After having raised toy breed dogs (Maltese and Papillons) for the past 30 years it still amazes me how so many people their first question being "are they up to date on their shots".
Considering our puppies by the time they are at the 10 week of age mark are still just in the 2 lb range it gets to be a bit mindboggling especially when that one full 1 CC shot can do so much damage to these smaller sized puppies.
Many things have changed over the past 50 years when it comes to the medical field and one of them being the ability to do a simple blood test called "titres" in order to be able to distinguish if your puppy has immunity from Parvo and Distemper!
Before "Titres" were introduced it was pretty much a guessing game - but now it need not be.
As I often mention to new owners. We have taken these dogs and domesticated them and big pharma and the medical field have made the decision to push for these vaccines to be given to them regardless of what the outcome for that "particular" dog could end up being. They like to treat all dogs as one size fits all - and this should never be the case. I have not to this day seen any dogs randomly walk up to a vets office and stand outside waiting to be let in so they could get a shot done!!
Bottom line is we need to be more proactive - people need to do their own research on the internet (of which there is a great wealth of information) and just not be quite so "I got to get these shots" done type attitude.
Feeding a well balanced diet (a raw or balanced cooked diet are still the best), plenty of exercise, fresh air etc. are more beneficial to building up the puppies/adults overall immune system rather then breaking it down with shot after shot and other toxins.
