Links to informational articols
Dana Scott has a great article about puppy shots.
Dr. Jean Dodds blog
Dana Scott's article on Lifelong Immunity
What We Do With Our Pack
Puppies
Puppies have a natural immunity given to them through their mothers milk. This immunity wears off sometime between the age of 4-18 weeks of age. Most vets recommend giving the same distemper/parvo vaccine (puppy shot) 3 times over this span to ensure the puppy is protected when his/her natural immunity wears down.
We do a Nomograph (its like a titer test) to give us a better idea when our puppies will lose their natural immunity that they receive from their mother's maternal antibodies and when their bodies will be most responsive to their distemper and /or parvo vaccine.
1 Year+
As a puppy grow to adulthood we continue to do Tier Tests as needed, to determent if they need any further shots.
Fleas, Ticks and Worms
Fleas and ticks
Fleas and ticks are the enemy of any pet owner. Not only are they annoying but they also can carry some pretty nasty diseases. When most people think of flea and tick prevention, they think of a chemically infused collar, toxic topicals, or poison filled chewables. I know that's a pretty harsh way of putting it, but that is exactly what they are and I want you to be completely aware before making a decision on how you will prevent these pests. These products have been known to cause seizures and are extremely harmful to the environment, especially when used on pets that swim in natural waterways. There are lots of natural things you can use to prevent these pests but they will require a little extra work. Something is simple as brushing your dog after a hike in the woods or spritzing them down with some essential oil before the walk maybe all it takes. On the other hand, if you live in an area with lots of pest pressure, especially ticks, you may have to do more such as wearing tickless tags, keeping the yard trimmed and tidy, and keeping your pet away from areas pest frequent.
If you do decide to use a traditional method of pest control, I would highly recommend pairing it with a detox and spreading the dosing out as far as you can. For example, if you're giving a monthly chewable, see how many weeks it actually works. I have used NexGard in the past and found that it works for up to 7 weeks. I also recommend giving the smallest dose possible and if you have a season where pest pressure isn't as bad, take a break from the chemicals.
If you are able to get away with natural methods, this is the best!
If you are able to get away with natural methods, this is the best!
My pack gets sprayed with vet's best flea and tick home spray or wonder cide. I have also been trying out some tickless collars which seem to help quite a bit.
Heartworm
Did you know heartworms are passed to dogs by mosquitoes? So if we can prevent the mosquito from biting our pets, we can prevent heartworms without any chemical heartworm prevention. Doing things to prevent mosquitoes such as avoiding mosquito heavy areas, especially in the evening or early morning, as well as using essential oil bug spray can help.
Because I like too hike and go camping with my dogs, this isn't always enough. I use a all-natural herbal blend called para-clens from heaven sent healthy pets (linked below) through spring, summer and fall. I also do a yearly heartworm test on all my dogs, that way if any of them did contract heartworms I would find it fairly quickly.
Other worms
When it comes to other types of internal worms, I find it's best to have your veterinarian run a fecal exam to determine if your dog has any parasites and if so, what kind. Most of the time fecal exams come back negative, but occasionally your vet might find something. In these cases your vet will know the best type of dewormer to use for that specific parasite. I would definitely do a detox while deworming to try to flush any harmful chemicals in the dewormer out of your dog. I have heard pumpkin seed can be a natural dewormer however I have no experience using it at this time.