The law in the UK:
The UK Government tells us it: “does not have any statutory requirements regarding the vaccination of pets”.

The problems with vaccines

· All vaccine manufacturers state that only healthy animals should be vaccinated
* All vaccine manufacturers list a variety of reasons why and when their product should not be used
* Vaccines can cause the diseases they are designed to prevent

· Merck, one of the largest vaccine manufacturers, states that:
“those with known or suspected B and/or T cell immunodeficiency diseases (or from families with) should not be given live virus vaccines due to the risk of vaccine induced illness and severe or fatal infection”.
* Merck state that:
“features of B cell deficiencies include respiratory or food allergies”
“features of T cell deficiency include heart disease”
“features of combined B and T cell deficiencies include dermatitis, neurological deterioration, and eczema”
If your dog or his relatives have any of these conditions, he should not be vaccinated.

What your vet will tell you:
Vet: ‘The routine vaccination of pets is the principle reason for low incidence of disease’

Comment: “No additional protection is provided by annual vaccination.”
American Veterinary Medical Association, and other world veterinary authorities.

Vet: ‘Serious side effects are rare’

Comment: “There has been a significant increase in the frequency of autoimmune and allergic diseases in the pet population since the introduction of MLV vaccines,” Dr Jean W Dodds

Vet: ‘The Animal Health Trust (AHT) conducted a study to show that routine vaccination does not increase the frequency of illness’.

Comment: This is contrary to research showing that vaccines can cause arthritis, epilepsy, cancer, autoimmune haemolytic anaemia, brain damage, and many other illnesses (for example, world veterinary bodies have stated publicly that vaccination is not without harm).

Vet: ‘Only healthy dogs should be vaccinated, but most vets would advise vaccinating (such as with heart disease), as there is no evidence that such animals are at greater risk’.

Comment: It is a licensing requirement that only healthy animals should be vaccinated. This is stipulated on all veterinary vaccine data sheets. The wording on vaccine data sheets is: “unhealthy animals should not be vaccinated due to the risk of severe or fatal infection”.

Vet: ‘Evidence supporting an alternate vaccination program is purely anecdotal and un-substantiated’

Comment: World veterinary bodies such as the American Animal Hospital Association, the World Small Animal Veterinary Association, and so on, are hardly likely to publish data that is anecdotal and unscientific. Indeed, by calling to an end to annual vaccination, they know that their members will lose booster income. Why, then, should they make such pronouncements?

Vet: ‘Long-lasting immunity cannot be attained against the deadly bacteria Leptospirosis and therefore this needs to be boostered yearly’.

Comment: The leptospirosis vaccine gives only short-lived immunity – potentially not even a year. The vaccine covers less than a handful of the hundreds of strains of leptospirosis. The leptospirosis vaccine is the one most commonly associated with severe adverse reactions. World authorities, such as Ronald D Schultz, head of pathobiology at Wisconsin University, say the vaccine is dangerous and ineffective. Added to this, leptospirosis is a rare disease in dogs today. It is a zoonotic disease (it can be transferred to humans) but no register exists of the disease in the UK – because it’s so rare.

Vaccines represent between 30% and 40% of veterinary practice income.

Pet Food
The manufacturers of unhealthy foods for children are curtailed in their ability to propagandise their products to children. Canine Health Concern and its veterinary supporters suggest that the pet food industry needs such curtailment.
The result of poor quality junk foods are just the same for pets as they are for humans. You end up with obese but malnourished individuals, prone to chronic illness and early death.

From the Horse’s Mouth: the PFMA (Pet Food Manufacturers Association)
“The industry's use of by-products from the human food and agricultural industries prevents the need for, and the costs of, disposal.”
“Dogs and cats have no absolute dietary requirement for carbohydrates”, but admits that cereals such as corn, rice, wheat, and barley are added to pet food.
“Some manufacturers may add sugar to pet foods as an energy source”. Dogs and cats have no dietary requirement for refined sugar.

Comment
“Unfortunately,” says vet Richard Allport, “the pet food industry unduly influences the veterinary profession. Some pet food manufacturers even pay the salaries of lecturers who teach in veterinary teaching colleges. This is reprehensible. It unfairly influences vets, who in turn unwittingly mislead their clients. The result is a chronically malnourished yet obese pet population.”

Dr Michael Fox, formerly chief vet at the Humane Society, says: “Processed carbohydrates cause a periodic ‘sugar rush’ every time the dog or cat eats.

This damages the liver and the pancreas, resulting in the conversion of sugar into body fat. The ‘sugar rush’ and insulin surge (until the pancreas becomes exhausted) make many dogs and cats constantly hungry, so they quickly become obese.

“Animals who become overweight primarily as a result of the kinds of manufactured foods they are fed, rather than simply being over-fed and under-exercised, are likely to develop a host of health problems like diabetes, arthritis, skin disease, chronic inflammations, and infections like cystitis, gingivitis, and otitis, heart and liver disease, and cancer.”

* Processed pet food also creates an environment for parasites and worms, and takes longer to digest so takes up vital energy that would otherwise be used to maintain good health or fight disease and illness.
* Processed pet food is cooked – cooking destroys nutrients.
* Processed pet food encourages dental disease.

Commercial pet food represents up to 20% of veterinary practice income.

The alternative to commercial pet food:
Since the beginning of their existence, dogs and cats have flourished on raw meat and bones, fish, fruit, the stomach content of their prey (which includes vegetable matter), and herbs.

There is a worldwide movement to give dogs and cats biologically appropriate food to promote sound good health:
**Pets on a natural diet are not regular visitors to the vet.
**Real food fixes health problems – many existing, natural or ageing ailments are ‘fixed’ purely through nutritional therapy.
**Real food creates and maintains a strong immune system, helping animals to withstand chronic disease.

Other areas that affect health:
There is a whole range of other myths and misinformation in the dog world.
Many illnesses are simply diseases of malnutrition or drug side effects. Many can be treated nutritionally and with a wealth of natural supplements or therapies that have no side effects and treat the root cause and not just the symptoms.

Free information
This leaflet is designed so that you have the initial information to help you make informed choices, rather than the money-making messages put out by industry. There is far more information in detail than we could ever fit into a single leaflet, but we also don’t want to ‘sell’ to you.
You can go to our website for further free information and our video library. If you don’t have internet access, then we have produced a free information pack that gives you a little more than we have been able to include on this leaflet. Simply send us a stamped addressed envelope with a second class stamp on (approximately) a 9’x 6’ with your request for the free pack.

How can I find out more?
CHC does offer a range of products - newsletter subscription plus a free monthly email bulletin and internet discussion group, books, a DVD, an educational course, and of course our website with information and a resource directory.

What is Canine Health Concern?
Canine Health Concern (CHC) is an international non-profit animal welfare organisation that is independent of commercial bias and funding. Started in 1994, it is primarily here to provide information so that dog owners have the opportunity to make an informed decision about their loved ones. We don’t have the budgets that the pharmaceutical and pet food industry have, and therefore have to rely a great deal on ‘word of mouth’. For more details see the website or ask for our free information pack.

YouTube links  Check out www.canine-health-concern.org.uk/VideoLibrary.html