Vaccinations are vitally important to help protect your dog from potentially life-threatening diseases, some of which can be transmitted to humans. All of them cause some nasty symptoms which can result in permanent health issues and can be fatal.
Vaccinating your dog is one of the most important things that you can do as a responsible and caring owner to help your dog live a happy and healthy life.
Animals are born with passive immunity passed on through their mother’s milk before birth (these are known as maternally derived antibodies). These antibodies protect the new-born from the diseases against which the mother was vaccinated, but only until around 12 weeks of age. This is why it’s important to have regular vaccinations from an early age to ensure continued protection against these diseases.
Vaccines provide antibodies against the most common and contagious, life-threatening diseases that your dog will come across during their lifetime. Many of these diseases either have no cure, or would involve long, expensive and often unsuccessful treatments for your dog.
WHAT DISEASES DOES THE VACCINE COVER?
Our "core" (essential for health) vaccination course provides protection against potentially life-threatening diseases including:
- Canine Parvovirus
- Canine Distemper
- Infectious Canine Hepatitis
- Leptospirosis
We can also vaccinate against Kennel cough for protection if your dog needs to stay in a boarding kennel or is often mixing with lots of other dogs and Rabies if you are planning on taking your dog on holiday abroad.
WHEN TO VACCINATE
The vaccination course includes a full health check with the vet and lots of advice about caring for your dog.
The initial core vaccination course for puppies consists of 2 injections given between 2 and 4 weeks apart. Also, an intra-nasal (up the nose) kennel cough vaccination can be given. The course is normally started at 8 to 10 weeks of age. It can be started at 6 weeks of age, but the final injection cannot be given earlier than 10 weeks of age. This means that the protection provided by these vaccines starts at the approximate time that the immunity passed on by your pet’s mother runs out.
We prefer you to have had your puppy for at least for a week before starting vaccinations, to ensure that they have a chance to settle in with you and are not incubating any illnesses.
Your vet will advise you when your puppy is covered by their vaccinations, before this time, it is not safe for them to mix with other dogs or go to areas where other dogs have been. Your puppy will be fine with other fully vaccinated dogs in your household and in your own garden, provided this is secure from stray dogs and foxes.
Every year your pet will require a booster vaccination to keep the immunity level sufficiently high. If you miss booster vaccines by too long, then the course will need to be restarted with 2 vaccines at an additional cost - so make sure not to let them lapse!
BOOSTER VACCINATIONS
Yearly booster vaccinations are important for maintaining your dog’s antibody protection against these nasty diseases. A booster includes a full health check with the vet where you will be able to discuss any concerns you may have about your dog’s health or behaviour.