Vaccines | Doggieadventures

Vaccine Requirements

We respect the choice made by many dog parents to avoid over-vaccinating their pets.

There are a number of vaccines that are of concern for the health of the vaccinated animal AND the health of the dogs that he comes into contact with. Modified live virus (MLV) vaccines (parvo, distemper, and bordetella) need time to provide protection to the vaccinated pup. It takes a solid 2 to 3 weeks for these vaccines to provide immunity to your dog. If you vaccinate and then bring the dog into a dog park, doggie daycare, boarding facility, groomer, etc., before the dog has had a chance to develop immunity, then your dog is in danger of contracting the very disease(s) that you have vaccinated him against! Furthermore, these MLV vaccines can revert to virulence and cause the recently vaccinated dog to show clinical symptoms of the disease. In addition, the recently vaccinated dog can shed antigens into the environment, causing other dogs to become ill. Hence, for the protection of your dog AND the other doggie guests, we require a 3 WEEK DELAY BETWEEN THE ADMINISTRATION OF PARVO, DISTEMPER, AND KENNEL COUGH VACCINES AND ARRIVAL AT DOGGIE ADVENTURES.

There are alternatives to repeated vaccination for parvo and distemper. Once the puppy has had his/her initial puppy shot(s), you can determine whether the pup has antibody immunity through a blood test called a titer test. Both parvo and distemper have titer tests available, and we therefore accept proof of immunity from parvo & distemper in the form of titers. If you choose not to continuously vaccinate your dogs for these two diseases, you may bring titer tests in lieu of vaccination documents. We do NOT require repeated titer testing, since immunity to these diseases generally lasts for the lifetime of the dog. Plus, even if the antibody numbers have waned due to the passage of time since vaccination, the cellular immunity has not, and that immune defense is ready to kick in if the animal is reexposed to the disease vector.

Although NOT required at Doggie Adventures, you may choose to give the Bordetella (kennel cough) vaccine to your dog. If you choose this option, you must vaccinate at least THREE WEEKS prior to boarding, daycare, or an interview.

Likewise, if you chose to continuously revaccinate for parvo and distemper, then you must wait THREE WEEKS prior to boarding, daycare or interview at Doggie Adventures.

If you choose to use homeopathic nosodes in lieu of vaccines, then we would require written documentation from your homeopathic vet that the puppy has undergone full and appropriate nosode administration for immunity to these diseases.

Rabies vaccinations are required by law every 3 years in New York State, except for animals who are not in optimal health. If you choose not to re-vaccinate for rabies, we will need a rabies titer test AND a medical exemption from your veterinarian stating that re-inoculation is not advisable for health reasons. A rabies titer test will show whether the dog has immunity to rabies. Note that virtually all of the core vaccines given to puppies PROVIDE IMMUNITY FOR THE LIFE OF THE ANIMAL, thereby making repeated vaccination not only unnecessary but harmful. The immune system becomes dysregulated when an already immune animal is subjected to repeated vaccination, and a dysregulated immune system can manifest as severe allergies, gastrointestinal issues, hypothyroidism, autoimmune diseases, and cancer.

If you do choose to re-vaccinate for rabies, please use one of the older versions of the vaccine, because we DO NOT accept dogs who were vaccinated with the new self-amplifying RNA (saRNA) rabies vaccine manufactured by Merck called Nobivac NXT.

The Nobivac NXT Canine-3 rabies self-amplifying vax should instill fear in everyone: once it's injected, the self-amplifying RNA molecule is replicated inside the dog's cells to produce the rabies virus proteins - forever. No long-term safety testing, nobody knows what this will do to the animal, and there's no way to take it back. Will it manifest in rabies-type symptoms? Maybe. Will all sorts of neurological issues arise? Maybe. Will the dogs become aggressive? Maybe. Since it can shed into the environment, will it contaminate humans? Maybe. What effect might that have on humans? Nobody knows. You get the point. This is playing Russian Roulette with your dog's life, and possibly your own. The vets will tout it as a major improvement over previous rabies vaccines. Don't believe the propaganda. They will tell you that the dog is given a smaller dose (that's actually a good thing) and that there's no thimerosal (mercury) in it (if true, that's also a good thing), but they won't tell you that the vax has never been independently tested and that nobody knows what the adverse event profile will look like when the body perpetually churns out rabies antigens for the life of the animal. The only safety testing was a 2-week long study conducted by Merck, the manufacturer of the vaccine. Small wonder it was pronounced a "safe product." No conflict of interest there...

We've been lied to repeatedly about the mRNA vaccine technology with the COVID shot. It had an abysmal decades-long history in animal testing, and the animal researchers warned against using this technology on humans, but we never heard about that. We were told that it would stay at the injection site (wrong), that it would dissipate quickly (wrong), that it would absolutely prevent infection (wrong - in fact there's negative efficacy over time), that it would absolutely prevent transmission (wrong), that it would not reverse transcribe into the genome (wrong), and that it was perfectly safe for pregnant women (wrong). In my opinion, if anyone believes what they are told by any medical or veterinary "expert" - that this new technology is "safe and effective," in the absence of independent long-term safety data - they are gullible people and their dogs will have to suffer the consequences.

Please note that the canine influenza vaccine is also a self-amplifying vax, also by Merck, called the Nobivac NXT Canine Flu H3N2. As is the case for the rabies vaccine discussed above, once it's injected into the dog's body, the animal's cells churn out large amounts of the viral antigen protein, forever. If you check the dogflu.com outbreak map, you will see that as of this writing (10/2025) there were ZERO cases of canine influenza found in New York State this year. So, vaccinating for this disease is all risk, no benefit for your dog. We do not want vaccinated dogs constantly depositing canine influenza antigens in the air and house. Hence, until independent long-term safety studies are conducted, any dog who has received either of these saRNA vaccines will not be accepted at Doggie Adventures.

What Can You Do?

Will Falconer, DVM, has provided some excellent advice on how you can avoid getting trapped into giving these saRNA vaccines to your dog. In his Vital Animal newsletter dated September 28th 2025, he states:

"I suggest the following to make sure you’re not putting your animal at risk until safety is verified in long term, third party research.

If you can’t avoid another rabies shot… (and you’ve evaluated your risk to get rabies to be remote or nil, or your animal is already vaccinated and you’ve studied DOI - duration of immunity), I’d at least avoid this Merck Nobivac NXT rabies vaccine (and its cousins, for canine flu and FeLV in cats).

Practical steps to avoid this:

Ask ahead of your appointment if NXT is in the clinic. It’s likely thought to be brag worthy, so you should get a quick answer if it’s in stock.
If it is, next question: “Do you still carry the older thimerosal-free version?”
If so, and again, you’re seeing no way to avoid yet another rabies vaccine, make the appointment but ask to see the label AND the mixing of the vaccine before it’s injected.

That last one is a small but significant ask. No telling what can happen in the “back room,” and all you’ll see is the filled syringe.

But: Is TF (thimerosal-free) Really Zero Mercury? Please be clear on this. I hear this question often, and safety cannot be assumed when you learn this part. The answer, for decades, has been: No. TF means there’s probably less mercury, but no guarantee there’s none of this toxic metal present. Why? Excipients. Or “inactive ingredients.” These are “proprietary” ingredients added to vaccines that need not be listed. It’s “intellectual property,” so FDA rules these need not appear on labels. Aluminum can be part of those ingredients as well, and not show on the label or insert. And we’ve learned that toxic metal can accumulate in the brain…So, would I still recommend seeking out TF vaccines when you have no choice but to vaccinate? I would. I’d presume it’ll have less of that toxic heavy metal at least. Let us know in the comments if you’ve run into NXT vaccines at your vet visit. Or if you’ve navigated TF hurdles yet. It’s early, but these new vaccines rolled out in Canada and the US in 2024."

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IN SUMMARY:

If you choose to vaccinate with THE MLV vaccines parvo and distemper, THERE IS A THREE WEEK DELAY AFTER VACCINE ADMINISTRATION BEFORE YOUR DOG CAN COME TO DOGGIE ADVENTURES. Instead of vaccines, you can prove immunity for parvo and distemper through blood tests called titer tests; there is no delay in attending Doggie Adventures if you choose this option in lieu of vaccinations.

If you choose to vaccinate for bordetella (kennel cough), there is a THREE WEEK DELAY AFTER VACCINE ADMINISTRATION BEFORE YOUR DOG CAN COME TO DOGGIE ADVENTURES.

If you choose to immunize with homeopathic nosodes, you will need documentation from your homeopathic vet.

If you choose to vaccinate with the Nobivac NXT self amplifying RNA rabies vaccine OR the Nobivac NXT self-amplifying Canine Flu H3N2 your dog will unfortunately be turned away from Doggie Adventures.

Finally, please note that per the vaccine manufacturer's instructions, vaccines are only for use in healthy dogs, and a dog with allergies, hypothyroidism, arthritis, cancer, autoimmune disease, etc., is NOT healthy. You CAN refuse vaccination at the vet's office. Your loyalty should lie with your dog, not with your vet no matter how "nice" they may be. YOU are your dog's advocate - your priority should be his safety and well being.

Many thanks to Dr. Todd Cooney for his help and expertise in reviewing the content of this material. Dr. Cooney can be reached at www.naturalanimalconsulting.com.

Practical steps to avoid this:

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