Vaccination can help to protect your :
– dog against Parvovirus, distemper, hepatitis, Leptospirosis and Kennel Cough.
– cat against Cat Flu, Feline Leukaemia, Feline Panleucopaenia
– rabbit against Myxomatosis and Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease
By vaccinating your pet annually, you are not only protecting your pet but also making sure that the pet population develops and maintains a healthy “herd Immunity”. This fundamental principle is why vaccines are so effective. This essentially means that the better the immunity of the pet population as a whole, the lower the chance of contagious diseases spreading within the population. By vaccinating you benefit not only your own pet but also contribute to reducing the risk of outbreaks and the overall disease risk to all pets in the UK.
Kennel Cough Vaccinations
Kennel cough is an infectious upper respiratory condition that is better named canine cough because your pet does not need to be in kennels to get it. It causes a severe cough that sounds like your dog has something stuck in its throat. It is rarely life threatening unless your dog has other health conditions. A vaccination does not guarantee your dog will not get the disease because there are so many viruses and bacteria that can contribute to it that we cannot vaccinate against them all, but if a vaccinated dog gets the infection it will be much less severe.
The nasal kennel cough vaccine is the only vaccine we use routinely that has a small amount of the live bacteria and yeast in it; because it is live there is a small risk that recently vaccinated dogs could infect humans. This risk is increased for immunosuppressed people, therefore, if you are immunosuppressed please speak to us about options.
It is now possible to inject dogs with kennel cough vaccinations rather than giving the vaccine by squirting it into a dog’s nose. For some dogs this option is preferable, however 3 injections over the course of 7 months are required to maintain immunity for a year as opposed to one nasal vaccine.
Does a single vaccination protect my pet for life?
The short answer is NO!
Major studies have been done to determine what the minimum period of protection is for certain vaccines in pets. As a result, some vaccines are now licensed to protect pets for up to three years against a range of diseases. Whilst immunity may endure longer for some individuals, boosters are generally advised given at the recommended revaccination intervals to help ensure those individuals, whose immunity does reduce over time, continue to be protected.
Some diseases, e.g. Leptospirosis, still require yearly boosters. Leptospirosis in dogs is a very serious disease that can also affect humans, and none of the available vaccines for this provides protection beyond 12 months.