Quite often, the decision to vaccinate a pet is based on financial reasons, and understandably so.  To vaccinate my large breed puppy, our local veterinarian wanted to charge $26 per visit and required three visits.  This amount is only for the vaccinations and does not include any deworming or other medications.  You can vaccinate your pets on your own with little cost, but many people shy away from the thought of hurting their pets or doing something wrong.

What should be at the heart of the decision is whether or not vaccines can really benefit your pet.  Depending on where you look, you will find very strong opinions on either side of the debate.  While it used to be considered essential, more research is showing that our pets are not only getting too many vaccines, but also are often suffering side effects and not even developing immunity to the diseases they are vaccinated for.For example, standard puppy shots are administered three to four times while a puppy is young.  This isn’t because the vaccine needs to be administered three to four times to work, it is because puppies are started on vaccinations so early that they are often ineffective.  Puppies have antibodies from their mothers, and it takes time for those antibodies to wear off.  Shots administered at regular intervals are designed to replace the puppy’s inherited immunity as soon as it wears off.  You don’t really need to give your puppy three to four sets of shots for every vaccine.  Often, a single shot given a little bit later in life is as effective as several.

When deciding to vaccinate your pets, take a close look at the potential side effects and weigh them against the risk of disease in your area.