Unexpected Dangers in Vaccines

There’s a lot to consider when you vaccinate your dog or cat, such as…

  1. Does my dog really need this shot?
  2. What are the risks of vaccinating vs not vaccinating?
  3. What ingredients are in my dogs vaccine?

You can find a lot more on the Dogs Naturally website about adverse reactions and hidden vaccine ingredients, but there’s more to this story, meaning there’s more to worry about when it comes to vaccines.

There will always be reasons to be cautious when it comes to vaccinating your dog. But as a dog owner, you call the shots. Don’t be afraid to ask your vet questions and do a little research before visiting. You are the caregiver, and if something doesn’t feel right to you, don’t be afraid to speak up! Dogs Naturally explains the top 5 dangers in vaccines that no one is talking about:

1. Rabies Baits Bite Back

The governments of the US and Canada drop rabies baits across rural areas in both countries in an effort to prevent rabies in wildlife. These oral rabies vaccine baits are coated with fishmeal to entice animals to eat them, and packaged in little cubes or sachets then dropped from planes and helicopters every year.

You may think this is a good idea, as nobody wants rabid wildlife hanging around their neighborhood. But there are risks with these baits. The USDA claims that they’re safe for more than 60 different species of animals, including domestic dogs and cats. They say that if your dog eats the baits, he may get an upset stomach but “no long-term health risks.”

The main risk of the oral rabies baits is that they contain live virus vaccines. If the animal who eats the bait is healthy, his body should form an immune response to the vaccine and he’s vaccinated against rabies. But if the animal is in a weakened state when he eats the bait, its quite likely that either the vaccine will fail, or it will create the disease it was intended to protect against. To make matters worse, the genetically engineered virus can jump species and can be spread by aerosolization, meaning no bite is needed for these infected animals to spread disease.

2. Virus Shedding is Virus Sharing

Many vaccines given to dogs are modified live virus (MLV) vaccines. MLV vaccines are used because they stimulate cell-mediated immunity better than killed viruses. Examples are distemper, adeovirus-2 (hepatitis, canine respiratory virus), parvovirus, intranasal bordetella, intranasal coronavirus and parainfluenza.

These vaccines can be shed in feces and urine for two weeks after vaccination. Studies on dogs vaccinated with CPV-2 parvovirus show that the virus can remain in the bloodstream and be shed for up to 3-4 weeks after vaccination.

This means that these diseases can be spread through shedding vaccines. If a dog gets a bordetella shot a few days before staying at a boarding kennel, he will be shedding the disease and exposing other dogs to that virus.

3. Retroviruses Can Be Deadly

Retroviruses in vaccines can have lethal effects. Retroviruses occur because viruses in vaccines are grown on living tissue, and they’re often from other species. That’s how monkey viruses are passed on to humans through vaccination, and the same can happen to dogs.

Canine parvovirus suddenly appeared around the world in 1978 and is now widely considered to have come from feline panleukopenia virus (FPV). At some point, the distemper vaccine was grown on cat kidney cells from cats infected with FPV. The distemper vaccine was injected into dogs and the numbers of parvovirus cases began to explode.

4. Virus Mutation Spreads Disease

Viruses can mutate, allowing them to spread more easily. One example is the CPV-2 canine parvovirus, the most common form of parvo seen in dogs. Dr. Patricia Jordan explains:

“There are two canine parvoviruses: canine parvovirus-1 and canine parvovirus-2. CPV-2 is the primary cause of the puppy enteritis that we commonly see. Over the years, parvo has mutated from CPV-2 to CPV-2b to CPV-2c. It seems that dogs may be getting the ultimate revenge on cats: the CPV-2c strain is now crossing species and infecting cats with another brand new virus.”

5. Vaccines are Unpredictable

One problem with vaccine manufacturers’ claims of efficacy of their products is that vaccinated populations don’t live in a sterile lab where their testing is done.

In the research lab. vaccines appear to be very effective. Unvaccinated puppies die of parvo in research labs where vaccinated puppies live. In the field, vaccines are much less predictable. Dr. Michael Fox offers some illustrations of what can happen in the field:

“Wildlife biologist Dr. Roger Burrows noted that lions in Serengeti National Park, followed by those of the Masai Mara of Kenya, died like flies in 1994 from a new strain of canine distemper.”

It turned out that the same strain of distemper found in the lions was also in experimental vaccines on dogs in the area during a rabies vaccination trial. The same strain was also found to have caused death in most of the captive colony of wild dogs in Mkomzai Game Reserve in Tanzania in 2000-2001. This suggests that the rabies vaccinations caused immunosuppression, creating increased susceptibility to distemper.


All five of these dangers highlight the risks you take when you vaccinate your dog. Think carefully and do research before you vaccinate. Dogs Naturally offers a Vaccination Schedule that you may find helpful in deciding when or if you should vaccinate your pet.

If you do decide to vaccinate your dog, watch for any adverse reactions, even chronic illness that can appear weeks or months down the road may stem from your dog’s vaccinations.

Vaccine side effects can often be treated successfully by a homeopathic veterinarian. Find one at (many will do phone consults, so they don’t have to be local). Or you can ask a Barkery associate about products that can help your dog with vaccinosis.

Titer Testing: An Alternative to Annual Vaccinations

For those of us that share lives with our pets, preventative health care, including vaccinations, is typically at the top of our lists. Our veterinarians send us post cards recommending that our pets be vaccinated annually for rabies, parvovirus, distemper, and MLV (modified live virus).

Here’s what your vet doesn’t tell you:

  • Over-vaccinating can cause diseases.
  • Vaccines do NOT improve the immune system.
  • Annual “booster shots” are a BAD idea.
  • Many breeders choose no vaccinations.
  • Over-vaccinating can trigger cancer.
  • Many blame pet allergies on results cause by over-vaccinating.

Many responsible pet owners simply aren’t aware of the possible dangers inherent in immunizations. Since vaccinations stay in your pet’s body for much longer than the 1-year recommendation by vets, over-vaccinating is a common mistake made by pet owners. Giving your pet a vaccine when your pet is already immune doesn’t increase its immunity, but does increase unnecessary risk to your animal and can cause a variety of health risks and fatal diseases, including:

  • Vaccine-induced sarcomas
  • Autoimmune hemolytic anemia
  • Thyroid disease
  • Allergies
  • Arthritis
  • Tumors
  • Seizures

For those of you who now have questions about what is best for your pet, you have an alternative choice by asking your vet about antibody titer testing. Titer tests can prove that your pet does not need to be vaccinated, and that the old shot is still doing its job just fine. Titer tests measure the amount of antibodies to a certain disease that are currently in the blood. By doing this test, you will learn your pet’s current immunization levels and thus have a better understanding of what vaccinations are truly “necessary,” as recommended by your vet.

No one in town cares for your pet’s whole health like the Barkery. That is why we challenge you, on your next annual vaccination visit, to request a titer test and see the results for yourself. The alternative test is the same cost as your vaccinations, so you have nothing to lose other than the overall wellness of your pet by over-vaccinating.


For more on antibody titer testing, visit veterinarian Dr. Becker’s article here.