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A puppy is protected for the first few weeks of its life by the antibodies present in its mothers milk, in the same way human babies are. After this point they may become vulnerable to infections diseases caused by bacteria or viruses. Vaccines are modified forms of these disease organisms, and prompt the puppy immune system to produce antibodies without ever subjecting the dog to any real danger of acquiring the disease.
Vaccinations don't always provide lifelong immunity, and for this reason a record of your dogs vaccination record is necessary, and should come with you on your annual check ups with the Vet.
It should also be noted that Vaccines for are not a magical cure-all, nor are they always perfectly reliable or effective. If a vaccine has not been treated properly over the course of its life, such as improper storage or handling, it may become ineffective. A vaccine could also be ineffective if the dog's immune system is previously compromised in some way. In this case the immune system may not be able to produce the antibodies that the vaccination is prompting it to. And of course, just as with humans, a dog who is already afflicted by an illness cannot have it reversed by the use of a vaccine, vaccinations are only effective if administered previous to exposure the illness.
Wellpets.net is not an advocate of vaccinating your pets for every single disease under the sun. your Veterinarian should be able to describe to you the important vaccinations necessary for your dog. They make this decision taking a good deal of varying information into account. The dog's age, breed and travel history are all relevant, as many diseases are geographically localized. In fact the geographic nature of disease spread is the primary variable used to determine which vaccinations your pet may require. If the dog has not traveled extensively, they may only required what are referred to as the core vaccines.
Core vaccines
Core vaccines are vaccinations against those diseased that are widely distributed, very contagious and have serious or fatal consequences. There are no cures for these things, so prevention is our only option. Some of them you will surely have heard of, while others may simply ring a faint bell. These diseases include: Rabies ; Canine Adenovirus, Canine Parvovirus, and Canine distemper virus. Rabies is the best known doggy disease, by virtue of its unfortunate transmissibility to humans.
We do recommend you have your dog vaccinated against these core diseases, and discuss with your Veterinarian what other, optional vaccinations may be a good idea in your part of the world.
Your puppy should be vaccinated against distemper, adenovirus-2, and parvovirus at 6 to 8 weeks, and again at 9 to 11 and 12 to 16 weeks. If you have a dog older than four months old and don't know if it has had its vaccines, your Vet will likely recommend that they get one dose of vaccines for each disease.
A rabies vaccine is first given at 4 months of age. Boosters are then usually given every three years, but some government authorities require annual vaccinations.
At this point we come to a sticky subject. Just how often should the vaccinations be given? Most of us, at first though, would presume that the vaccine makers and Vets together should have a pretty decent idea of how long their medicine is effective, but as it turns out, vaccines last for varying amounts of time. The label on your vaccine bottle probably says to administer annually, but we feel a good number of vaccines are effective for longer, sometimes much longer, than this time period.
Now, we have to take into account specific circumstances for your dog. If, say, you kennel your dog frequently, of they are often in contact with a large number of unknown dogs for periods (a city park with a dog pen for instance), then it may be advisable to get vaccinated more often. Your Vet should give you specific advice, if you can provide them with this type of information.
It's possible that a primary the vaccine companies and Vets push to have dogs vaccinated annually, is nothing more than money. The more vaccine that gets used, the more money gets made. But before we label this a conspiracy, we have to understand that it's not simply a case of pocket gouging. Over-vaccination has been linked with autoimmune diseases such as hemolytic anemia. In addition many Vets and dog owners are worried that there may be many other yet unknown ill effects associated with over-vaccination.
You will want to read your Veterinarian well in this specific situation. If they want to vaccinate your dog every year, ask politely for an explanation as to why. If they simply say 'better safe than sorry' then ask if they know of any risks associated with frequent vaccinations. If they claim not to, it may be a bad sign. If, however your Vet makes a good case for it, and especially if they are taking specific information about your dogs habits into account, then it may be a good idea. Either way, you'll learn a lot about your Veterinarian by their reaction to your questions, and by how open they are with you on what can be considered a sticky subject.
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