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My Nosode Conversion

It seems impossible that I would ever be grateful for the deaths from parvo of eight fully vaccinated puppies from various Bullmastiff litters over the course of several years. But it’s true! I am! The good that has come of these deaths, agonizing as they were, is that I’ll never again vaccinate any of my puppies or adults!

When the eighth death occurred, I said to myself, and anyone else who would listen, "There’s got to be a better way!" I was fully convinced that the only possible explanation for these deaths was that puppies were contracting parvo from the vaccines themselves, either directly from particularly virulent or ineffective batches, or secondarily from virus shed in the stool. Subsequently, thanks to information available on the Internet, I discovered that this was indeed the case.

Empowered – by the Internet and lists like this – to talk to other breeders and puppy buyers, I found my experience was not singular. Others had gone through the same tragedies. Many people had been informed by vets that poor breeding was responsible for the deaths – puppies with compromised immune systems were the problem, not puppies whose immune systems had been overwhelmed and weakened by vaccines and further jeopardized by commercial dog food. According to some experts, more frequent vaccinations over longer periods of time were a solution. But I doubted that. I had seen a puppy from my lines die of total immune system collapse at 18 months. His owners had chosen the Foster and Smith-type vaccine regimen of frequent combined vaccines.

For a year or so before the last pup died of parvo, I had been tutored by a fellow breeder in changing the dogs’ diet. I had never fed straight kibble. I had always supplemented with fruit, vegetables, eggs and vitamins. Convinced by my friend that millions of years of doggie evolution are about raw food, I was in the process of wending my way through Pitcarin’s diet, then Volhard, to Schultze and a raw, species-appropriate, no-grain diet. Because I had already seen significant improvement in every aspect of my dogs’ health, I thought perhaps I would go cold turkey – no vaccines and just tend health via diet.

Then the same friend who had gotten me started on raw food sent me a Natural Rearing Newsletter and product list. I discovered homeopathic nosodes for parvo and distemper protection. Cheap insurance, I thought. Although I did a lot of reading and researching online and purchased three or four homeopathic veterinary books, nosodes continued to seem somewhat magical to me. But I’m not against magic! In fact, I’m a big Harry Potter fan! Can’t hurt!, I thought. Might help! Right from the beginning, in myself and in the dogs, I saw what silicia can do to pop out a sliver or clear up an abscess. I watched belladona bring a fever down in minutes. I saw ruta grava clear up pulled muscles I know would have taken weeks before. I used pregnancy formula during gestation and caulophyllum to whelp my bitches. There was no disputing the superiority of these homeopathic remedies to the conventional remedies I had used before.

To be really honest, I missed the prophylactic-use-of-nosodes controversy completely. When I read about Hahnaman, I learned he had vaccinated that way. Dr. Pitcairin's book assumed prophylactic use. It made sense to me and to my puppy customers that what we were doing was using an oral vaccine. For me the theory has always been less crucial than the results anyway. "Does it work?" is what I want to know because working is what keeps my dogs healthy and me happy!

Now, many years down the road from vaccines, I find my puppies and adults light years ahead of where they were when we stopped vaccinating. The impact has been not just health but temperament as well. Mine is a cantankerous breed. Amazingly, bitches who have never gotten along now tolerate – even enjoy – each other. I encounter a whole new class of puppy buyers as I require nonvaccinating and a raw, grain-free diet for an enforceable guarantee. Many people come to me to buy a pup because their experiences with canine cancer, liver disease  and other immune system failures shortened longevity as well as generated gargantuan vet bills are more than they care to repeat. The people who think the whole thing is silly and that I’m a nut-case, I wish well and bid farewell.

Will I always use nosodes? Probably. If it enhances a puppy’s chances of avoiding disease, to me, it’s worth the doing. To my puppy buyers, it’s a reassurance that they are doing everything helpful and nothing harmful to prevent disease. I’m curious to see, as I progress toward more generations of nonvaccinated, raw-fed pups, in what ways general health will continue to improve. For my own personal pups, I suppose if years go by without serious illnesses from various viruses, I may reevaluate my current prophylactic posture. For now though, prophylactic nosodes are for me… and the offspring of the 15 or so Bullmastiffs who live with me!

© 2002 Lynnel Jones for AndalusianBullmastiffs.com