Vaccinating Your Puppy: Deadly Diseases and When to Vaccinate

For peace of mind and to help keep your precious pal in tip-top health, provide your puppy with protection from doggy diseases by getting him vaccinated. Young pups are especially vulnerable to contracting the various nasty canine infections that rear their ugly heads every year.

Deadly Diseases

Many vets recommend that puppies are given vaccinations against the four major diseases from which dogs often die if they get them: distemper virus, adenoviral hepatitis, canine parvovirus, and leptospirosis.

The latter disease is common in rats and transmissible to humans. Other vaccines are also available, including those against canine parainfluenza and Bordetella bmnchiseptica. These are both agents associated with kennel cough and are usually required if your puppy goes into boarding kennels or is to be shown.

When to Vaccinate

To protect a puppy properly against disease, he should receive two lots of multiple vaccines: the first when he is 6-8 weeks old, and the second when he’s at least 10 weeks old. The vaccines must be given 2-4 weeks apart. Your vet will advise you on the frequency of booster vaccinations thereafter.

In certain countries, vaccinations for rabies are given as a matter of course; in others, this is only necessary if you take your dog on vacation abroad, so ask your vet for advice if this is what you wish to do in future.

It’s best not to take your puppy out walking until he’s fully protected, to prevent him from coming into contact with other animals who may be carrying diseases.

Are there side effects?

Owners’ concern about the risks associated with having a puppy (or older dog) vaccinated have increased in recent years. There have been reports of dogs’ immune systems suffering due to inoculation with vaccines. It may be inadvisable to vaccinate a puppy if he is:

• ill, when he’ll be unlikely to make a good immune response to the vaccine and it may actually exacerbate his condition;
• already receiving a medication that will affect his response to the vaccine.

Overall, though, many vets advise that it’s better to have a healthy puppy vaccinated than to run the risks of him not being protected. Controversy surrounds the leptospirosis vaccine (which can be omitted from routine vaccinations if you wish), as it is this that is most often associated with an adverse reaction to vaccination.