Marty and Laura work through what vaccines to give, when, and to which pets. We have science-grounded, fact-based, experience-tested knowledge for everyone.

Marty’s observations:

I think there's a lot of misunderstandings about vaccines, and I hope we can help clarify some of that information. I'm going to start off by saying that I don't want to come off sounding like I'm pro-vaccine or anti-vaccine.

When Jean Dodds and Ron Schultz started talking about vaccinations being given more frequently than they needed to be, I was one of the first people that got on board with it in 2002. So, three years after they started, I had already put my personal dogs on a three-year vaccination protocol and was then ready to move forward.

We felt in 2002 that it was appropriate to change from an annual vaccine for distemper, for parvo, and for some of these vaccines that historically had been given on an annual basis, to a three-year rolling protocol. But I had people signing consent for that because it was really not cutting edge; it was bleeding edge at that point.

We're going to break this down into some detail as we go through this, but overall, many of the vaccines in many of our pets can go to a less frequent system. And then, during COVID, vaccine hesitancy became a bigger deal. It happens on the human side. It happens on the veterinary side.

One of the big concerns is that, about 30 years ago or so, there was this big hoopla about vaccines causing autism in children, right? And that still floats around out there, even though it has been disproven, and we don't see autism in dogs or cats.

So, we need to make sure that we are all understanding the reason for vaccines and the reason to be thoughtful about what vaccines your pet needs based on their lifestyle and their immune response.

That being said, I think that vaccines have probably saved more lives in the world than any other medical breakthrough. You can look at anesthesia, you can look at sterile surgery, you can look at chemotherapy, you can look at all kinds of different medical breakthroughs that have happened, and yes, they are all really important. I mean, I wouldn't want to have my appendix out without anesthesia, without sterile surgery, and that saves lives.

But if you think about the number of lives, veterinary and human, that have been saved by vaccines preventing disease, I don't see that there's anything that has happened medically that's been a more significant breakthrough. So, I want to preface my remarks with, ‘I have a huge respect for vaccines.’ I have a huge respect for vaccines on the human side and on the veterinary side, but they need to be given thoughtfully and wisely.

The Marty & Laura Show is produced by Pure Dog Talk Inc., with sound design and editing by Premium Audio Services.