Nowadays, dogs are practically members of the family. For that reason, we don’t want anything to happen to our companions.
The best way to ensure that your pet’s health is kept up-to-date, avoiding very common illnesses with poor prognosis , is through regular vaccinations and check-ups.
As with humans, vaccines for dogs guarantee immunity against various diseases, thus preventing diseases such as distemper, rabies or canine infectious hepatitis, for example.
Understand everything about dog vaccines in the following text!
How does the dog vaccine work?
Dog vaccines work the same way they work for humans. That is, they can be performed with the infectious agent attenuated (with reduced activity) or inactivated (dead or in fragments).
The application of the vaccine in dogs causes the immune system of these animals to identify these attenuated or fragmented infectious agents, and then create an immune response, which will be memorized for future combat with the “real” infectious agent, in case the dog comes into contact with it.
In other words, just like humans, the dog vaccine makes the animal immune to possible infectious agents.
At the beginning of your pet’s life, the frequency and number of doses must be respected to ensure good antibody production. It may even seem laborious, and even costly, in this beginning of coexistence, but the initial vaccination schedule will save you several inconveniences, in addition to guaranteeing the health and quality of life of the little one for a long time
Is it okay to delay the date of the vaccine
Yes! Delaying the vaccine is dangerous, both in puppies and adult dogs. In both cases, if the animals do not receive vaccines at the right time, following the vaccination schedule, they will not produce antibodies in sufficient quantity and quality. They can, unfortunately, be devoid of defenses against the most common pathogens.
So don’t waste time. If you suspect that your companion is not up-to-date on his vaccinations, follow the veterinarian’s instructions and schedule the vaccination.
I adopted a dog and I don’t know if it was vaccinated: what now?
Especially when we adopt a dog directly from the street, it is not possible to know whether or not it has a vaccination history, whether it is a puppy or an older dog.
In these cases, you must take the animal to the veterinarian so that this professional can define the best vaccination schedule for your new companion. In most cases, two doses of multiple vaccine and one dose of rabies vaccine are given.
But if the dog has already been vaccinated before, is there a problem? No. _ The veterinarian will assess your pet’s vaccination needs on a case-by-case basis, recommending the type of vaccine and the correct application intervals.
What are dog vaccines?
There are several dog vaccines on the market. However, they can be divided into essential (recommended) and non-essential (or optional).
The essential ones must be applied to avoid zoonoses (diseases transmitted from animals to humans) and diseases of dogs with high mortality, the non-essential ones are only important for some types of dogs at high risk of exposure due to their lifestyle.
The essential vaccines that prevent distemper, parvovirus, infectious hepatitis, leptospirosis and rabies are:
– V8 vaccine;
– V10 vaccine;
– Anti-rabies vaccine.
Non-core vaccines are:
– Vaccine against Giardia;
– Kennel cough vaccine.
– Specific vaccine against Leptospirosis
– Vaccine for Leishmaniasis (an important zoonosis, but directed to endemic areas of the disease in Pak);
Learn more about each of these vaccines below:
Vaccine V8 and V10
Both V8 and V10 vaccines protect puppies from 7 diseases. The difference between the two is that they serve to prevent different types of leptospirosis.
While V8 protects the pet from Leptospira canicola and Leptospira icterohaemorrhagiae , V10 protects against two additional serovars of leptospira, Leptospira grippotyphosa and Leptospira pomona .
Check out the list of diseases prevented through the V8 and V10 vaccines below:
– Distemper;
– Infectious Canine Hepatitis;
– Adenovirus;
– Canine Parainfluenza;
– Coronavirus;
– Parvovirus;
– Canine leptospirosis.
rabies vaccine
The anti-rabies vaccine, also known as the rabies vaccine, does exactly what the name suggests: it protects your pet against rabies.
Rabies is a type of zoonosis, that is, a disease transmitted from animals to humans. She has no cure and is fatal in both humans and pets.
There are only two cases of humans who managed to survive rabies. Both had to go into an induced coma and suffered very serious consequences, such as impaired mobility and blindness.
Specific vaccine against leptospirosis
In cases where there is a high risk of exposure of the dog to the disease (rural environments, frequent floods, access to rodents) the biannual scheme against Leptospirosis can be chosen, with which we protect the dog against the 4 serovars of Leptospira ( L. canicola, L. icterohaemorrhagiae , L. grippotyphosa and L. Pomona )
vaccine against leishmaniasis
Despite having entered the list of non-essential vaccines, depending on the region where you and your pet live, the Leishmaniasis vaccine may be essential.
This is because Leishmaniasis is also a type of zoonosis caused by a protozoan that affects the immune system of animals and humans.
It is more common in regions with a hot and humid climate, transmitted by mosquitoes, difficult to treat, with no cure.
To have no doubts on the subject, talk to your veterinarian.
kennel cough vaccine
Kennel cough, or canine infectious tracheobronchitis, is one of the most common diseases in dogs.
Its symptoms are very similar to those of the flu in humans, it is easily transmitted between dogs and can be prevented, or reduce clinical signs, through the use of the kennel cough vaccine.
giardia vaccine
Giardia vaccine prevents the development of a disease called giardiasis, which affects the digestive system, leading to vomiting, diarrhea and possible dehydration. The application of the vaccine helps to reduce the severity of the disease.