New Dental Vaccination

[Barney's Mom]

I just got a card from my vet saying that Barney needs a dental vaccination. I guess this is yet another yearly shot they say he needs. The vaccine kills the three kinds of bacteria in his mouth that causes plaque. As someone who is very leery of giving tons of vaccinations to dogs, this one seems a bit unnecessary and too "new" to really know what it could do as far as long term side effects. I asked the vet tech if these bacterias are located anywhere else in the dog's body besides the mouth. She could not give me an answer and told me to ask the vet. My gut feeling is if it is killing bacteria in the mouth, it is killing bacteria all over his body, possibly even the good bacteria in his digestive tract.

I know the pet pharmaceutical industry is just as big and just as greedy as the human counterpart. And there are many who feel that half the vaccinations we give our dogs every year are not even necessary. This one seems to fall in that category. Barney is a major chewer, so he has very little plaque on his teeth. And hey, I can't help but go back to the old "dogs in the wild" theory. Dogs years ago didn't have their teeth cleaned or shots given for bacteria in their mouths, and they probably lived longer than most dogs do today.

Comments, Please!!