minutes prior to giving a rabies vaccine, is it possible an allergic reaction to the vaccine be delayed a week? (My Kenzie girl is pictured below in April having a reaction - red and purple splotches, hives and extreme itching)
Our vet said since a week had passed it was not a reaction to the vaccine.
#2... Our vet gave us "Liver Happy" to give our girl due to slightly elevated liver numbers... reason unknown. I started that supplement the day before the picture was taken. So, have you ever known of a dog having this kind of allergic reaction to an Eastern supplement called "Liver Happy"?  
--- If so, would Milk Thistle (Herbsmith brand) work to effectively support her liver instead?

Thanks again in advance!

Dr. Steve's Advice -  a reaction like that is not seen typically in response to Chinese herbs, but you'd want to contact Jing Tang and ask them as well, to make sure it's not something they normally see.

I would say a vaccine reaction is more likely. They commonly happen even two or three weeks after vaccination. Your vet is thinking of anaphylaxis when she says the rabies vaccine couldn't be a cause after a week. The adjuvants in vaccines have enduring effects on the immune system, though, that last much longer than a week. In fact, the immune system is often suppressed by vaccines at first, and it takes a week for that to wear off. What you're seeing in the photo is possibly her coming out of that immune suppressed state and into an excessive immune stimulation state. The vaccine didn't cause that per se. It just aggravated a latent tendency to excess immune stimulation that was already present but not clinically evident.

If all that is correct, a dose of Benadryl is unlikely to make a difference. I'd wonder instead about trying Cessorex (https://goldstandardherbs.com/products/Original-Cessorex-85g-p647327434) from Gold Standard Herbs, particularly if your dog is on a healthy real food diet. It may help those liver enzymes out, too

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  Hello Dr. Steve , I am so confused about vaccinations. I want to minimize my dog vaccinations but when vet told to me my dog need to update his core vaccination . I worry about the side affect but also worry about like Parvo. He goes a park but not play with other dogs . Could you please advise ? I cannot make up my mind what is best for my dog . Thank you so much ! 

Dr. Steve's Advice -  pretty much all vets have access to titer testing these days for distemper and parvo. If the titer test shows even a 'weak positive' antibody titer (in other words, anything above 'not detected'), then your dog doesn't need vaccinating against those viruses, per the most current research on the topic. I'd request those titers be done.

If you absolutely have to get your dog vaccinated for parvo and distemper, and it's been several years since the last shot, then you're not likely going to see problems. Consider using homeopathic Thuja 30C three times daily the day before, the day of, and the day after vaccination to prevent adverse reactions. Vaccines like Lepto are more likely to cause an adverse reaction than parvo. If Lepto (or any of the other viruses) are not that common in your area, then you can forego them. Lepto is more of an 'add on' and not considered a 'core' vaccine.

Hopefully this helps you out!

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Dr Steve Marsden would you still agree with the vaccination protocol that you have in files by Ron Schultz? My son is getting a golden retriever puppy in 2 weeks and we want to make sure we do the very best after losing our Harper boy at 8 yrs old due to nerve root tumor. He will be feeding raw and limited vaccines.  The puppy has had her Parvo vaccine at 6 weeks and I wanted to see if I should have breeder give 1st vaccines prior to us picking her up.  With or last dog who is 3 now we waited longer to start series and only did 2 rounds.  Have not repeated rabies either. 

Thank you for your help. I tried to read files and didn’t find anything else for guidance.

Dr. Steve's Advice -  that is one lucky puppy to wind up in your household!

As for vaccination, I stand by what Ron Schultz published, because it is based on challenge studies and because he is against excessive vaccination.

When someone starts vaccinating at such a young age (6 wks), you're stuck with having to see it through. Early shots often don't really boost the immune system, but just bind up antibodies provided by the mother, ironically potentially raising risk of infection if you don't provide the next booster within a month.

Since the 10 week shot is the first real stimulation of the immune system, the 14 week booster is likely going to be needed to seal the deal, since it's effectively the second booster given for a dog whose shots are started so early. It's only at the 14 week mark that any antibodies found in the bloodstream were for sure made by the dog and not its mother.

Don't get too annoyed at the breeder for the early vaccination. It's common practice and was probably advised by his/her vet. Regarding Harper, I don't think the altered vaccine schedule was too instrumental in the development of his nerve sheath tumor.

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I have a three year old Maltese. I got her when she was 8 weeks old. No tear stains. Healthy little girl. She received her puppy vaccinations and then her one year vaccinations. She had a reaction to the rabies vaccine and a two inch circular area on her right thigh where she was injected, all her hair fell out. I took her to my Vet (that isn’t holistic) She did a scraping which came back negative. She’s still has a bald spot. It has never grown back. My Vet said the vaccines did not cause her hair to fall out. I did research on the internet and that’s exactly what happened. I bought a detox formula that gave to her but she still is bald. Do you have any recommendations as to what I can do to get her hair to grow back? 

Dr. Steve's Advice -  one thing I've found that works for this at least some of the time is Cool the Blood from Kan Essentials. You can source that through group member Aleksandra Topic using the instructions she provides here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1158575954706282/posts/1420037418560133/

A real food diet may help resolve it as well

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 Hello Dr. Steve, thank you for all you do! I am struggling quite a bit with understanding the vaccine titer test results for my dog. I work for a vet but he does not do them, I found info from following yourself and others , about titer test and took the extra effort to have this done on my 10 yr old dog. These are the results, I called KSVDL and asked to speak with the doc, he told me that his levels were good and he doesn’t see a need to vaccinate, although myself and the doctors I work for were reading that the CPV is low at 1:640, being that it states that anything less than 1:8 needs a booster. Dr. Pogramichniy (KAVDL) was very friendly on the phone but unfortunately, he did not speak good English and I couldn’t understand him to be able to explain to my vets, I have searched and searched to find answers and am now wondering if I DID possibly mis-understand him I was hoping you could explain or even point me in the direction of an explanation for these numbers. Thank you! 

Dr. Steve's Advice -  I agree with the lab. None of those titers are too low so I don't see your dog needing those vaccines. The lowest titer is CDV at 1:32, meaning that you have to dilute a drop of serum to 1/32 of its original concentration before you lose antibodies.

Still, that's not too bad, and a positive is a positive. Per Ron Schultz, once a dog has even a weak positive titer against any of those three viruses, the dog is immune for life, so you don't really need to titer or vaccinate your dog again for those ailments.

The CPV result means you only lose any trace of antibodies once the serum is diluted to 1/640th of its original strength. As for CAV, they stopped measuring at a 1/256th dilution, as that is ample protection

Hope that helps

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 Hello Dr Steve, I'm getting a Dachshund 8 wk old puppy in a few days and she's had one vaccine. The breeder used the 5 in 1 puppy Vax from tractor supply stores. My question is how many and which vaccines does she still need and how do I detox her body from these. She also got the wormer. Do I need to do another or can I treat with raw ground pumpkin seeds? Lastly what food do you suggest for a puppy I'm in the States(Oregon). Thank you. 

Dr. Steve's Advice -  regarding vaccinations, I follow the advice of Dr. Ron Schultz, North America's foremost vaccine researcher, so that I give enough vaccines, but no more than necessary. You can find a copy of those recommendations in the Files of this group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1158575954706282/permalink/1448009139096294 Per that article, your pup would probably need two more boosters. I don't find any detox is routinely necessary and would base whether to use things like homeopathic Thuja on the response you see to the next vaccine. If your pup does not appear out of sorts, then they will likely handle the final booster well.

Regarding deworming, ask if they are giving it because roundworms were present in the mother or pup. If they never found any ever in the mother and pup, or they never test, then I think it's okay to deworm in the future only on the basis of the results of a fecal analysis that you get done on your pup's stool. If, on the other hand, they did see worms in either the dam or the pup's stool, then use the dewormer they gave you. I've never used pumpkin seeds to deworm dogs, but would not guess it is as effective as the drug. If the tests were all negative or there isn't any reason to believe your pup could be infected, then it's okay to use your pumpkin seed approach instead of the drug, I would think.

Regarding diets, I don't have a specific brand to push you towards. I encourage you to discuss with local stores or to purchase the list of foods that officially pass muster (https://www.truthaboutpetfoodstore.com/2023-list/). If you use a raw diet, ensure 15 to 30% of it is plant-based. I don't personally feed puppies differently from adults when feeding real foods

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