April 24, 2018

Signs of a pet anti-vaxxer movement and the crazy new fear of "canine autism."

62 comments:

rhhardin said...

Vets give so many shots these days that if they all need boosters at the same time they schedule two office visits so as not to overload the dog's system.

DrMaturin said...

Yeah, rabies is just a social construct.

Unknown said...

Remember when people had real problems? This is why I worry about things like universal income. When folks just have time on their hands and nothing to actually trouble them, then they create troubles.

Birkel said...

If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything.
-- quoting somebody or another

the 4chan Guy who reads Althouse said...

Like, they give pretty much the same shots and shit to cats like they do to dogs, right?

So is anyone concerned about feline autism?

Sure, make your jokes. All cats are autistic, right, shit like that.

But maybe my cat and me being on the spectrum together gives us, like, a bond and shit.

Because sometimes I don't want to make eye contact, either.

And maybe I don't trust, like, social interaction. Just leave me the fuck alone sometimes and let me stare out the window, okay?

But I don't think dogs get autism, though, I just think some dogs are only, like, retarded and shit.

I post my shit here.

KJE said...

I believe dogs have autism about as much as I believe your bumper sticker telling me that your korgi is smarter than my honor student.

DrMaturin said...

@Unknown

I worry about this myself. How is it that people who live lives of unprecedented comfort, safety, wealth and luxury consider themselves oppressed and victims? There must be something deep in human nature that requires us to feel worried and threatened. This was probably a survival mechanism built into us by our evolving in an environment of constant danger- violent death, famine, slavery, high childhood and maternal mortality, etc. When none of these dangers are actually present people invent other dangers.

Scott said...

Oh God.

Molly said...

My dog's 8 and he hasn't learned to talk yet. Should I be concerned?

MikeR said...

The rate of health care spending on pets is rising at exactly the same rate as for humans, tho it starts at a much lower baseline. All health care available to humans eventually becomes available to pets. Already I have two coworkers who have paid for hip replacements for their dogs.

gilbar said...

they had a study that found that today's youth are more anxious that any past generation... and the only reason could be that they are worried because they have nothing to worry about.

In my day, we had Strategic bombers on airborne alert; and 1000's of ICBMs 55 seconds away from launch. We didn't have time to be anxious about our future; we didn't think we'd have one.
My father grew up in the depression and WWII, when he graduated from highschool; he was drafted and sent to North Korea to fight the Red Chinese. He didn't have time to be anxious; he was looking for something to eat, and/or dodging artillery shells.

Today they're worried about the mental health of their pets.

Trumpit said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
the 4chan Guy who reads Althouse said...

Maybe canine autism isn't real, but I know being on the spectrum makes me like sex doggy-style. Really.

Because then I don't have to look the chick in the eyes, I'm just in the back, banging her.

And after we're done banging, and we're just lying there on the bed and shit, I, like, appreciate it if she lays facing the other way, it's much easier, I don't all-of-a-sudden feel like I need to strangle her so she will stop looking at me.

I mean, I wouldn't actually strangle her, I'm not a strangling-chicks kind of guy, but the thought gets in my head, you know? Like if you were at a crowded party and you thought to yourself, you know, if I, like, had a baseball bat I think I would just run around the room, swinging the baseball bat and shit. I guess I don't like parties much.

I did once bang a chick who liked you to put your hands around her neck while you were fucking her, they got a word for that I think. But when I put my hands around her neck she would try to look me in the eye, and that was way too intense. I finally asked her if I could bang her from behind and put my hands around her neck, and she was good with that, so that worked.

Anyway, I'm still not convinced on this canine autism shit.

I post my shit here.

I Have Misplaced My Pants said...

My dog's 8 and he hasn't learned to talk yet. Should I be concerned?

snort

Britain has always been uniquely absurd in their anthropomorphizing attitudes toward animals. All that nonsense about "animal personhood" and the fact that the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was founded in 1824, and they didn't effectively ban child labor until well into the twentieth century.

Darrell said...

Can't wait for the first raindog that can do advanced math.

Trumpit said...

I picked up my two black & white rat/fox terrier puppies at LAX in late 1994. They were shipped to me from a breeder in Illinois. They had 1/2 their "puppy shots" and I was supposed to take to a vet in L.A. to get the second round, which I dutifully did. They had their tails docked before I got them; I like tails, and don't agree with docking. I generally don't believe in routine vaccines for people or dogs unless there is an outbreak of disease.

The vaccines produce an immune response which is not a good thing, in my opinion. One wonders if the dramatic increase in diabetes is linked to vaccines. In L.A., there is a requirement that your dog have an annual rabies shot. This is ridiculous because the incidence of rabies is minuscule, and the shot has side effects including causing cancer and premature death. No outbreak of disease, no vaccines for man or beast. Don't look for problems where none exist. At my age, I have opinions on most controversial topics. They are subject to revision, but don't generally change much.

Mike Sylwester said...

All cats have autism.

Katherine said...

"One wonders if the dramatic increase in diabetes is linked to vaccines." No, it's related to the dramatic increase in sugar consumption.

Chuck said...

It's all because Obama never addressed the problem of doctor-inflicted autism.

Phil 314 said...

Trumpit,
Clearly you don’t understand the basics of vaccines.

Mike Sylwester said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
policraticus said...

Meanwhile, in China, booksellers are being disappeared.

Oh, SMOD, where art thou?

Mike Sylwester said...

I have been interested in and open to the idea that vaccinations might be a factor in the development of autism.

A few months ago, I watched a Frontline documentary about the controversy.

I was impressed by the Frontline description of a study that was done in Denmark, which has the world's best records on vaccinations and autism. Below is a summary of that study.

[quote]

.... The study reviewed records of 537,303 children born in Denmark between January 1991 and December 1998, representing almost 100% of children born in that period. Of these children 440,655 had been vaccinated. Records were retrieved from three sources:

* the unique identification number assigned to each child at birth;

* MMR [measles, mumps, and rubella] vaccination data reported to the National Board of Health by general practitioners, who give all MMR vaccinations and are reimbursed for their reports;

* and diagnoses of autism recorded in the Danish Psychiatric Central Registry. Only specialists in child psychiatry diagnose autism and related conditions.

The study considered the children's sex, weight and gestational age at birth, and age at diagnosis of autism or of a related disorder; the socioeconomic status of the parents; and the mother's education.

The authors found that “There was no increase in the risk of autistic disorder or other autistic-spectrum disorders among vaccinated children as compared with unvaccinated children ....

In addition, the authors found no association between the development of autistic disorder and the age at vaccination, the interval since vaccination, or the calendar period at the time of vaccination. ...

[end quote; emphasis added]

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1124634/

Dust Bunny Queen said...

The signs your dog has autism. He is ignoring you. Not paying attention to your commands. Doesn't want to be petted. Easily distracted and chews on things.

Autism....OR....your dog knows you are crazy and is studiously ignoring you and hoping for new owners.

The chewing thing is normal BTW.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Your dog is also probably worried that you are going to turn vegan and make him eat nothing but broccoli and brussels sprouts.

If you do, the dog farts will serve you right!

DrMaturin said...

Mine is the first generation of physicians (I graduated medical school in 1982) to never see a single case of acute poliomyelitis. This is an extraordinary achievement, which the anti-vaxxers would reverse if they could.

the 4chan Guy who reads Althouse said...

I think seeing dogs have sex can give you autism and shit.

Because, like dogs are cute, and then now you see one plowing another from behind, and you're just a kid, you don't know what the hell is going on.

And you trusted dogs, you like petted them and shit, but now you see that all-of-a-sudden they can do whatever the fuck they were doing, and it makes it hard to let people get too near you after that. Like, don't go jumping on my back and start doing that shit, and don't be making those sounds they were making, okay?

This probably happens, too, if you're a kid and it's night and you walk into your parents' bedroom while your dad is banging your mom from behind. Or it isn't even your dad, it's some dude you haven't even seen before, and he's all scrunching his eyes and shit and your mom is grabbing at the sheets with her fists, and the room smells like cigarette smoke and shit.

There's a movie I once saw on TV about a dude who played pinball, even though he was deaf and dumb and didn't speak or shit. I think he got that way from seeing something he shouldn't have seen, like his parents have sex or some weird shit like that. I also remember there was a lot of old rock music, and there was a hot chick rolling around in baked beans, I don't know what that meant, maybe it was just baked beans, it didn't need to have a reason.

Anyway, I think that shit can give you autism. Maybe science could, like, look into that.

I post my shit here.

ga6 said...

Too much money, too much time, and smart hucksters who will appear and try and relieve the foolish of their money.

Fernandinande said...

Both our dogs have been vaccinated and they're autistic; the 8 year-old didn't learn to talk until she was 5 and the other still can't form a grammatical sentence.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

"The signs your dog has autism. He is ignoring you. Not paying attention to your commands"

Wait, that's my dog! And here I thought it was because he's old and deaf!

As several people here have already said, we are inventing things to worry about.

I briefly checked out the tweets people sent in response to this asinine story and saw that Brits are now calling dogs "woofies." I like that.

Francisco D said...

All five of my Golden Retrievers were on the autism spectrum - very strong Asperger's traits.

They were unable to interpret or express negative emotions. Everything was "I love you. Can you spend more time with me?"

The dogs did a good job training us to be more empathic and more clear and consistent with words and actions. They seem to take everything literally.

Unknown said...

None of the reports on the knife attacks list the assailants...connect the dots people... vaccinations are causing autistic dogs, and the dogs are KNIFING people. Can't you see how dangerous your pet vaccinations are?

Big Mike said...

I can’t imagine hating a pet so much that I’d take the slightest risk it could die of rabies. There are crappy ways to die, and rabies has to be among the worst.

Scott said...

Kathryn Hepburn once described Pablo Picasso as very autistic.

Scott said...

Autism speaks. Woof! Woof!

Fritz said...

When we adopted our previous Siberian at age 3, the adopting group spayed her, and gave her all her shots at one time, while treating her for heartworm. A few weeks after we adopted her she developed pemphigus, an autoimmune disease of the skin. We've often wondered if the all out assault on her immune system set it off, but there's really no way to tell.

Ron Winkleheimer said...

I have joked that my dog is somewhere on the autism spectrum. But I would rather have a dog with autism than one with distemper or rabies.

Bob Boyd said...

My dog suffers from optimism.
Also, when he's using his nose, his ears don't work.

Ron Winkleheimer said...

In L.A., there is a requirement that your dog have an annual rabies shot. This is ridiculous because the incidence of rabies is minuscule

Trumpit has to be a troll.

Michael McNeil said...

Vaccinations (even a number of them at once) are not an “all out assault on the immune system.” They train the immune system as to what it should be looking for and responsive to.

President-Mom-Jeans said...

Britain is a lost cause at this point. Between the retarded police arresting people for videos of their dogs giving "salutes" the knife insanity yet tolerance of islamic terrorism and London, and just general abundance of lefty pussies throughout all strata of society, there is no hope.

The British used to rule a third of the world. Now the third world rules them.

Gahrie said...

Trumpit has to be a troll.

It thinks it's performance art.

Stan Smith said...

My favorite British animal story is this: people worried about the rise of the grey squirrel population having deleterious effects on the red squirrels have a solution — kill the grey squirrels. That's British environmentalism.

John Holland said...

This is just a continuation of the ongoing substitution of pets in place of babies, of widespread deliberate childlessness. In my neighborhood, the twenty-something and thirty-something couples have dogs, not small children. The time and money that used to be spent starting your own family is now spent on purebreds, vet bills and full-sleeve tattoos (for the humans, not the dogs ... for now). A sterile, pointless generation that will pass without leaving a trace.

Chuck said...

John Holland said...
This is just a continuation of the ongoing substitution of pets in place of babies, of widespread deliberate childlessness. In my neighborhood, the twenty-something and thirty-something couples have dogs, not small children. The time and money that used to be spent starting your own family is now spent on purebreds, vet bills and full-sleeve tattoos (for the humans, not the dogs ... for now). A sterile, pointless generation that will pass without leaving a trace.


Their Facebook pages shall last forever.

gerry said...

A sterile, pointless generation that will pass without leaving a trace.

Just the ruins of a post-postmodern society that stopped caring about truth in favor of mental safe spaces.

Freeman Hunt said...

There's already a book about all cats having it.

Birches said...

What John Holland said.

And maybe your dog got an autoimmune disease because of all the in breeding. Just a thought.

Skippy Tisdale said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Skippy Tisdale said...

I had a German Shepherd who at about the age of 12, developed hypothyroidism. I took her to the University of Minnesota's School of Veterinarian Medicine, considered the premier animal hospital. I got Lassie's vet. I asked her what caused it and she said it was most likely that I had vaccinated her religiously. Meds were very expensive. My current GSD does not get vaccinated.

The aforementioned GSD developed perivulvar dermatitis. It was very painful for the dog, required a tone of maintenance and the meds were extremely expensive. The same vet said it was because she had been spade. When a dog is spade, the absence of what they remove causes the vulva to collapse a bit, so urine gets trapped in the folds and causes an ailment akin to diaper rash. It allows all sorts of terrible pathogens to take root. My current GSD was not spade.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

@ Skippy

At the age of 12, your German Shepherd was an ancient lady at the very end of her life. It isn't surprising in the least to find out that her endocrine system was shutting down. Nothing to do with vaccinations but more to do with the fact that you took good care of her to allow her to become an ancient old old old dog.

Unless your dog is playing cards...she has been spayed /wink

CStanley said...

Unless your dog is playing cards...she has been spayed /wink

And one certainly hopes she wasn’t “spaded” which presumably involves pointy garden shovels.

Regarding overabundance of vaccinations for pets, in recent years the veterinary recommended protocols have reduced the frequency for most immunizations to once every three years. Many (most? I’m not certain) states only require rabies vaccinations for dogs every three years after the first annual booster. And rabies vaccines are required by law for pets not for their own protection (though as pet owners and veterinarians we certainly have that goal as well) but because pets serve as a buffer between humans and wildlife. This is one of the public health functions of the veterinary profession.

Yancey Ward said...

Ok, Molly wins the day with this:

"My dog's 8 and he hasn't learned to talk yet. Should I be concerned?"

JaimeRoberto said...

They are just angry that their balls have been snipped.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Our dogs and cats were* vaccinated for rabies, other common diseases and received regular boosters, because as CStanley said....pets are often buffer between wildlife and humans and your other pets. Plus the fact that we live in a rural area where wildlife is not just nearby, but up close and personal. Rabid wildlife, while not an everyday occurrence, is quite common. Skunks in particular. * (vaccinated when we had pets.. we are pet free for now)

Common diseases for dogs such as parvo and feline leukemia in cats are easily controlled and prevented (mostly) by inoculations. Unless you keep your pets in solitary confinement and lock down where they never go outside.... Why would you want your pets to contract such awful things, suffer and die?

Our last cat, which was a stray who adopted us, developed full blown feline herpes. It was awful. There is no cure, however there are vaccinations which can prevent it. However, because this cat was already 5 years old when he came to us, even though we took him to be neutered and get his vaccinations, he was likely already a carrier. Probably contracted it from some other strays which are never vaccinated.

He suffered horribly and we finally had to "put him down".

Vaccinate your pets and your children. It is your duty to protect them and to prevent the spread of diseases to other pets, children and adults.

JAORE said...

The party of pseudo-science.

tcrosse said...

Here in Nevada they take rabies vaccination very seriously, and will fine you heavily if you don't.

Michael K said...

The vaccines produce an immune response which is not a good thing, in my opinion.

Fox Butterfield is that you ?

For those who don't get the reference.

President-Mom-Jeans said...

This is the same country that is going to starve to death Alfie Evans rather than let his parents take him to Italy which has granted him citizenship and is willing to treat him. Air transport is available, but some douchebag Judge and the socialized medicine have decided that they get to kill the boy instead.

Britain deserves everything the muslims do to them. That boys father should go full law abiding citizen and take out the judge, the doctors, and every disgusting excuse for a human being who are murdering his son.

Jim at said...

Your dog is also probably worried that you are going to turn vegan and make him eat nothing but broccoli and brussels sprouts.

Nope. Cheeseburgers. Plain ones.
Same as the seagulls.

Anonymous said...

Similar to how modern people have begun to have problems distinguishing what is male and what is female, they also have problems distinguishing animals from people, hence the people trying to extend human rights to animals. No estimate yet on when trees are extended human rights and the lumber industry is sued for inhumane barbarity, but maybe 10 years given the slope?

Think of it as the pendulum of civilization swinging back the other way. Ancient people believed animals were gods and would offer sacrifice to them. Modern man hasn't quite started erecting altars to cats and dogs yet, but there is plenty of nature worship going on and plenty of people who are way more willing to sacrifice money on a pet than they would ever consider sacrificing to help their fellow man.