14/06/2026
This!!!! I’ve never had a litter that ate their own faeces but having suffered the death of a puppy from Parvo that I bought in (that went straight to the vets) and how this litter may have been poo eaters (his poo when I travelled back up the road had shavings in) it makes complete sense as he was vaccinated before I picked him up. I don’t vaccinate before a litter leaves, they get a vet health check and microchip.
A very good breeder who recently used one of my stud dogs and who has a lovely litter, had a reservation cancelled by a potential owner who was adamant that puppies must be vaccinated before they left her. I hope he might see this, and understand why she does not, as she and I share the same opinion on this.
I do not vaccinate puppies before they leave for new homes. I have three very good reasons and this is why….
1. Cross contamination. Many years ago we had a litter who had the unpleasant habit of eating each other’s poo; coprophragia to give it its proper term and I was constantly vigilant to get to the pooh before they did! Just before the litter were leaving – coming up 8 weeks old, we had them all vaccinated. Most went that weekend, but we were keeping three boys who were going later, including two overseas. At nearly 9 weeks old, one puppy developed Parvo. My biosecurity was immaculate; no disease could get in the house, but somehow, this puppy alone, developed Parvo and died a few days later. All suggestions from the vets, pharma co’s etc, were that puppy ‘Boris’, had ingested faeces in which the Parvo virus had shed, before he had sufficient immunity to fight it. Perhaps he was immuno-compromised to some degree. Perhaps he got unlucky and ingested more than the others, but having a puppy infected at home and die through vaccination, shook us both.
2. Timing. Most vaccines (DHPPi – Distemper, Hepatitis, Para-influenza (or DAPPi – the A for Adenovirus), are licensed from 6-7 weeks, and to varying degrees, cut across MDA (Maternally Derived Antibodies) . I think most of us agree that 6 weeks is very young for any vaccination, and personally I dislike vaccinating until at least 8 weeks. That puts me in the dilemma that puppies go to their new homes at 8 weeks, so I would be vaccinating virtually days before they leave. I can’t monitor any adverse reactions (which are thankfully rare but do occur), and it would be grossly unfair to the new owner and the puppy, to burden them with a poorly puppy.
3. Incompatibility. I am not an anti-vaxxer, but I vaccines are not benign, and I am conscientious enough to ensure that the dogs I breed are not over-vaccinated. With Canigan, Versican,
Zoetis, Boehringer, Nobivac, Vanguard, to name the larger manufacturers of canine vaccines in the UK, I cannot tell you how many times I heard back from owners saying ‘my vet wants to re-start the vaccines all over again as they are not compatible with the ones your vet used’!
So what, therefore, is ever the point of me vaccinating those puppies? It’s not a financial issue. I would pay maybe £50 per puppy plus the consultation, which is small-change in comparison to the price of a puppy, but those are my reasons, and when I explain them to my owners, they completely understand. So to the gentleman who lost out on a super puppy from a lovely breeder because he thought he knew best, he didn’t.
Aritaur puppies are vet-checked for auscultation (listening to the heart), and obvious clinical malformation, disease or illness. Aritaur puppies are insured with five weeks insurance by KC Agria). I do not vaccinate puppies before they leave; in memory of little Boris.
