Dog vaccination

Why vaccinate my dog?

Vaccinations can help protect your dog against some potentially fatal diseases, such as parvovirus, canine distemper, leptospirosis, and infectious canine viral hepatitis.

Vaccinated dogs are less likely to catch diseases and won’t spread them around – meaning the whole of the dog population is also a little safer!

When should my dog be vaccinated?

Your dog should be vaccinated as a puppy and then get regular annual boosters throughout its life to maintain immunity.

Vaccinations for puppies

If the mother’s immunity levels are sufficient she will pass on antibodies through her milk to her puppies. These maternally derived antibodies will protect the puppies during their first few weeks of life. As the immunity levels begin to fall the puppies become susceptible to diseases and hence will need to be vaccinated to ensure that they are protected. Unfortunately, puppies that have been illegally imported or that were bred on puppy farms could be much more likely to suffer serious illnesses like parvovirus as their mums won’t have been vaccinated so can’t pass on their immunity.

Puppies can start their vaccinations from around 7 - 8 weeks old and will need a second injection, usually 2 - 4 weeks after their first jab (but at least 10 weeks of age).

If the second dose of the primary course is missed (more than 5 weeks), your puppy may need to be given the primary two-dose course again to ensure ongoing immunity.

It’s important to keep your puppy away from unvaccinated dogs until they’ve had their full course of vaccinations and are fully protected. This is usually two weeks after the last dose of the Basic Vaccination Scheme.

Booster vaccinations for dogs

After having its initial vaccinations as a puppy, your dog will need regular booster injections throughout its life. This is to help keep your pet protected as over time its immunity could otherwise go away. If you do not keep on top of your dog’s vaccinations they will be more at risk of catching infectious diseases.

If the annual booster vaccination is missed, your dog may need to be given the primary two-dose course again to ensure ongoing immunity.

Booster jabs for distemper, parvovirus, and canine hepatitis are usually needed every three years. Booster jabs for leptospirosis are needed every year.

We recommend the following vaccination for your dog:

There are four main diseases that your dog can be vaccinated against. These are:

• Parvovirus
• Canine Distemper
• Leptospirosis
• Infectious Canine Hepatitis (ICH)

Canine Parvovirus Disease (Enteritis)

What is parvovirus?

Parvovirus is a highly contagious virus that attacks the lining of the stomach and small intestines, bone marrow, and lymphopoietic tissues. Young (6 weeks to 6 months old), unvaccinated, or incompletely vaccinated dogs are particularly prone to parvovirus infections and often get the most severe signs. The virus is shed in the faeces of infected dogs and can be spread with anything an infected dog has touched such as a dog lead, food bowl, bedding, human hands, and clothes.

Symptoms of parvovirus:

• Diarrhoea (foul- smelling, watery, and bloody)
• Vomiting
• Reduced appetite
• Lethargy (extreme low energy)
• Fever (your dog may feel hot to touch)

Treatment:

Treatment is largely supportive because unfortunately, there is no specific medicine to cure parvovirus. Antibiotics don’t work because it’s a virus, not bacteria. Most dogs who are lucky enough to survive a parvovirus are often infectious for a few weeks after they recover, and the virus can live in the environment for up to a year. Sadly, even with the right treatment, parvovirus can be fatal to many of the dogs that catch it.

How can I stop my dog from getting parvovirus?

Fortunately, we can protect our dogs from parvovirus by vaccinating them regularly throughout their life.

Canine Distemper (Hard Pad)

What is canine distemper?

Canine distemper is a contagious virus that attacks a dog’s lymph nodes before attacking their respiratory, urinary, digestive, and nervous systems. The main source of infection is inhalation due to close contact between dogs. It can also infect other animals, such as ferrets and foxes.

Symptoms of canine distemper

Early symptoms include:

• Watery discharge from nose and eyes
• Reddened eyes
• Fever

As the virus progresses, later symptoms include:

• Lethargy
• Persistent coughing
• Vomiting
• Diarrhoea
• Thickening of the pads
• Seizures

Distemper can also cause hardening of the footpads and nose, so is sometimes known as ‘hard pad’.

Unfortunately, there is no cure for distemper and usually, vets will try to manage the symptoms with supportive treatment. Dogs with distemper need intensive care and are usually kept in isolation so they don’t spread the virus. Sadly, even with the right treatment, distemper can be fatal to many of the dogs that catch it.

How can I stop my dog from getting distemper?

The best way to prevent your dog from getting distemper is to keep their vaccinations up-to-date. Remember to keep newly vaccinated puppies indoors until at least two weeks after their full course of vaccinations and don’t let unvaccinated pets near them during this time.

Canine Leptospirosis

What is leptospirosis?

Leptospirosis - also known as lepto – is a bacterial infection that causes serious illness by damaging vital organs such as the liver and kidneys. It can also be passed on from dogs to us – in humans, it’s known as Weil’s disease.

Lepto can be contracted via rats or from the infected urine of other dogs and can enter the body through the mouth, nose, or wounds. Your dog is at risk of catching Leptospirosis if they swim or drink from stagnant water or canals. Outbreaks of leptospirosis increase after flooding, when there’s a lot of contaminated water around.

Symptoms of leptospirosis:

• Fever (high temperature)
• Muscle pain and limping
• Vomiting
• Bloody Diarrhoea
• Increased thirst
• Bleeding from the mouth and eyes
• Jaundice(yellow gums and eyes)
• Breathing difficulties.

For dogs, the disease can be fatal even with the best treatment. Weil’s disease can also be fatal to humans.

Dogs with mild symptoms may recover. Your vet may prescribe antibiotics to help fight the infection and offer other treatments to help manage their symptoms.

How can I stop my dog from getting leptospirosis?

It’s best to keep your dog’s vaccinations up-to-date. Keep puppies indoors until two weeks after their primary course of vaccinations and keep them away from unvaccinated pets.

The vaccination covers the most common types of lepto but your dog can still get other strains, so it’s good to take other measures to prevent lepto as well. Try to avoid letting your dog drink or swim in stagnant water or flooded areas. Though rats can get almost anywhere, it’s best to keep your dog away from places that you know rats have been present to try and reduce their risk.

Dogs recovering from leptospirosis should be kept away from vulnerable animals and humans for several months until your vet is happy they are no longer carrying the infection. You need to be careful where they go to the toilet during this time as they can spread the virus in their urine.

Infectious Canine Hepatitis (ICH),(Rubarth’s Disease)

What is ICH?

ICH is a disease caused by a virus, canine adenovirus Type 1 (CAV-1) that attacks a dog’s liver, kidneys, and eyes. The main source of infection is by ingesting the urine, saliva, or faeces of infected dogs.

Although humans get infectious hepatitis, it is a completely different virus, so infectious hepatitis can’t be passed from dogs to humans, or vice versa.

Symptoms of ICH

Symptoms can range from being quite mild to sudden and unexpected death.

Symptoms of ICH include:

• Fever (high temperature)
• Lethargy
• Vomiting
• Diarrhoea
• Abdominal pain
• Clouding of the cornea (Blue Eye)
• Jaundice

Unfortunately, there is no cure for ICH but vets will treat your dog’s symptoms. In mild cases, the chances of recovery can be good but your dog may need a special diet to help their liver once they have recovered.

In severe cases, the disease can go on to cause jaundice and liver failure and result in seizures and coma. Sadly, even with the best treatment, severe ICH can be fatal.

How can I stop my dog from getting ICH?

The best way to protect your dog against ICH is by getting them vaccinated regularly. Your dog will need boosters every three years to stay protected from ICH.

Many vaccines use the CAV-2 strain rather than the CAV-1(Canine Adenovirus Type 1) strain to protect against viral hepatitis, as this also provides cross-protection for some forms of kennel cough and is less likely to cause “Blue Eye”(oedema of the surface of the eye).

If your dog gets ICH and recovers, they can continue to shed the virus in their urine for up to a year. To prevent the disease from spreading, keep them away from unvaccinated dogs (like young puppies) and try to have them toilet away from public areas where other dogs could pick up the disease.

Infectious Bronchitis (Kennel Cough)

What is Kennel Cough (KC) and which dogs are at risk?

The technical term is ‘Infectious Canine Tracheobronchitis’, which translates to ‘inflammation of the trachea (the pathway to the lungs) and bronchi’ (branches of the trachea that lead into the lungs). Kennel cough is extremely contagious and spreads by direct contact between dogs. It’s worth knowing that there are different strains and causes, some viral, some bacterial, which is why prevention is so crucial for this airway infection.

Young puppies, geriatric dogs, pregnant bitches, and dogs with pre-existing respiratory problems, in particular are at higher risk of catching Kennel Cough due to their vulnerable immune systems, but in theory, all dogs are at risk of infection.

A vaccination is available to protect your dog against the bacterium Bordetella bronchiseptica which is one of the key organisms that causes this condition. Vaccination against another infectious agent, Canine Parainfluenza Virus is included in puppy and full booster vaccinations.

However, vaccination against Kennel Cough agent Bordetella bronchiseptica is also advisable.

If your dog is booked into a boarding kennel this vaccination will be required.

If your dog regularly attends shows, training classes, grooming parlours, or other places where many dogs congregate, routine vaccination against Kennel Cough is recommended.

Symptoms of KC

As the name suggests, a cough is the most obvious symptom. It is a persistent type of cough that can cause retching and sometimes lead to vomiting. You may notice some discharge seeping from your pet’s nose and eyes. Severe Kennel Cough in puppies or older dogs could cause pneumonia if left untreated and in some cases, this could be fatal.

How can I stop my dog from getting KC?

The vaccination is cleverly designed – it is administered up the nose and follows the direct path of infection, coating the mucous lining of the nasal area and respiratory tract so that specific, local resistance is in place. It is a pain-free method, but your dog may be a tad disgruntled and possibly sneeze afterwards – a small price to pay for such an effective remedy!

Kennel cough vaccine lasts 12 months – so should be repeated every year.

Most reputable kennels and doggy daycare centres will request that every dog has the Kennel Cough vaccination two to three weeks before staying with them.

Rabies

Rabies is a serious viral illness that can affect any warm-blooded animals, including humans. Infection is usually by a bite from an infected animal. The virus causes inflammation of the brain (encephalitis). There is no treatment for dogs and once clinical signs occur the outcome is fatal. Fortunately, rabies is not present in wildlife in the UK, although a strain of the virus called European Bat Lyssavirus (EBLV 2) has been found in some bats in the UK. If you find a bat, dead or alive, the advice is not to touch it. If it appears sick, in difficulty, or dead, then call the Bat Conservation Trust on 0845 1300 228 or www.bats.org.uk

Under the Pet Travel Scheme, should you plan to travel abroad with your dog, a rabies vaccination will be required and an Animal Health Certificate (AHC) will be issued unless you have a pet passport issued in an EU country or Northern Ireland.

Your dog must be at least 12 weeks old for this vaccination. If you are taking your dog to the EU or Northern Ireland, you must wait 21 days after the primary rabies vaccination before you travel. The validity of rabies vaccination is 3 years.

Taking an unvaccinated puppy outside

An unvaccinated puppy, or a puppy that has only had its first injection, doesn’t have any protection against parvovirus or the other diseases we vaccinate against. Your puppy will be safe to go out for a walk and meet other dogs 2 weeks after completing the primary vaccination course, until then:

• Home and garden
  

  Your puppy is safe to go into your garden as long as no other unvaccinated dogs have visited recently and foxes haven’t got access to it.

• Public places
  

  It is fine to carry your puppy into public places, but make sure you do not let your pet onto the ground.

Buy and rehome responsibly

Always buy from a responsible breeder or reputable rehoming centre. If you are getting a puppy, make sure you see the litter with their mum and check that she’s up to date with her vaccines. All the puppies should be healthy and bright with no signs of illness.