Emma Miller
Dog owners should be sure to vaccinate their pets to protect them from serious illnesses. It is imperative for dog owners to vaccinate their pets. An unvaccinated dog can die from a disease that a vaccinated pet would easily survive. Any breed of dog should be vaccinated. Puppies are given several vaccines, and once they are older, the vaccination is repeated once a year for the rest of their lives to maintain immunity.
Preparing to vaccinate your dog
Vaccination is a lot of stress on the dog’s body. Therefore, you need to make sure that the animal is completely healthy at the time of vaccination. 14 days before vaccination the dog must be given antihelmintic preparations, even if at first glance he has no parasites. On the day of vaccination, the dog should not be walked. A few hours before the procedure, the pet can be fed, but not with heavy food.
When to vaccinate a puppy
Your veterinarian will create an individual vaccination schedule for your puppy. The schedule depends on the dog’s breed, diet, living conditions, and number of animals in the family. Information about all vaccinations is recorded in the veterinary certificate. A sample vaccination schedule is as follows.
- The first vaccination is given to the puppy at the age of 4-6 weeks. At this age, the animal is vaccinated against the plague of flesh and parvovirus enteritis. Both diseases are very severe and deadly to the unvaccinated. One month later (i.e., at 2 months of age), the puppy is revaccinated. Without two doses, the immunity is not complete.
- At 8-10 weeks, the baby is vaccinated against infectious hepatitis, parainfluenza, and leptospirosis. Most often use a multi-component vaccine with the causative agents of all of these diseases. A month later (that is, at the age of 3 months), the puppy is revaccinated.
- At 3 months of age, the pet gets its first rabies vaccine. Vaccination of dogs against rabies is mandatory. Make sure that this vaccine is necessarily marked on the pet’s passport.
When to vaccinate an adult dog
At the age of 1 year and then annually, the dog is vaccinated against rabies, flesh-eating plague, leptospirosis, parvovirus enteritis, and infectious hepatitis. Missing vaccines as an adult are not allowed, otherwise, immunity will not be formed. If the dog lives in a swampy or forested area, it is advisable to vaccinate against leptospirosis every six months.
When not to vaccinate a dog
- Pregnant and lactating dogs should not be vaccinated. The procedure should be postponed until the female stops feeding her puppies with milk.
- Vaccination is not done to a sick dog, otherwise, the load on the immune system will be too great.
- If a dog has had an injury or surgery such as sterilization, it’s worth waiting two weeks.
- Dogs that have had a difficult previous vaccination should be vaccinated with caution.
