We are very keen to give our dogs the very best start in life.
Because we breed our Bernese dogs holistically there are a few things that we do a little differently to a regular breeder.
We have spent many years studying the best way to breed and give the best care to our animals. The Bernese Mountain Dog is a large working dog and can be prone to certain diseases and sickness if not carefully taken care of.
Over the past 25 years we have also created and managed a holistic health website called www.worldwidehealth.com where many like minded people have view the same.
Please read the following information and feel free to call us with any questions.
Here are some simple answers to key questions.
Vaccinations
The health of all of our animals including our dogs and especially puppies is our #1 priority. We personally do not vaccinate our dogs because we lost one of our dogs from vaccine injury and nearly lost a second one.
Take the risk out of vaccinating your puppy
“When puppies are very young, they’re protected from disease by drinking their mother’s first milk, called colostrum. This rich milk contains antibodies against disease (called maternal antibodies), which the mother passes down to her puppies. The puppy’s immune system isn’t fully mature, and able to fully protect him, until your puppy is around six months of age, so the maternal antibodies provide something called passive immunity.
This might seem like a good idea, but here’s the problem with those maternal antibodies …
When a puppy with a reasonable amount of maternal antibodies is vaccinated, the maternal antibodies will essentially inactivate the vaccine, just as it would a real virus.
As good as those maternal antibodies are, they can’t protect the puppy against the other toxins contained in vaccines such as the chemical adjuvants and preservatives which contain harmful chemicals including mercury, MSG, aluminum and formaldehyde.
The adjuvants are designed to stimulate an exaggerated immune response, to make sure that your puppy’s body responds to the small amount of virus contained in the vaccine.
Unfortunately, this heightened reaction can also cause autoimmune disorders which are affecting an alarming number of dogs and can include:
- allergies
- cancer
- thyroid disease
- digestive diseases
- joint disease
… as well as a rather long laundry list of other common health issues.”
We believe like many that dogs and other animals are facing an epidemic and that is not an epidemic of viral illness and disease, but of chronic ill health.”
The health of a dog does not come in form of vaccines and we would rather risk viral disease with our dogs, then have them suffer from the strong possibility of chronic and life threatening illness and disease that is more and more prevalent in dogs.
However if you decided to vaccinate we highly recommend that you don’t do it before puppy is at least 12 weeks old. Why is this?
“Noted veterinary immunologist Dr Ronald Schultz has addressed this issue and recommends a minimal vaccine program that includes one vaccination for Parvo, Distemper and Adenovirus only, given at 16 weeks of age.
“This isn’t an arbitrary number – it’s the earliest age at which the vaccine will have the greatest chance of protecting your puppy.
This is interesting …
The vaccine manufacturer Pfizer performed a field study in 1996. Researchers Hoare, DeBouck and Wiseman assessed vaccinated puppies and split them into two groups.
Group A received a single vaccination at 12 weeks
Group B received a first vaccine between 8 to 10 weeks and a second shot at 12 weeks
When titers were measured (titers are a way to measure a dog’s level of immunity), 100% of the puppies vaccinated once at 12 weeks were protected.
But only 94% of the puppies in Group B were protected …
… despite receiving two vaccines as opposed to one.
It would appear that the first vaccine reduced the effectiveness the the second vaccine.
Now imagine the puppy who is vaccinated three or four times. By the time he reaches 12 or 16 weeks of age, he’ll be LESS LIKELY to be protected than the puppy who was only vaccinated once at 12 weeks.”
Italics copied from the article “Taking The Risk Out Of Puppy Shots”, here is a link to the full article.
https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/taking-the-risk-out-of-puppy-shots/
“According to Dr Jean W Dodds, an eminent vet and researcher, both allergic and autoimmune diseases have been rising since the introduction of modified live Virus vaccines. Autoimmune diseases are where the body attacks self; they include cancer, leukemia, thyroid disease, Addisons, Grave’s disease, autoimmune hemolytic anaemia, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, lupus, thrombocytopenia, organ failure, skin inflammations, and more.”
“It seems to me that good health is a God-given natural right. It’s only man who messes it up. The natural order is wiser than any of us, and those of us who don’t vaccinate our dogs are proving natural law to be right.”
This is copied from the article “Why I Don’t Vaccinate My Dogs At All”, here is the full article.
https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/why-i-dont-vaccinate-my-dogs-at-all/
If you are concerned about your dogs immunity once they are over a year rather than rushing to give them yearly shots titer test them, many owners of adult and senior dogs do this. So what are titers
“Titers: What Do They Mean?” – by Dogs Naturally
With vaccines and medications you really have to do a risk/benefit analysis. From our experience most dog owners and vets do not see a connection between vaccines and ill health and disease because often it takes weeks, months and years after for things develop.
We highly recommend you do your own research before vaccinating your puppy.
Some good questions to consider before you vaccinate puppies:-
- What are the reasons for vaccinating healthy puppies?
- What are the puppies being vaccinated from when they are only with their mother fro the first couple of months?
- Will vaccines interfere with the mental and physical health of my dog?
- Will vaccinations lead to or cause any autoimmune disorders like allergies, joint disease, thyroid disease, digestive disorders and cancer?
All About Dewclaws
Why we do not remove Dewclaws from our puppies.
Firstly, we have to understand why some dogs like Bernese Mountain Dogs have these extra claws which are very similar humans having thumbs as well as fingers. Bernese Mountain Dogs have Dewclaws for very specific reasons. Just on a side note, the reason these claws are called Dewclaw is because they are just high enough up the dogs leg to brush the morning dew – hence the name Dewclaws (or could be referred as polydactyly).
Why do humans have four fingers and thumb, rather than just five fingers? The human thumb has a completely different function than the four fingers. The thumb can move around and touch all ends of the fingers which allows the function of the hand to easily operate in many functions which would be most difficult if you only had four fingers. For example try doing some of these activities without the use of your thumb:-
- Writing with a pencil
- Tie a shoelace
- Blowing up a ballon and tying a knot
- Picking up a coin off a plat surface
- Opening a jar of honey
You see, because the human thumb is a completely different type of digit on the hand it has many functions that the other finger digits cannot do.
This is just the case with dogs needing their Dewclaws. This different type of claw on a dog is there for a number of very important reasons. We should also note that dewclaws are attached to the dogs leg the same as the four toes are, with their own nerve and blood supply.
Let’s review some of the functions of the Dewclaws.
- Gripping and Holding
Just like human thumbs are used to grip objects, when your dog is gripping or holding a bone the Dewclaw enables them to have an extra digit to secure the grip. In the wild a wolf relies on their Dewclaws to hold and grip their prey.
- Leg Stabilizing when Running
Not all, but many of the larger breeds in particular the working dogs have these invaluable Dewclaws. They provide extra traction when the dog is running at high speeds, the dewclaw digs into the ground to support the lower leg and prevent torque. The Dewclaw enables the dog to make sharp turns and keeps balance when running on slippery surfaces.
- Prevent Thinning or Loss of Muscle Tissue
When the Dewclaw is removed a tendon, the muscle and tendon are now not connected to anything, therefore the muscle weakens and eventually wastes away resulting in a condition called atrophied muscle.
- Avoiding Damage to Leg Ligaments
When Dewclaws are removed there is a greater risk for the dogs carpal ligaments to stretch and tear causing intense stress through the dog’s foot, shoulder, elbow and spine, ultimately leading to server cases of arthritis.
- Greater ability to Climb Hillsides and Rough Terrain
When your dog is scrambling through rough terrain or mountainous ground they dig in their Dewclaws to give them extra contact to the ground and stability preventing loss of grip and injury.
- Navigating Snow and Icy Conditions
Crossing frozen streams, climbing icy hills or journeying slippery surfaces, the Dewclaw has an amazing balancing and gripping function that can protect from fall and injury.
Read this articles:-
https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/should-your-dog-have-dewclaws-removed/