I agree.....the more you study about these individual conditions (i.e., heartworm, parvo etc.) the more you will feel empowered to manage them differently and more safely for your canine.
The heartworm cycle is a great example - the more you understand what is required to infect, the more empowered you will be to manage it. Those heartworm drugs are pesticides - carcinogenic pesticides regulated by the EPA. They are NOT "preventatives" - they work by being ever present in the system as an active poison, so that if and when your dog contracts heartworms and larvae develop, the poison kills them. Why not just take extra precautions to not let your dog get bit by mosquitos (do not leave your dog out at night for instance) and test yearly for heartworm (twice yearly if you are in an infested area). If larvae develop, then treat - this is very treatable.
As to your question baggins: yes, I honestly do not give my Berners any chemicals, toxins, or adjuvants in their system. This highly inbred breed, with serious immune dysfunction already carries vaccine damage from prior generations. Memory t-cells are often passed down as well. Some choose minimal vaccines, some choose absolutely none. I do not give vaccines out of fear - I would only vaccinate for true risk in my geographic area. My Berner here had one parvo shot at 12 weeks of age. I would never give a distemper shot - it is not in my city/community and it is a disease that primarily affects kennels, shelters and other close quarters since it is an airborne disease with a very short life span. It is a neurological vaccine with serious side effects and I would rather manage my risk than inject that disease. Despite never having had a distemper shot, my Berner registers high titers for the disease anyway - she has been exposed to the disease pathogen and mounted antibodies for them.
This is my answer to your other question: On the contrary, since I didn't have a vaccinated puppy, I took her everywhere, and I exposed her to as many other young dogs as possible (that I knew were healthy and not diseased of course). No I do not frequent dog parks for behavioral and socialization reasons - but she went to many public parks and play dates with dogs. I built her immune system through natural exposure. Vets often tell you not to take your puppy out and the reason for this is because your vaccinated puppy has an immune system that is now tied up with or grappling with the vaccine it just received - the immune system is responding to it and consumed with mounting a defense to it and commiting it to memory. If the same system were to encounter another disease or virus, it would be at risk for succumbing as a result - it can only do so much at one time. A completely unvaccinated puppy is not subject to this, and therefore I was in a better position to take her out everywhere - and given her titer levels her body does in fact recognize distemper.
Remember that the only vaccine required by law is rabies.
Bordatella is not a core vaccine and is not fatal - there is no reason to vaccinate for something that is not an issue if contracted to begin with - this is a kennel cough vaccine with many known side effects and problems. I would never board my dogs in a kennel (see distemper discussion above) and I have never owned a dog who got kennel cough. If one did however, treating it would not be a problem.
The bottom line - it is a healthy immune system that fends off or defeats disease - not a vaccine. A vaccine is the disease and may or may not pose a problem or overwhelm the system. Depending on where you live and what true risks are present, you may need to consider a vaccine for something....b ut not multiple vaccines and not combo shots - never good.
Natural rearing may seem extreme to you if it sounds new or dramatically different. But to someone who has experience with the problems these man-made poisons, pesticides, chemicals, and toxins can do it is not extreme at all. It is the way it used to be done, when the cancer rate was a fraction of what it is today in canines. The average lifespan of a Berner is lower in the U.S. than anywhere in the world. The use and mass marketing of vaccines, pesticides, and "preventatives" is more widespread in the U.S. than anywhere else in the world. What else can I say?