Dr. Z said she has a theory about this. Tiny and his siblings were not nursed by their mom CookieMonsters. Cookie had some sort of problem with her pituitary gland (possibly had a benign tumour on it) and because of that she didnt produce any milk and could not nurse her puppies. Tiny and his littermates are all hand fed.
Dr. Z thinks that because the puppies didnt get the natural immunities from Cookie that might have set them up to being vulnerable to certain types of viruses and other illnesses.
Tiny died almost 3 weeks after getting at least FIVE (5) immunizations all at once. Dr. Z thought that the multiple vaccinations being given all at the same time probably played another big role in Tiny dying. She thinks he could have had a heart defect of some kind that was putting his body under a lot of stress. The 5 vaccinations could have further weakened him and pushed his system over the edge.
Tiny had developed a weird dry cough about a week after he got his shots, and about 2 weeks before he died. I can look back now and see that things really started going downhill for him right around the time of the shots...altho I think his kidneys were having problems at least 2 or 3 months before
I'm probably never getting another dog again. (allergies, and a big dislike to having them die suddenly) but if I do, I wont be allowing them to get all their shots at the same time. I'd probably space them out over several months. Sounds expensive, since every vaccination would mean a separate vet visit, but hopefully it wouldnt harm the dog like I think giving multiple vaccinations would.
We just had a visit from the bug guy (exterminator who makes sure we never have to worry about having a bug problem) and he was telling me that his wife, who's from Belgium, said that Bouvier des Flandres are a breed that does not live very long at all. She says that in Belgium the average life span of a Bouvier is about 7yrs. Tiny was 9. (Tiny's dad was 14 when he died)
I thought that bit of information was interesting.
2 comments:
Sorry to hear about your problems with Tiny. Just wanted to add that most vets do not charge a seperate vet visit charge if you are only going in for an additional vaccination. If yours does, ask him/her about it or find another vet. I had a real eye opener about some vets and their charges.
I'm actually not really planning on getting another dog. Once I calmed down from losing Tiny, I looked around and realized just how much hard work he was. And right now, I just dont think I have it in me to start all over again with a new dog only to have it die suddenly on me in about 10yrs.
What I have been doing, is informing people of the multiple vaccinations, and the higher incidences of vaccinosis (something animals get when they get too many vaccinations for the same things over their lives) I read about vaccinosis, and I'm pretty sure I can connect almost all of Tiny's various health issues over the past few years to it. (multiple ear infections, tummy problems, kidney problems...)
Post a Comment