half dose vaccinating may reek more havoc if you all aren't careful...... pathogens that effect dogs are no different than those that routinely effect humans.....they mutate.....that is why our antibiotics are no longer effective against a plethora of illnesses..... Essentially, as the previous poster explained, the immune system needs a certain exposure rate to create an artificial immunity…. I never recommend half dosing, but I do push our vaccinations way back to week 12. Lepto is a no no always…. It is highly unlikely our dogs will be in contact with the virus, so we just don’t bother with it…. We generally give the first booster and send out a card with each buyer instructing their veterinarian what to do hence forth.... p.s.
Vets love breeders instructing them
…. Anyway, I digress into the holy land of vet-ingdom when I should be on the subject at hand…. As for PSS increase…. There is an increase in something digestive in nature; however, I am far from convinced that everything being labeled PSS is in reality… We do know there is a spike in puppies dying between 6 and 20 weeks. Lack of immunity, maybe…. Genetic Digestive Anomaly, probably….. I am also convinced if folks out there breeding are not testing each and every litter through routine fecals (looking for fatty deposits specifically) to determine if a sire / dam has an issue… we are only going to be treating a fast growing genetic disorder instead of controlling it through selective breeding….. Lastly, as for Microchipping, we routinely microchip everyone.... we have not noticed any problems so far except one puppy with a hard nodule at the injection site… This nodule has concerned me, but for now the owner’s are content with their veterinarian’s recommendation.... I did not implant the microchip, so have little insight on whether a problem exists or if it is due to incorrect placemen, tissue scaring, ect...…..