Vaccinating from as early an age as possible and maintaining protection throughout the life of your pet is the best way to avoid preventable and often deadly diseases.
Additionally, keeping your pets vaccination status up to date is essential if you are to be prepared for travel.
When to vaccinate
When puppies and kittens are born they are usually protected from infections by their mother’s milk, providing she has been regularly vaccinated. However, this protection only lasts a few weeks so they need regular vaccinations from an early age.
Puppies are typically vaccinated at eight, twelve and sixteen weeks, kittens at eight and 12 weeks, with an initial course of two injections. Your young pet should then be given a booster every 12 months after their first vaccination.
Dont stop as your pets get older, senior pets need protecting too, as their immunity can decline.
Vaccines against infectious diseases
Dogs
Dogs should be routinely vaccinated against:
- Canine parvovirus
- Canine distemper virus
- Leptospirosis
- Infectious canine hepatitis.
- Parainfluenza
If your dog will be spending some time in kennels they may also be given a kennel cough vaccine. This vaccine is usually given intra-nasally (into a nostril) and protects against bordetella bronchiseptica.
All Dogs and Cats require a rabies vaccination. The first rabies vaccination is usually administered at 12 weeks of age and thereafter annually
Cats
Cats should be routinely vaccinated against:
- Feline infectious enteritis
- Feline herpes virus
- Feline calicivirus and, where appropriate Feline leukaemia virus
